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Artist Paula Fong works on an art piece filled with leaves that was inspired by the heavy snowfall in January. (Jamie Lusch for the Rogue Valley Times)

Paula Fong works at her home studio near Talent on Tuesday.
(Photo by Jamie Lusch)

Paula Fong at her homen studio near Talent on Tuesday.
(Photo by Jamie Lusch)

Fong’s paintings display many sides of nature, such as this carnivorous plant. (Jamie Lusch for the Rogue Valley Times)

For visual artist Paula Fong, painting the innate beauty of the natural world from her mountaintop studio is her happy place. 

Situated in the mountains between Talent and Ashland, Fong utilizes her background in forest ecology and soil science to create artworks of nature with a keen attention to realism, often painting plants or animals she’s observed on her travels or picturesque settings she’s seen.

“I love looking at water, so I look for ways in which to celebrate it artistically, and I love dead wood and other things,” Fong said of the natural world inspiring her. “Through recreation and my career I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time out there in different places … I suppose that’s because that’s where I wanted to be.”

The artist’s cozy cabin studio — at 2,800 feet in elevation — is filled with numerous paintings, sketches and other works ranging from a series on carnivorous plants to small-scale cards of local flowers. 

Whether it’s dynamic, close-up paintings of fungi or large pieces depicting a natural landscape, Fong covers many sides of the flora and fauna that make up this planet. 

Fong has been making art since she was little, but her career change from science to art didn’t happen until later in life. 

“Mostly it was a hobby I enjoyed doing, but when I got to college I pretty much focused on the sciences,” she said. “I assumed art would always be a hobby and I pursued my science education.” 

Earning a master’s degree of science, forest ecology and soil science from Oregon State University, Fong worked primarily as a soil scientist and ecologist for the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service. 

“I started my science career circumnavigating Oregon,” she said. 

Her work brought her all around the state to spots such as the Willamette National Forest, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and more. 

Fong’s work involved analyzing different environments for management plans, wildfires, soil erosion and more, leaving her well-acquainted with the colors and textures of the natural world. 

“At one point I collaborated with a botanist and we created this poster … this was where my initial science-art career began,” she said. “I worked in the field of ecology and my head was really about habitats, so my initial paintings were habitat themed.”

As she continued both passions, Fong eventually decided to pursue her art full time after 12 years in science.

“I quit my day job, I stopped working for the forest service; I did contract work then after that with my artwork, but not as a scientist,” Fong said.

She’s found a way to combine her two main passions, bringing her own artistic flair while centering on realism-based art. 

“My artistic interest paralleled my scientific interest … at this point I’m producing more illustrations that pick out one aspect of the environment and hold it up for inspection,” Fong said. “I wanted to celebrate the artistry of nature, but on a more visceral, more intimate level.”

“I’m really a scientist doing art work,” she added. 

Fong’s artistic process starts with inspiration from being in the natural world, deciding on a setting or particular environmental aspect to hone in on and then making that her own.

“I’m combining my experience on the river, getting an idea, figuring out what components of the environment I want to celebrate and putting it together in my own way,” she said, referencing a painting she made after a rafting trip on the Smith River. 

The majority of her art utilizes watercolor or pen and ink. Sometimes she uses a combination of both as well as other materials. 

“I would like to think that I can produce a piece of art that is appreciated initially by virtue of its beauty, its design quality and colors and textures and shapes, then subsequently you go, ‘oh that’s the plant or the fish I’ve seen before,’” Fong said of her art depicting local plants, animals and landscapes. “I find inspiration almost everywhere I look.”

Fong is a member of The Talent Gallery and is set to showcase her art throughout the year such as at an exhibit at the Collaborative Theatre Project in May, the Yreka Wildflower Festival and more.

“It’s a good opportunity to get the artwork down on a lower elevation level,” Fong joked. To learn more about Fong and see her artworks, visit prfong.com.

Reach reporter James Sloan at [email protected].