Since 1984, the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County has permanently protected more than 68,000 acres of SLO County land. Since 1993, SLOPE—San Luis Outdoor Painters for the Environment—has supported those efforts by creating stunning plein air paintings, selling them, and donating a portion of their sales to the nonprofit land trust to continue its essential work.
This Friday and Saturday, Aug. 7 and 8, SLOPE’s annual Colors of Conservation show returns to the Octagon Barn Center to raise more money. It’s the “largest collection of original landscape art of open spaces, ranches, and preserves conserved by the Land Conservancy of SLO County,” organizers announced. Last year, the fundraiser brought in more than $10,000.
Buy art, preserve open space
Colors of Conservation returns to the Octagon Barn Center, 4400 Octagon Way in SLO, to raise funds for the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County Aug. 7 (5 to 8 p.m.) and Aug. 8 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
The artists of SLOPE (San Luis Outdoor Painters for the Environment) contribute a portion of their sales to preserve open spaces.
Colors of Conservation connects art and nature lovers with artists who also love nature—a perfect match.
“This one event is a rare and great opportunity for anyone that loves the great outdoors or loves art or both to see a sizable collection of artwork that depicts local lands and properties under a Land Conservancy agreement,” SLOPE artist Joe McFadden said. “There’re between 75 and 80 original paintings and prints for sale. Fourteen artists will be there, so [attendees] get to meet the artists.
“But more importantly, they get to own a piece of fine art, and at same time support the Land Conservancy. This one event has become quite an opportunity for people to enjoy art and the outdoors.”
McFadden moved to SLO County about five years ago after a Bay Area career in creating tech startups. He always had an interest in painting, and when he moved here, he connected with some of the SLOPE painters.
“It seemed a natural fit, and they thought it was good fit as well, so they asked me to join the group,” he explained. “I had painted on weekends, self-taught, with a busy work schedule, but I always thought that I could develop the skill.”
A look at his website, fromreallife.com, shows just how proficient McFadden has become. SLOPE also fulfills another of his passions.
“I think this is true for all the members. At our core, we just feel strongly about land conservation and protecting lands that people can enjoy, so in addition to being artists, we get to support that passion and our love of the great outdoors by painting outdoors. It starts with a core interest in land conservation, but we have this great, wonderful synergy with our love for painting as well,” he explained.
McFadden doesn’t have a favorite local area, per se, but he prefers painting during the “golden hours”—early in the morning and at dusk. He finds the entire Central Coast a worthy subject.
“We have beautiful landscapes, mountains, oceans—you just can’t beat it. There’s such a variety. I’m partial to shoreline scenes and being close to the water and the ocean, but I live close to SLO, so all the hills surrounding San Luis are wonderful.” He’s a relative newcomer to the three-decades-old group, but he believes in its mission.
“The story of SLOPE, not to go into great length, but it’s an important one,” McFadden noted. “It’s got this 33-year history of supporting different conservation groups in the area. This particular show happens to be in collaboration with the Land Conservancy, but over 33 years, we’ve supported and made donations to over 30 different, land conservation projects and organizations in SLO County, and we’ve done that through the sale of our artwork.”
‘This one event is a rare and great opportunity for anyone that loves the great outdoors or loves art or both to see a sizable collection of artwork that depicts local lands and properties under a Land Conservancy agreement.’
—Joe McFadden, SLOPE
For SLOPE member Dotty Hawthorne, painting has been a lifelong pursuit.
“I’ve always been interested in art,” she explained. “I did major in art in college and graduate with an art degree from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. For the past, I don’t know, 35 or 40 years, I’ve been painting pretty seriously.”
Coming from the Midwest, the idea of moving to the West Coast was a no-brainer. Aside from a five-year stint in Portland to live closer to her son, she and her family have been on the Central Coast for decades.
“I’ve been a member of SLOPE for probably 30 years. It was first formed by Elizabeth Tolley and Karen Foster, and they had maybe 10 members, and I was one of the first to join after that,” Hawthorne explained. “I really like the value of contributing toward conservation. This area is so beautiful, and as a painter, my main subject is the landscape, and anything that can be done to preserve the beauty of the Central Coast, I’m there.”
Her website, dottyhawthorne.com, shows the depth of the talent of SLOPE painters, and she has made good use of her access to local lands.
“One of the wonderful things about working with the Land Conservancy is that when they have a docent who will lead hikes out at the different properties, they always invite SLOPE to come a little bit before the hike, and then we’re able to paint these ranches that you don’t normally get access to,” she said.
Most SLOPE painters start their paintings plein air style, out in nature and painting from light, but according to Hawthorne, it’s not uncommon to take started paintings back to their respective studios to finish.
“I paint for a couple hours [outdoors], and then, of course, the sun changes so much that I usually complete it in the studio,” Hawthorne explained. “That’s the trick with plein air. The light is shifting, but you kind of get used to it. I need to anticipate what’s going to happen.”
Hawthorne will offer a demonstration of her pastel technique on Aug. 8 at 2 p.m., and yes, it’s a little nerve-racking painting in front of onlookers. Her plan is to bring a painting she started of a tree that sits on a cliff above the Bob Jones Trail.
“In a demonstration, I don’t usually totally complete the painting, but I will have at least the drawing started. And then I usually do an underpainting, so I’ll be demonstrating how I approach that. Then I’ll go as far as I can in the allotted time.”
Other participating SLOPE artists include Dennis Curry, Jan French, Hilda Freyre, Sandi Heller, Daniel Jones, Laurel Sherrie, Gisele Thompson, and Jim Tyler.
Come on down, meet the artists, and bring home your next family heirloom. ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Education Today 2026.
