Art and nature have long been the twin passions in Loren Eakins’ life.
And it is his work as a professionally trained biologist that has had a major impact on his painting.
“The biology piece has kind of led me toward land conservation,” he said. “Creating paintings of wilderness areas and public land is a way of conserving them, as well as communicating the value of those places to other people by creating a nice piece of ornamentation for our world.”
Indeed, much of Eakins’ work has been created during his time monitoring the quota of fishing boats in Dutch Harbor, Alaska (part of the Aleutian Island chain) or surveying for sensitive species near his home in Colorado.
That includes the 26 paintings and two sketchbooks now on display through Oct. 19 at the College of Saint Benedict’s Gorecki Gallery as part of an exhibition entitled “Communication Through Observation.”
An artist talk with Eakins is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 5) in the Gorecki Gallery (located in the Benedicta Arts Center) as part of a gallery reception that runs from 5 to 7 p.m.
“Almost all of them were done on location on public lands – largely federal land,” said Eakins, who earned an art degree from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and a biology degree from Colorado Mesa University.
“Some were on native lands that have public access in Alaska, but all of them have some sort of method of conservation.”
CSB and SJU Gallery Manager Becky Pflueger said Eakins’ unique background is part of why she wanted to bring his work to campus.
“Loren brings a way of looking at the world that is very different from other artists that have shown in the galleries recently,” Pflueger said. “He’s also a natural teacher and is very open about his process. He would be the first to say that he has worked hard to gain the skills to create the art he is presenting in the show. Skills that have been developed by many hours of practice.
“At first, I was shocked by how many paintings Loren said he made in a year. I think it was over 100 last year alone. But watching him this week, he takes his easel almost everywhere and is always looking for new subjects to paint.”
Eakins hopes his work helps provide viewers with a new appreciation for the natural world and the need to preserve it, as well as a sense of calm he feels is badly needed in today’s society.
“A lot of us spend a lot of time inside and at computers,” he said. “Anxiety and ADHD seem to affect a lot of us a well. And many of those impulses are calmed when we’re outside. It’s a healthy environment for our minds, so bringing a little piece of that into my work I think is helpful.”
