September is a beautiful month here at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute and there's lots to do! It's the last full month of our current exhibitions: Art that Matters to the Planet: Interconnectivity and Joseph Grice: Taking Flight, which close October 8, 2023.

Or come walk our trails through the nature preserve, see what the participating artists create during the Plein Air Festival at the "Wet Paint" sale September 16, or or visit us for Art After 5 on September 29.

We look forward to seeing you!

Catherine Lawton, Roots (Cassadaga Lakes Nature Park), oil on canvas © Catherine Lawton, 2022

RTPI Plein Air Festival

Our second annual Plein Air Festival is a two-day, open enrollment, plein air painting event Thursday, September 14 and Friday, September 15, 2023.

Discover the beautiful natural scenery of Western New York that inspired a young Roger Tory Peterson. Locations will include the Roger Tory Peterson Institute nature preserve, the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Audubon Community Nature Center, the downtown Jamestown Riverwalk, and Johnson Estate Winery.

Or, stop by to view the artists' completed works at the “Wet Paint” sale on Saturday September 16 from noon to 5 pm. All art work submitted to the show will also be considered for an exhibition of plein air paintings at RTPI, to be held in the Fall of 2023 through Spring of 2024. For more info, visit rtpi.org.

Art that Matters to the Planet: Interconnectivity

RTPI, Bird Watchers Digest and an Artist in Residence

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute is a proud partner of Bird Watcher's Digest (BWD). BWD is the oldest and largest birding magazine in the United States. Roger was instrumental during BWD's early years as both a writer and an artist and his art graced numerous covers, including its 10th-anniversary edition.

Both RTPI and BWD are committed to art as a powerful lens through which to illuminate the beauty and wonder of birds. BWD is committed to featuring original artwork on the cover of each issue of its magazine. Standing on the shoulders of Roger, Charley Harper, and others are the next generation of nature artists. Among them is Alex Warnick, whose watercolor of a tricolored heron was featured on the September/October 2022 cover of BWD. 

Last year, Alex was RTPI’s inaugural artist-in-residence. Like Roger, Alex was born in Jamestown, New York. She likewise fell in love with birds at an early age: “My interest in birds began as a little girl watching my brother draw a cardinal from the cover of an old Peterson Guide. In elementary school I would draw birds on poster board, write reports to accompany them, and even create meticulous mobiles of the undersides of hawks to hang above my bed.”

Like Roger, Alex studied art and has made a career of painting birds. A graduate of Brigham Young University-Idaho with a BA in integrated studio art, Alex was the 2016 recipient of the Eckelberry Endowment from the Academy of Natural Sciences by Drexel University. In addition to BWD, Alex’s artwork has been featured on the cover of Birder’s Guide, published by the American Birding Association, and in the pages of Audubon Magazine.

During her artist-in-residence week at RTPI, Alex enjoyed full access to the Peterson Collection, the world’s largest collection of Roger’s original artwork, films, photographs, and papers. “This residency,” Alex shared, “is going to influence my work throughout the rest of my career.”

Did you know that when you become a Sustaining Member of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, you also receive a year-long subscription to Bird Watcher's Digest? For more information or to become a Sustaining Member, Support Art that Matters to the Planet.

Know a friend that might be interested in what's going on at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute? Please consider sharing our newsletter with them. If you don't currently receive our newsletter, please sign up here. Thank you!