WILDERNESS STUDIO

“What makes a place special is the way it buries itself inside your heart, not whether it’s
flat or rugged, rich or austere, wet or arid, gentle or harsh, warm or cold,
wild or tame.”
Richard Nelson, The Island Within

All rules of art making are challenged when immersed in a wilderness environment, and there is only so much preparation one can do. From 2021-2022, I spent countless hours in the The Green Mountain wilderness areas exploring a swath of forests and rivers along the spine of the central Green Mountains.* I observed this constantly changing landscape as a way to fully immerse myself and distill my visual recordings into paint. This ecoregion, containing the largest mixed forest wilderness area in Vermont,** has become a part of my studio and a great source of regenerative energy.

*Ancestral land of the Abenaki/Wabanaki Confederacy
**The Green Mountain National Forest has over 400,000 acres and contains 2000 archaeological historic sites, spanning from Abenaki to colonial times. Formed in 1932 in response to unregulated logging, the Forest Service vows to protect, restore and manage the forest.

HABITAT PROJECT

“Conservation is a cause that has no end. There is no point at which we say, ‘Our work is finished.’”- Rachel Carson

. Habitats are transitioning. This Project explores endangered and threatened species and the critical environments that sustain them. I continually observe unusual species of flora and fauna by creating paintings and drawings of them.  Several of these are on the Vermont threatened or endangered species list, such as the fairy orchid, nighthawks, spruce grouse, eastern meadowlark and woodcock. When painting in coastal New England I observe shorebird nesting sites, migration, and habitat. This ongoing process of observing, painting and sharing these landscapes continues to evolve.

drone video footage: Owen Hammel IG: @onhml

If interested in supporting this work please email me at jmadpun@gmail.com