About the artist

ALETA KARSTAD is an artist of the out of doors. With her husband, biologist Fred Schueler, she has been exploring and documenting nature in Canada for over 40 years. Since 2009, her blog has showcased the results of their art and exploration.

Here, science, art, and conservation come together. Aleta's paintings glow as you scroll through her online gallery and blog, and there are many surprises, as her subjects are not all landscapes! Equally enthralling are accounts of how she does them. Alongside the art are journals of adventures in on-site "en plein air" painting, and new discoveries of rare species, invasive aliens, and ecological change.

in 2018, Aleta's work is celebrated by the Canadian Wildlife Federation's Robert Bateman Award. Since 2010 she has been "Artist in Residence" at the New Brunswick Museum's BiotaNB surveys, resulting in a growing body of Karstad paintings in the museum's collection. Drawing artists together to paint outdoors to inspire and raise funds for wilderness protection is a passion for Aleta. She instigated, planned, and participated in artists' retreats with the Ottawa Valley chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society in 2017 and 2018, sparking locally the growing global movement of artists protecting natural areas. 

Aleta is a member of the international association of Artists For Conservation, and a lifetime member of her local artists guild, as well as being active on committees for wildlife conservation at South Nation Conservation and the Ottawa Field Naturalist Society. 

 Join in discussion by leaving comments on Aleta's blog of paintings and journals, and purchase Karstad paintings here to support art & science in the exploration of Canada.