Margaret Niven

As soon as I was old enough to venture out on my own, maybe twelve, I’d take the family dog and walk for hours in the open space preserve near our Oakland family home. About the same time, I began to make art. Both activities have remained at the center of my life.

My new work follows a trajectory, a path I have been on for quite a while now– walking in our local open spaces and photographing trees. Upon returning to my studio, I make paintings and prints from my photographs. Most days, almost all days year round, I can walk in dry weather. In spring our landscape is lovely and green, in summer, dry as a bone and in fall, we anticipate fire with our “go bags” packed and ready. I print trees in the colors of these seasons.

After earning my MFA from UC Berkeley in 1982, I moved to Santa Cruz. Now I live and paint in Scotts Valley and make prints as a member at the studio of The Printmakers At The Tannery (PATT). I teach art at West Valley College and Monterey Peninsula College and I serve on the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission