Last summer, artist Erik Sandgren stood at a vantage point on Crater Lake, overlooking Umpqua National Forest as swaths of old growth trees, fields and familiar hiking trails went up in flames. He’d spent the last week on a painting trip with his wife, painter Kathryn Cotnoir, along the Umpqua River, capturing his native Oregon landscape in sketches and acrylics. Now he watched as many of the sacred scenes he’d painted were reduced to char.
Throughout his more than 50-year career, Sandgren has strived to encapsulate the symbiotic relationship between humanity and nature. His current exhibit at the Karin Clarke Gallery