Kendra Larson, Night Garden, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 24 in

Kendra Larson is a Portland-based artist whose work focuses on the ephemerality of Pacific Northwest landscapes and the evolving relationship between people and the natural world. Her paintings engage historical ideas of landscape while subtly addressing environmental awareness and contemporary ecological connection.

Larson's recent work explores the hidden life of forests, drawing on research from authors such as Peter Wohlleben and Suzanne Simard. These influences inform her interest in trees as communicative, intelligent systems, where interconnection and resilience mirror human experience. Working in color-rich, atmospheric compositions, she transforms real places and trees into expressive fields of emotion and perception.

Deeply rooted in the Pacific Northwest, Larson's practice continues the lineage of the Northwest Mystics and the Group of Seven, treating landscape as a site of spiritual inquiry and psychological reflection. Her paintings merge ecological awareness with elements of magical realism, inviting viewers to experience the forest as both sanctuary and mirror, and to reconsider their relationship with the natural world through wonder, empathy, and care.