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This session explores how we can teach drawing and painting from nature in ways that connect students to the land not just as scenery, but as a living system full of intelligence, history, and meaning. We’ll look at contemporary approaches to landscape art that are informed by new scientific understandings of plant behavior and consciousness, as well as Indigenous perspectives that recognize the land as a teacher, relative, and living presence.

Drawing and painting from nature have long been part of the art school tradition, yet in many classrooms, this practice is still taught in isolation from urgent ecological, cultural, and ethical questions. How can we encourage students to look more deeply—not just at, but into—the natural world? How can we help them move beyond representation to relationship?

This session invites artists and educators to share approaches that engage:

• Scientific perspectives on plant intelligence, communication, and ecological interdependence
• Indigenous knowledge systems that see land as animate and wise, and that prioritize listening and reciprocity
• Contemporary artistic practices that challenge the human-centered gaze and seek new ways of seeing and being with nature

We welcome examples from the classroom, field-based experiences, collaborative projects, and community-engaged art. The goal is to offer practical ideas and open up a conversation about how teaching landscape art can cultivate attention, humility, and care.