Inspired Art and the Story at Bovine Beach
New mini-documentary follows artist Sarah Burns’ six-year plein-air journey painting the ecological restoration of Latgawa Creek
Inspired Art: Seasons of Vesper Meadow Public Film Debut: January 24, 2026 • 1:00 PM • Talent Maker City, Talent, Oregon
A few years ago I was looking for a good place to bring students for landscape painting classes. I was also looking for fresh inspiration for myself as an artist. I wanted to start a series of paintings that I could work on year after year. I had been doing a lot of plein air painting in town, and now I craved more nature and solitude.
That’s when I learned about a newly formed land restoration preserve called Vesper Meadow. I discovered this remarkable place soon after it was established. In the spring of 2019, I met Jeanine Moy, Vesper Meadow’s cofounder and director. She invited me to visit and take a hike with her to learn about the meadow and its programs. Six years later, I have now established a close relationship with the place, creating art pieces each year for the “Bovine Beach” series and hosting artists meet ups and classes to share the inspiration of the place and the community-powered work happening there.
Rogue Valley, OR — The Vesper Meadow Education Program will debut Inspired Art: Seasons of Vesper Meadow, a new short documentary film chronicling artist Sarah Burns’ ongoing commitment to painting the transformation of Latgawa Creek and the surrounding meadow ecosystem as it undergoes ecological and community-powered restoration. The film is now available on YouTube and the Vesper Meadow website. The painting series and public premiere of the film will take place Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 1:00 PM at Talent Maker City, part of the Art for What Comes Next, a multiple artist showcase and community event.
Through a series of plein-air oil paintings created each year from the same spot along Latgawa Creek, Burns captured the seasonal shifts related to the beaver-based restoration at the Vesper Meadow Restoration Preserve. Her work documents not only the visual beauty of the site, but the story of ecological healing and community collaboration behind it.
Sarah Burns reflects on her experience, “I imagined it would take many years to notice much difference, but I was quickly surprised to see changes – from the restoration work and in the climate from year to year. This place has changed me so much, I have brought dozens of students and other artists here so they too can experience a relationship with this place. My hope for this work is for people to be inspired to grow deeper relationships with their favorite places.”
Sarah walks us through her Bovine Beach series so far:
2019 – a wet year. It is very green for July and here you can see the creek is open, lots of exposed soil and water. There are no willow growing in this part of the creek.
2020 – this is the same curve, but there are some yarrow blooming! Yarrow is a native plant that pollinators love and has medicinal uses for humans. Notice it’s a bit drier, and there are a few more grasses growing in the water.
2021 - a VERY dry year. The worst drought in a long time. The meadow is already dry and there is smoke in the air from a wildfire in the region. Very little water flows in the creek, and you can see grass is growing through the whole creek bed.
2022 – To show Bovine Beach in context with the meadow, I made a larger painting. Plants growing in the creek are getting a bit taller. The banks are changing too, with the creek getting shallower instead of steep edges. This means there is more opportunity for gentle flooding of the meadow, if there is ever enough water.
2023 – This year marks a significant change! Log structures have been added to the creek to mimic beaver dams. They do an incredible job slowing the water flow, creating pools and allowing willows to take better hold and thrive. In fact, this year you can see willows starting to come back to Bovine Beach. The water level finally reaches the meadow surface for the first time in a very long time.
2024 – I painted this in the evening, turning slightly to the southwest to focus on the willows. It was very hot, so I painted as the sun was getting low in the sky, and the colors were golden and beautiful, and when I look at this painting I can hear sound of the redwing blackbird and the bubbling creek. This truly filled my soul with joy and peace. Honestly, it’s SO important to make time to be outdoors in nature.
restoration and science through the eyes of artists
“Sarah Burns is an excellent artist, not only for creating beautiful work, but for cultivating meaningful relationships with her subjects and the community she is embedded within. The influence of great artists is to reach wide audiences with messages that deeply touch people’s minds and hearts. For the work we do at Vesper Meadow, we are thankful to artists who are helping share the story of community powered restoration/ mutual human-land healing to others far and wide.” - Jeanine Moy, Vesper Meadow Education Program Director
Sarah Burn’s ‘painting point’ is an artistic take on a restoration monitoring ‘photo point’ in which repeated photos from the exact same location are captured over time and reflect changes to the landscape - as this photopoint series from Vesper Meadow illustrates the ongoing creek restoration between 2018 and 2025.
Program Launch: “Vision of a New Era: Art for What Comes Next”
The film release marks the beginning of a new initiative at Vesper Meadow: Vision of a New Era: Art for What Comes Next, a program designed to deepen partnerships with artists as thought-leaders, cultural translators, and community connectors in restoration work. The program will:
Invite artists to co-create with scientists, educators, Indigenous leaders, youth, and volunteers
Support public-facing artworks that activate imagination and collective responsibility
Use art to bridge ecological knowledge and cultural healing
Host workshops, installations, and creative community events at Vesper Meadow and beyond
“We collaborate with artists and highlight their work as thought leaders and agents of social change. As people who think out of the box and creatively share messages, they have the ability to illustrate new possibilities and influence societal change. During times of collective uncertainty, we search for new visions of what comes next. When artists are deeply embedded in broad social networks and inspired to share meaningful messages, they will serve as guiding beacons for a brighter future.” - Jeanine Moy, Vesper Meadow Education Program Director
Launch Event Details
Art for What Comes Next: an artist showcase and community visioning workshop
Saturday, January 24, 2026 • 1:00 PM
Talent Maker City • 304 E. Main St., Talent, OR
Free and open to the public
The event will include:
Film screenings of Inspired Art: Seasons at Vesper Meadow and short dance-infused mini-doc by Kelly Ashton Todd
Q&A with artists Sarah Burns, Gabriel Barrera, Kelly Ashton Todd
Display of original paintings from the Latgawa Creek series
Community art projects and discussion
Light refreshments and more info on how to get involved with Vesper Meadow’s ecological and cultural programming
About the Artist
Sarah Burns: I am pleased to share this series of paintings with you and I intend to return to Vesper Meadow each July to paint Bovine Beach as long as I am able. I have brought dozens of students and other artists here so they too can experience a relationship with this place has changed me so much. Since 2019 when I first came to Vesper Meadow, I’ve continued learning about natural ecosystems and native plants. I also converted my suburban lawn and property into mostly native plants. As a result of my relationship with Vesper Meadow, I discovered how easy it is to garden with native plants and now obsessed with it.
I hope these paintings give you a sense of this place I have grown to love and inspire within you a desire for deeper relationships with your favorite places.
Sarah F. Burns is a plein-air landscape artist based in Southern Oregon. Her work reflects a deep commitment to observing and honoring the natural world through direct immersion in place. She has documented landscapes throughout the Pacific Northwest and teaches workshops integrating art, ecology, and field-based observation. https://sarahfburns.com @sarahfburns on instagram
About Vesper Meadow Education Program
Vesper Meadow is a community-powered restoration site in the Cascade-Siskiyou region of Southern Oregon, dedicated to biocultural restoration, community and Indigenous partnerships, scientific monitoring and research, and place-based education. The program brings together scientists, artists, students, cultural practitioners, and volunteers to restore land and relationships through hands-on stewardship and shared learning. vespermeadow.org
Pictures, images of paintings and more information available. Contact Jeanine Moy at jeanine@vespermeadow.org or 914 830 1950