For the rest of this month, I’m in Jackson, Wyoming at the Teton Artlab (the only year-round residency program within an hour of two national parks). Here, my research is primarily on creatures that live in extreme environments, like the vibrantly colored microbes of Yellowstone’s hot springs. In November through January, with the help of the Land Arts Mobile Research Center and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, I’ll take the train across the Australian continent, researching some of the species that thrive in the outback—I’ll continue to Tasmania and New Zealand, learning about the ecosystems there. In early 2016, I’ll return to the states, where I’ll be included in exhibitions in the Center for Art + Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art, the Yale School of Forestry, and Doane College. March and April will be spent at the Gushul Artist Residency in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, where I’ll make paintings about the species and geology of the northern Rockies. May and June will have me in the San Juan Islands in Washington and at the Playa Residency in Oregon. And I’m applying for more residencies in an ongoing fashion.

I want so much to believe that this is a world in which--with enough dedication, hard work, and imagination--one can survive and thrive in the pursuit of one's calling.

Travel expenses, student loans, food, and artmaking supplies are my primary inescapable expenditures. Whether I barely meet my goal, or get twice as much as I'm hoping for, any amount of money you pledge will go to those ends.

Perks!

$20
POSTCARD
Have a postcard mailed to you from any of the upcoming year’s research sites (you can specify if you’d like it to be from somewhere in particular).

$30
AUSTRALIAN SPECIES POSTCARD SET
A set of six postcards showcasing drawings of invasive species I encounter in the southern hemisphere. Each printed on one side with portrait of plant or animal; blank on the other side, so that you can scatter them across the globe as responsibly or irresponsibly as you like.

$40
UNSTABLE GROUND POSTCARD SET
A set of eight full-color postcards digitally printed after paintings (created in residence at the Teton Artlab) of Yellowstone’s colorful thermal pools and geysers (see "Yellowstone miniature painting" perk below).

$100
TINY HANDMADE SURPRISE
Truth in advertising! A tiny handmade surprise (probably a sketch or study), posted from a site of my choosing.

$250
AUSTRALIAN SPECIES DRAWING
A graphite drawing on watercolor paper of an Australian species of your choice (plant or animal).

$650
YELLOWSTONE MINIATURE PAINTING

Small in size but not in impact: a tightly-rendered 2.5” x 3.5” painting of one of Yellowstone’s colorful thermal pools, handsomely framed (1 of 12 shown here--each will be different).

$950
PORTFOLIO OF ARCTIC ETCHINGS

A set of five copperplate etchings made after my last major residency, featuring the coastal landscape of Svalbard, printed with the assistance of the excellent Frol Boundin.

$2500
LARGE STUDIO PAINTING

A larger painting on panel, between 16”x20” and 25”x50”. Neither strictly landscape nor portrait, but combining the land and figure, these pieces will integrate my ideas and impressions from either Yellowstone, Australia, or Alberta in typical narrative style (image above shows samples from previous campaign).

$5000
JOURNAL

My Southern Hemisphere journal. Containing more than 200 pages of hand-bound drawings, paintings, and written observations, this will be the major artifact of my months in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. You can see previous journals I've done here and here.

If you pledge for a large piece, those could be a couple of years in the making, and/or get hung up in exhibitions once they exist. I'm streamlining the smaller incentives so that most everyone can get their rewards in a briefer time frame than for the previous project (Maxine, and Juan and Sharon, I have not forgotten you)--but whatever the timeline, I really hope you'll love what you end up with.

Just about everyone I know is struggling for enough time and money to make their own work, support their families, and pursue goals, so I understand if you'd like to to pledge but can't--but if you feel so moved, please help spread the word. Thank you one and all for your good thoughts!