Hello, friends! Hi, fam! Welcome back to another update. This week I wrapped up my artist residency at Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Southern Oregon — more on that below — but first, some news!
I’m super excited to share that my triad collaboration with Art Toolkit just went to the next level with the introduction of the Large Triad Template! Woo hoo! Longtime readers may remember when the Small Triad Template was released back in the spring of 2024 — right after we started traveling full time — two dreams coming true.
Here’s a photo of the Large and Small Triad Templates together for comparison:
The coolest thing? You can stack the two triads to create more swatching areas!
Art Toolkit has given me a code to share with you: use code LISAFAN10 to get 10% off Triad Templates, Art Toolkits, palettes and pans. I’ll receive a commission at no charge to you. Thank you so much for your support, and please feel free to pass the code to friends and family who need more art in their lives!
I have a blog post over on the Art Toolkit blog with tips and triad ideas for you — and I can’t wait to share more in the coming days.
In more art news, I’m over the moon to be one of 30 teachers at the annual Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference, Sept. 15-19, 2026, Live Online! All passes include access to the event recordings through April 30, 2027.
This is a full circle moment for me as I’ve attended every online Wild Wonder conference — and now I get to teach alongside my art heroes and friends. I’ve learned so much at these conferences and can’t recommend them enough. Plus they’re so much FUN!
My class will be “Paint me a River…of Stars”, all about painting the night sky — including the Milky Way. I can’t wait!
Hope to see you there.
This week I wrapped up my artist residency at Hyatt Lake in Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (CSNM) in Southern Oregon. I was missing the Monument before I even left, and we’re already making plans to return. (Catch up on Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 if you missed them.)
Thinking about applying for a residency here at CSNM? Watch this space on the BLM website and apply next year. Let me know if you have any questions about what a residency involves — I’m always happy to help!
We just had to go on one last hike before we left — and we made it a good one. We started right from camp and hiked out to pick up the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), then dropped down along the lakeshore for a 4 mile hike. It was in the 90s and the air was hazy with smoke but we didn’t let that stop us!
I did one last quick sketch, too:
Find a video of my sketch spot and more photos and videos from the PCT hike here on Instagram. (Instagram embeds seem to have stopped working — hope they fix it soon!)
I’ve been following several PCT hikers on Instagram and it will be pretty cool to see when they go through the area, especially Kevin Gleason - check out his recent paintings in his video below:
He’s been doing daily (!) gouache paintings on the trail and they are amazing! This is his second sketchbook.
This was a camping residency and we stayed at Hyatt Lake Recreation Area as well as several weeks of dispersed camping. Part of me was ready to head on down the road, but part of me was sad to leave. I took several walks around the campground and said goodbye to my plant friends, as well as the lake.
Our last sunset was hazy with patchy smoke from the wildfires in the region:
You can see how much lower the water level is now by looking at the peninsula:
The next morning we got one last luxury shower at the shower house, and we learned that we probably got the last showers here of the year. Turns out there’s a leak in the water line and they shut off the water shortly after we finished, and they’re closing C Loop of the campground for repairs.
After we left Hyatt Lake we headed to the Interagency Field Office in Medford, Oregon so that I could drop off the pieces that I’m donating to the Monument.
I always feel a little anxious dropping off my work — what if people don’t like it? I didn’t have to worry though, as the employees working at the front desk all really loved the paintings.
I also received a VIP — Volunteer In Parks — America the Beautiful Pass! The pass allows free entry for one year, and you can get one by logging 250 volunteer hours across participating US government agencies. I also found out that you don’t have to complete all of the hours in a single year.
One other thing I learned about America the Beautiful passes is that fourth graders, Gold Star Family members, and veterans get them for free (and can bring their families)! Find out more here. Pass it on!
When we got back on the road and there was so much more smoke in the valley — it was kind of eerie:
After dropping off my artwork at the Medford, OR field office we headed to the Surveyor Recreation Area, in the eastern part of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument to stay for a few days. One of the BLM rangers told us this area had BIG trees, so we really wanted to check it out before we left the area.
He was right!
There are only five, first come-first-serve campsites here and it was nice to take a few days to unwind and reset.
We’re getting back on the road today and heading to Crater Lake National Park — I can’t wait! I’ve always wanted to go there. I keep checking the webcam and it looks so beautiful.
See you next time! As always, thanks for joining us on our grand adVANture — it really means so much to have you along for the ride! — Lisa, Jason, and Henry the Van
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