Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and Plein Air Easton (PAE) are collaborating once again for our third annual alumni invitational, “Forever the Forest,” held during the 22nd Plein Air Easton Festival—the largest and most prestigious juried plein air painting competition in the country. Original studio works from PAE’s best-of-the-best previous award winners will feature autumn scenes of wildlife habitat, sustainably harvested tree farms, pocket forests, campsites, and even ESLC’s own Jim and Mary B. Lynch Preserve—a 200+ acre woodland open to the public in Caroline County. Each one of the towering loblolly pines, blazing cypress trees, and golden oaks illustrated in this competition is located in a woodland forever protected by ESLC in a perpetual conservation easement.
“When managed responsibly, these woodlands provide our region with clear air, clean water, biodiverse wildlife habitat, and essential economic benefits,” expressed ESLC President and CEO Steve Kline. “If you imagine what you love about the Eastern Shore, forests and open space might not be on the tip of your tongue, might not be the thing that you say. But that feeling you get when you come here, when your blood pressure goes down, the feeling you get when you take a scenic drive on one of our country roads, the feeling of community you get from this place, the quiet, the peacefulness—it starts right here in these forests.”
Forestry is the fifth largest manufacturing industry in Maryland, supporting 18,000 jobs and a $2.5 billion impact on our state economy. Wood from Maryland forests becomes lumber for homes. Our trees become furniture, paper, fuel for wood stoves, poles for fishermen’s pound nets, and even substrate for mushroom farms and animal bedding for poultry and livestock. Sustainably managed forests are integral to our landscape and fundamental to our history and culture, offering essential wildlife habitat and unparalleled outdoor recreation for biking, hiking, hunting, birding, and more.
ESLC has conserved more than 21,600 acres of forest since its founding in 1990. But the same amount of forest acreage it took 35 years to protect is now lost to other uses every year in the state of Maryland. Conservation of existing forests is essential. And original, human-made art is one of our most powerful tools for both documenting the success of ESLC’s forest conservation and advocating for continued forest stewardship throughout our local community and greater region. “Commissioned during the peak of autumn, these master painters have brilliantly captured the dramatic shift of the seasons,” reflects Plein Air Easton Coordinator Marie Nuthall. “Through their brushes, you will experience the deep, quiet majesty of the Eastern Shore’s woodlands draped in the warm colors of fall—reminding us all of the quiet beauty that gives way to winter, and offering a stunning contrast of rich autumn hues on display this July.”
Please join us to take a break from the heat as you browse this year’s vibrant collection of new paintings, immersing yourself in the shady dappled woodlands of the Eastern Shore and the cool air conditioning of Easton’s beloved historic Tidewater Inn located right in the center of the festival. Return to Forever the Forest throughout the festival for photography talks, meditative tea times hosted by For All Seasons, interactive community art projects, children’s art activities, and a screening of ESLC’s new mini documentary on healthy forest stewardship featuring ESLC President & CEO Steve Kline, Maryland Forestry Association President Beth Hill, NRCS Regional Wildlife Biologist Erin Baker, and Rick Abend of Abend Hafen Tree Farm. Throughout the ESLC exhibition, join docent, artist and educator, Anna Madachik as she provides hands on instruction and demonstrations showcasing how to use various mediums, supplies, and techniques.
Competition winners will be announced at the opening reception and awards ceremony, held on Thursday July 9th from 5—7 p.m. at the Tidewater Inn in downtown Easton.
The full exhibit will remain open to the public for the duration of the festival, from Thursday, July 9 through Sunday, July 19. To register for the opening reception, or to find more information about our new location at the Tidewater, exhibit hours, and additional programming, please visit ESLC’s website and the Plein Air Easton calendar:
https://www.eslc.org/event/forevertheforest/
https://pleinaireaston.com/events
ESLC is grateful for the generous support of Bruce Wiltse and Bill Davenport, for partnership with the Avalon Foundation and Plein Air Easton, for the conservation easement landowners and property managers who hosted this year’s on-site artists, and for the time and talent of this year’s painters and photographers, whose paintings and photographs will be for sale at the exhibition, some offering commission towards the mission of Eastern Shore Land Conservancy: to conserve, steward, and advocate for the unique rural landscape of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. #
Established in 1990, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy’s mission is to conserve, steward, and advocate for the unique rural landscape of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, forever a special place of diverse and abundant natural resources and thriving rural communities.
