I am so excited about what I am learning at White Buffalo Land Trust's Center for Regenerative Agriculture at Jalama Canyon Ranch during my artist residency. Be sure to visit their website and learn more. I will share bite size bits of information, as I have new experiences.

Cattle Round Up, Jalama Canyon Ranch Sketch Book, gouache by Holli Harmon

Recently, I learned about revitalizing our pasture land with responsible grazing methods. I saw Jalama Canyon ranch in action during a cattle round up with one of the White Buffalo partners, Richards Grassfed Beef. The cows were brought to graze the pastures over winter for just enough time to eat the tops of the grasses, leave a little fertilizer, and then move on. With a watchful eye and management, the cows become partners in regenerating the soil to hold more water and carbon. This method heals the pastures and riparian zones from over grazing. It’s actually thrilling to see a regenerative circle that includes land, animals, and humans that heals our planet.

“It’s not the cow, it’s the HOW...”

— Bobby Gill - Savory Institute

Regenerative farming is one of the best ways we can heal the earth and slow global warming. This concept gives me a lot of hope. Two short documentaries that are both beautiful and educational are Kiss the Ground on Netflix and Biggest Little Farm on Amazon Prime.

I hope you enjoy the journey and follow along. And share the message with your friends and family. We all can be part of the solution!

Find My Work

As we circle around to our fall season, we arrive at Indigenous People’s Day on October 11th. I have learned so much from our native Chumash Bands. They have opened my heart and mind to learning more about all Indigenous populations and they continue to inspire my work.

To be native to a place we must learn to speak its language."
- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom

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California On My Mind

A show of vintage and contemporary paintings, drawings, and prints that celebrate the history and the mythology of the Golden State.

Sullivan Goss

October 1- November 22, 2021

RECEPTION: 1ST THURSDAY, OCT 7TH | 5-8pm

Before They Came is from my Califia Series and is now on view at Sullivan Goss.

Before They Came, 48x48 oil and cold wax on wood panel rimmed with copper. By Holli Harmon

The bright bold colors invite you into a lush forest scene. The figures hidden within remind you that our State’s native population and Grizzly bears were devastated by the influx of Europeans and the Gold Rush of 1848.

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The Lone Woman

aka Juana Maria or Karana in The Island of the Blue Dolphins

I think she is one of the most significant women in our nation’s history. She lived for over 18 years by herself on San Nicolas Island. When she left the island, she only lived for 7 weeks in Santa Barbara before she died. Her story is a significant portal into our California Indiginous Peoples history starting in public schools 4th grade curriculum, where they read The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. Read more here…

This painting was created for the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum using descriptions of people who had seen The Lone Woman first hand in 1853. You can see it at the Chumash Hall at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. The larger mural was just finished for the new Chrisman California Island Center in Carpinteria, CA. You can see the canvas in my studio and then installed into the new space in Carpinteria. The diorama isn’t complete yet. They hope to open sometime soon in 2022.

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Portraits of the Central Coast

Our regional Chumash continue to inspire and inform my work. I did these paintings for my Portraits of the Central Coast project. I have included links so that you can hear and read their stories first hand and learn about what inspired their portraits. Just click on their image or name.

Ernestine DeSoto Kathleen Marshall Mike Lopez