Obi Kaufmann Explained
Obi Kaufmann (born 1973) is an American naturalist, writer, and illustrator. He is the author of The California Field Atlas, a guide to the state's ecology and geography. The book features hundreds of his watercolor paintings of maps, wildlife, and other aspects of nature.
Early life and education
Kaufmann was born in Hollywood, California in 1973.[1] His father, William J. Kaufmann III, was an astrophysicist who served as director of the Griffith Observatory from 1970 to 1974, and also a writer of several books about physics.[2] His mother is a clinical psychologist.
In 1978, his family moved from Southern California to Danville, California, a town in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While living there, Kaufmann spent an extensive amount of time exploring Mount Diablo State Park.[3]
Kaufmann studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He entered as a biology major but switched to visual arts after finding inspiration in wildlife painting and the rock art of the Chumash people. While at UCSB, he took art classes under the painter Ciel Bergman.
Career
After college, Kaufmann lived in the Pacific Northwest before moving to Oakland, California in the early 2000s, where he has resided since.[4] Shortly after his return to the Bay Area, he switched from oil painting to watercolor. He has contributed wildlife artwork to a variety of publications. He was an arts writer for the East Bay Express, an alt weekly serving the East Bay. Beginning in 2009, the brand Juniper Ridge employed Kaufmann as its "chief storyteller"; he eventually quit after he "got sick of selling shit." He later collaborated with the Swedish denim brand Indigofera on a line of natural-fabric clothing.[5] He has worked as a tattoo artist for several years, dating back to his time living in the Pacific Northwest. While he was preparing The California Field Atlas, he only took breaks to go on hikes or to work at a tattoo parlor in Oakland.
Kaufmann is a conservationist and has given talks across California on ecology and preservation of nature.
The California Field Atlas and other books
See main article: The California Field Atlas.
In 2017, the Berkeley nonprofit Heyday Books published Kaufmann's first book, The California Field Atlas. The book was a surprise commercial success: it sold out of its first two printings, generating pent-up demand, and became a regional bestseller.[6] It was a recipient of numerous California book awards.[7]
His next book, The State of Water: Understanding California's Most Precious Resource, was released in June 2019. It will be followed by The California Lands trilogy, consisting of The Forests of California (Fall 2019), The Coasts of California (Spring 2020), and The Deserts of California (Fall 2020).[8]
References
Sources
- Web site: Bieschke . Marke . Read something new! California Book Award finalists announced . 48hills . April 2, 2018 . February 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181020211609/https://48hills.org/2018/04/california-book-awards/ . October 20, 2018 . live .
- Web site: Clark . Leilani . Naturalist Obi Kaufmann, author of 'The California Field Atlas,' comes to Sebastopol Copperfield's . . Sonoma Media Investments, LLC . February 28, 2018 . February 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190214233327/https://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/8046803-181/naturalist-obi-kaufman-author-of . February 14, 2019 . live .
- Book: Crockett, Daniel . Drawing Inspiration from Nature . 2017 . Wildside: The Enchanted Life of Hunters and Gatherers . Gestalten Books . 978-3-89955-672-8 . coyoteandthunder.com .
- Obituary: William J. Kaufmann III, 1943–1994 . 10.3847/BAASOBIT1995003 . Fraknoi . Andrew . Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society . 27 . 4 . 1477–1478 . . December 1995 . 31 January 2024 . free. 1995BAAS...27.1477F . May 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171122132553/https://aas.org/obituaries/william-j-kaufmann-iii-1942-1994 . November 22, 2017 . dead . mdy-all .
- Web site: Gilmore . Sue . California Book Awards will be handed out June 11 — here's who won . . . June 5, 2018 . February 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190214233324/https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/05/california-book-awards-will-be-handed-out-june-11-heres-who-won/ . February 14, 2019 . live .
