Weeks 106-107: Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Artist Residency, Part 1
It's so beautiful here!
June 2-14, 2026
Hello, hello, and welcome back to another update! I started my artist residency at Cascade Siskiyou National Monument (CSNM) in Southern Oregon on June 1st and I’ve been having an amazing time so far. It’s just so beautiful here! A bit about the monument, from the BLM website:
The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is situated at the crossroads of the Cascade, Klamath, and Siskiyou mountain ranges, and represents an outstanding ecological wonderland. This convergence of three geologically distinct mountain ranges has resulted in an area with unparalleled biological diversity and a tremendously varied landscape. The Monument was established in 2000 in recognition of its remarkable ecology and to protect its diverse range of biological, geological, aquatic, archaeological, and historic resources.
I can confirm that it really is biologically diverse — it’s been pretty amazing, especially for a plant/tree/bird/butterfly/geology nerd like me!
This is a camping residency at Hyatt Lake Recreation Area in the northern corner of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and I’ve been going to see the lake once or twice a day.
What is an Artist-in-Residence (AiR)?
Backing up a bit, I’ve had several people ask me what an artist residency actually is, so here’s a quick summary:
There are many different types of artist residencies. In general, they are “programs that provide artists with space and resources to support their artistic practice” (Wikipedia).
I’ll just describe the types I like to do: artist residencies on public lands (national parks and preserves, national forests, national monuments, BLM land, etc.) where art promotes nature, public land, and conservation. (Those are some handy links to places to look for calls for artists.)
It starts out by applying to calls for artists at participating parks, monuments, and forests. Most residencies accept writers, musicians, dancers, film makers, quilting/fiber artists, potters, photographers, and of course, painters, so no matter what you work in there’s a residency out there for you. This was the call from the 2026 CSNM program and if you’re thinking about doing an artist residency I highly recommend watching for next year’s call for applications!
If you’re selected to be the AiR, you generally have to give one or more public outreach program(s) and donate one piece of artwork.
Lodging is different at every residency. Some use park housing, shared lodging, a cabin or house, or can even be a camping residency - or no lodging at all. This one is a camping residency with a travel trailer provided — I’m currently using it as my art studio since we have the van. It’s been great to have a place to spread out my work!
That’s it in a nutshell. Be sure to check the application for any specifics. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below and I’m happy to help. This is my fifth artist residency and they’ve all been so rewarding — I highly encourage you to apply for one if you’re thinking about it.
Here are some highlights from my time at CSNM so far — I still have a week left in my residency, and we’re thinking of staying a while longer, too!
Kayaking at Lake Hyatt
We have use of a kayak while we’re here and so far I’ve been out on Lake Hyatt twice, once with just Jason and I and again for a group event. Both times I took a small art kit out with me.
My favorite part is when you round a corner and see Mount McLoughlin, a dormant stratovolcano in the Cascades:
I later learned that Mount McLoughlin is usually still covered in snow this time of year — that would have been spectacular to see. This was a low snowpack year and things are really dry. The rangers and locals have told me that they’re worried about wildfires, so we’ve been keeping watch.
The first time I went kayaking wasn’t sure what to expect, so I took a water soluble pen and did some sketches:
The second kayaking trip was through an event co-hosted by the BLM and Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and there was a great turnout. We saw bald eagles, ospreys, pelicans, the moon, and more!
We had a cold start to the morning — it was in the low 40’s and the wind off the lake was bracing! But it was worth it to see Mount McLoughlin. For the open paddle part of the event I did a quick sketch with my Art Toolkit demi palette clipped to my paper — I should have taken a photo of it, darn!
There was a cloud shaped like a lightning bolt that looked like it was about to hit the mountain. It was so cool! I have a work in progress of a larger painting based on these sketches — I’ll post it when it’s done.
Pen and Ink Sketches
As I get to know CSNM I’ve been doing some pen and ink sketches using a Pentel brush pen since it’s fast and simple. Here are two favorites:
On the left is a new-to-me plant called thimbleberry which produces raspberry-like fruit, and on the right I went out of my comfort zone and sketched a pickup truck, documenting the day the rangers planted trees around the campground. Find videos of these sketches here and here on Instagram.
Hobart Bluff
Friday and Saturday the Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument had a Hike and Learn event with local artist Sarah F. Burns so I signed up and went — it was really fun and a great opportunity to meet local artists, including Elizabeth, who recognized me by my voice from my Instagram videos at the Friday talk! (Hi, Elizabeth!)
Paintout
Saturday we met at Hobart Bluffs and hiked a tiny bit of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) until we came to this view of Pilot Rock — whoa!
I had accidentally left most of my art supplies back at the “art studio” in camp so I made do with what I had left in the van and did some pen & ink sketches plus some small studies. In this photo of all of participant’s art, mine are the pen and ink sketch and the two watercolors on the board next to it.
It was so cool to see how even though we were all looking at the same thing we all created something different. Thanks to Sarah and the Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou for a great event.
Spectacular Sunset
After the event was over Jason and I went back so I could show him all the wildflowers and a gnarly juniper.
We decided to stay for sunset — and I’m so glad that we did!
Wow. Just wow.
The Soda Mountain Wilderness is such a special part of CSNM.
Project MARIPOSA Event
As part of my residency I joined CSNM rangers to co-host a Hike and Learn at the Project MARIPOSA kickoff, an effort to document rare and invasive plants on the monument in two sessions.
For the first session on Friday, June 12th, I gave a presentation on field sketching and shared my work to-date at the Ashland Food Co-op Community Classroom. Then on Saturday we went out and had the best time IDing plants and sketching. I gave a demo on how to use a water brush and gave some basic watercolor tips and techniques, and then we all split up and sketched on our own.
Here are some of us sketching Mount Shasta, in California:
I put together a video so that you come on a virtual trip with us:
Here are some more photos from the day:
What a great hike with a great group of people! Thanks again to everyone who came out, and to the BLM for all you do for this special place. It was an absolute joy to share my love of field sketching and watercolor — and what a location to share it in!
I forgot to get a final headcount, but all 12 of my Art Toolkit teaching palettes were in use. (PS. You can use code LISAFAN10 at Art Toolkit for 10% off palettes and toolkits and I’ll receive a small commission at no cost to you.)
I also didn’t get a group photo of everyone’s sketches — only a video — so if you attended and happened to get one please send it my way — I’d love to see!
Pilot Rock Hike
Pilot Rock is a volcanic plug or neck, like Shiprock in New Mexico and Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, and it has the same cool formations. We went back the next day to hike to the top…
…and we almost made it to the top — photo below in the upper right — but I didn’t feel safe continuing on, darn! Jason probably could have made it fine, but I would have been a wreck waiting for him and I wouldn’t be able to help him if he got in trouble so we had a snack and then headed back down.
We did get to see lots of cool plants, including columbines and a honeysuckle, plus awesome views:
Then we hiked over to the meadow where we had the event the day before, and further on to get better views of Mount Shasta:
We had a snack under a juniper and just soaked in the view. So peaceful.
Then on the way back to the trailhead we stopped for a view of Mount McLoughlin (on the left):
I’ll leave you with a sunrise photo from June 16th at 5:15 am — you can’t see them in the photo, but there were turkeys up in the trees calling to each other:
I’ll be back next week with more from my Cascade-Siskiyou artist residency — and more great hikes!
See you then! — Lisa, Jason, and Henry-the-Van
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing so much Lisa! Looks absolutely beautiful. One of these days, I’m definitely applying for an artist in residence program! Maybe once my son heads off to college… not long now, *sniff* —your info is so helpful!!
What beautiful experiences! And so many WOWS too! 🤩