"Conservation through Appreciation" is the tagline of Karen Talbot Art, but it goes a lot deeper than a line of copy on her business cards. Talbot believes in giving back to the species and landscapes from which she draws her inspiration. "Often it's no more or no less than having a conversation with a person who stops to look at my work at an art show," says Karen. "They may not have known, for example, that the golden trout that caught their eye is the California state freshwater fish and that it now only exists in 10 percent of its native habitat due, in large part, to habitat destruction and invasive species. If this inspires that person to think in a new way about conservation, I feel like I have accomplished much of what I set out to achieve through my art."

Karen has worked with well-known conservation and advocacy programs such as Trout Unlimited, the National Resources Defence Council, Natural Resources Council of Maine and others. She particularly enjoys working directly with local conservation organizations that directly benefit the wildlands and species closest to her home and studio. For example, in 2016, Talbot was commissioned to create a piece of artwork to commemorate the completion of the Howland Dam Bypass on the Penobscot River in Maine. The finished piece, a 24"x48" spawning male Atlantic salmon, celebrates the bypass itself, as well as the coalition of organizations that made the bypass possible.

Karen frequently teaches scientific illustration classes and workshops out of her own Gallery in Rockland, Maine, at institutions such as the Pratt Institute and the Farnsworth Art Museum, and at local elemntary and secondary schools. To inquire about scheduling Karen for a scientific ilustration workshop, contact her directly at Karen@KarenTalbotArt.com.

"Working with programs such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch and the Ocean Institute's Girls in Ocean Science Teen Conference, as well as many other conservation-minded programs to which I have donated artwork or portions of my proceeds over the years, I have an opportunity to extend the conversation about conservation and sustainability to a wider audience, while also introducing my clients to these invaluable programs."