- Web site: Hanlon . Patrice . Readers share their favorite books about nature . . . December 6, 2018 . February 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181207122525/https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/12/06/readers-share-their-favorite-books-about-nature/ . December 7, 2018 . live .
- Web site: Kaufmann . Obi . Introducing the Express' New Arts Writer, Obi Kaufmann . . March 7, 2012 . May 23, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180829061015/https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/introducing-the-express-new-arts-writer-obi-kaufmann/Content?oid=3144661 . August 29, 2018 . live .
- Web site: Kaufmann . Obi . Behind the Making of the California Field Atlas . coyoteandthunder.com . November 6, 2017 . May 23, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190523201046/https://coyoteandthunder.com/2017/11/06/behind-the-making-of-the-california-field-atlas/ . May 23, 2019 . live .
- Kaufmann . Obi . California's Natural World; Conservation & Restoration . Hosted by the California Native Plant Society – Yerba Buena Chapter . San Francisco County Fair Building . July 5, 2018 . February 13, 2019 . coyoteandthunder.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20190215050406/https://coyoteandthunder.com/2018/07/13/californias-natural-world-conservation-restoration/ . February 15, 2019 . live .
- Web site: Khokha . Sasha . An Atlas That Paints Wild California with a Watercolor Brush . The California Report . . March 2, 2018 . May 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180614142328/https://www.kqed.org/news/11653123/an-atlas-that-paints-wild-california-with-a-watercolor-brush . June 14, 2018 . live .
- News: Markoulakis . Sophia . Naturalist Obi Kaufmann maps the road less traveled . . . November 13, 2017 . May 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190214174706/https://www.sfchronicle.com/green/article/Naturalist-Obi-Kaufmann-maps-the-road-less-12345911.php . February 14, 2019 . live .
- Web site: Rogers . Don . Nevada City author Josh Weil wins state book award . . . May 24, 2018 . February 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190214233332/https://www.theunion.com/news/nevada-city-author-josh-weil-wins-state-book-award/ . February 14, 2019 . live .
- Web site: Saffo . Paul . Paul Saffo . Blazing a New Trail . The Journal of Alta California . . May 17, 2018 . February 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190214233315/https://altaonline.com/blazing-new-trails/ . February 14, 2019 . live .
- Web site: From Middle Earth to Oakland: Obi Kaufmann and the 'California Field Atlas' . Smith . Jeremy . . October 26, 2017 . October 13, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171119135103/https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/painting/from-middle-earth-to-oakland-obi-kaufmann-and-the-california-field-atlas/ . November 19, 2017 . live . mdy-all .
- Web site: Sonoma Index-Tribune staff writer . Obi Kaufmann brings his 'California Field Atlas' to Sonoma . Sonoma Index-Tribune . Sonoma Media Investments, LLC . January 29, 2018 . February 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190213032445/https://www.sonomanews.com/lifestyle/7922227-181/obi-kaufmann-brings-his-california . February 13, 2019 . live.
- Web site: Spotswood . Beth . An Atlas without Roads . The Journal of Alta California . . December 15, 2017 . May 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190214174746/https://altaonline.com/atlas-without-roads/ . February 14, 2019 . live .
- Spotswood . Beth . Episode 5: Obi Kaufmann . The Journal of Alta California . . August 29, 2018 . February 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190214174749/https://altaonline.com/obi-kaufman/ . February 14, 2019 . live .
- Web site: Sunset Magazine . Meet the Modern-Day Wilderness Warrior with the Soul of an Artist . Sunset Magazine . May 13, 2019.
- Web site: Tahoe Weekly staff writer . 'State of Water' book launch . Tahoe Weekly . May 29, 2019 . June 2, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190602215405/https://thetahoeweekly.com/2019/05/state-of-water-book-launch/ . June 2, 2019 . live .
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Kaufmann . Obi . The Evolving Language of Conservation . Coyote and Thunder . en . April 25, 2019. I was born in 1973, the same year as the passing of the Endangered Species Act....
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