Oil on linen, painted on site at Uplands Park during the camas bloom this spring. I have returned to this meadow to paint this old Oak many times over the years. It’s different every time but also the same like catching up with an old friend. My friendship with this Oak actually began 15 years ago when I worked with a seasonal habitat restoration crew removing invasive species like Scotch Broom, Daphne, Ivy, Gorse, Holly and English Hawthorne. It was while toiling in these endangered Garry Oak ecosystems, trying to return them to their ‘natural’ state that I learned that humans have always been a part of this ecosystem. The Lekwungen Speaking Peoples cultivated these meadows for thousands of years for medicinal plants and food. The purple camas bulb was an important food source and it was traded widely. Humans are nature.

Jeremy Herndl

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Canadian painter focusing on the human relationship to place. Jeremy Herndl was born in Surrey, BC and has lived across Canada and abroad. He earned his BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art in Design in 1996 and his MAA in Painting at Emily Carr University in 2011. Selected Solo Exhibitions include Madrona Gallery, Victoria, BC, Winchester Gallery, Victoria, BC, and Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON. Jeremy has taught courses and workshops for seven years including, Emily Carr University, The Vancouver Island School of Art, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, The Metchosin In- ternational Summer School of the Arts, The Yukon School of Visual Arts and The University of Victoria.