Obi Kaufmann brings his ‘California Field Atlas’ to Sonoma

Artist, poet and naturalist Obi Kaufmann brings his best-selling “California Field Atlas” to Readers’ Books from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1. Come enjoy a glass of wine and learn more about Kaufmann’s portfolio of collectible, original watercolor, trail-paintings.

For poet, painter and naturalist Kaufmann, California is a magic network of living systems that connect in a grand, quilted array of ecology and beauty. His lavishly illustrated, 550-page “California Field Atlas” intends to take readers off the beaten path and outside normal conceptions of California, revealing its myriad ecologies, topographies, and histories with hundreds of exquisite hand-painted maps and trail paintings. According to press materials provided with the book, “Kaufmann blends science and art to illuminate the multifaceted array of living, forming a uniquely elemental narrative based on the shaping forces of earth, air, fire and water, connecting systems like no other book has done before.”

“Maps are enhanced by illustrations of wildlife, keys that explain natural phenomena, and a clear-sighted but reverential text. The “California Field Atlas” has been hailed as a “gorgeously illustrated compendium,” by Sunset magazine that, “will provide you with a greater appreciation for the state’s ecological jewels and landmarks. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Kaufmann’s writing offers us hope during this trying time for conservationism and climactic pushback.”

In the few months since the “California Field Atlas” has hit stores across California and beyond it has enjoyed four weeks at the number one spot for non-fiction paperbacks in Northern California and is beginning to rank in Southern California’s top 10. The “California Field Atlas” is the winner of the 2016 Phelan Award for California literature by the San Francisco Foundation, ensuring the atlas will be included in the California Historical Society’s Bancroft Library archives at the University of California at Berkeley.

An avid conservationist, Kaufmann regularly travels around the state, speaking on issues of ecological restoration and preservation. He is an illustrator for Bay Nature magazine, the Berkeley Times and Premium Arts.