Art and nature have been intertwined since prehistory, when early man took to painting pictures of horses and other wildlife on the walls of caves. The Freshwater Land Trust (FLT) is celebrating the confluence of art and nature on Thursday, Nov. 19, with ArtScape, an auction of works by more than 30 local artists inspired by lands protected by FLT.

Mafiaoza’s Pizzeria and Birmingham Weekly are sponsoring ArtScape, which will also feature performances by the Children’s Dance Foundation, Birmingham-Southern College theatre students and Faith Apostolic Choir. Proceeds from the silent and live auctions of art will go to FLT, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and the participating artists, including Scott Bennett, Charles Buchanan, Annie Butrus, Dan Bynum, Dori DeCamillis, Frank Fleming, Lee Isaacs, Melissa Springer, Marius Szajderman, Maralyn Wilson, Beth Maynor Young and David Young. (For a full list of the artists whose works are featured, see the ad on page 18 of this issue).

Birmingham native Dan Bynum was one of the first artists to agree to produce a work for ArtScape.

“This was their first time to do something like this,” Bynum told Birmingham Weekly. “I think it’s a great idea.” Bynum is well known nationally and locally for his charcoal drawings, collages and paintings. Bynum’s submission is a two-piece depiction of Shades Creek Bluff Preserve, one of several areas that FLT has worked to conserve.

“I live in Bluff Park and I’d never heard of Shades Creek Bluff, to be honest with you,” Bynum said. “So I found it, and it inspired me to do the two pieces.”

Shades Creek Bluffs Preserve II.

Shades Creek Bluffs Preserve I.

Shades Creek Bluffs Preserve I and II are done with pastel and acrylics on two long, tall, rectangular birch wood panels. Collages of leaves from area trees make up the banks of the creek, mixed in with silhouettes of birds that live in the Shades Creek area. “The creek runs through both pieces; the viewer’s eye connects them,” Bynum said.

Bynum said he’s proud to be among artists he admires, such as Maralyn Wilson and Nelson Grice. “I’ve seen the list of artists, it’s just incredible,” Bynum said. But he joined up with ArtScape because he believes in FLT’s purpose. “I read their mission statement and I was sold,” he said.

FLT was formed in 1996 after Jefferson County was fined $30 million by the federal government and ordered to construct a sewer system that did not discharge into area waterways. That fine was given to the Freshwater Land Trust — then called the Black Warrior-Cahaba Rivers Land Trust — to purchase lands in the Cahaba River and Black Warrior watersheds for conservation and preservation. To that original sum, the organization has added $15 million in discounted purchases, federal grants and gifts. FLT’s projects include the Homewood Forest Preserve, the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, Five-Mile Creek in Roebuck and many more. FLT is also involved with Red Mountain Park, a 1,100-acre site along Lakeshore Drive between Homewood and Bessemer.

ArtScape is Nov. 19 at Avon Theatre in Lakeview (2829 Seventh Ave. South, near Sol y Luna). The silent auction begins at 6:30 p.m., and the live auction starts 30 minutes later. The event lasts until 9 p.m. Tickets are $50.

If you’d like a preview of the art being auctioned, head down to the Harbert Regions Plaza (in the former Belk location) between 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16, or you can look in through the windows at the items any time you’d like. Alternatively, you can see pictures of many of the items on the FLT website, www.freshwaterlandtrust.org.