The artist who’s ‘Wild About Nature’

“People do have spare time. They don’t just have to sit inside and watch TV — they could go outside and enjoy nature,” said Markgraf. “We need nature. Our lives depend on it.”

Having studied archaeology and after earning a degree in fine arts, she’s devoted much of her life to demonstrating and growing from the beauty of nature through botanical illustrations, detailed anthologies of place and other realistic art forms.

On her ranch just northeast of Husum, where she responds to coyote howls, Markgraf recounted how a network of trail cams has expanded her already deep relationship with the animals around her. “I’ve seen lots of animals in the woods. I’ve had face-to-face encounters with cougars,” said Markgraf. “The wonder about the trail cams is that you can learn about the intimate lives of these animals that you would never, ever, get a chance to see.”

Imposed on bark from her own bitter cherry trees and secured to pieces of recycled wood, Markgraf drew on these scenes to produce 26 paintings for this year’s series: two bears on their hind legs watching an unbeknownst human pass by, an old doe nuzzling her fawn, a bumblebee perfectly curled up in a flower. But a pair of paintings are particularly significant.

In 2022, two endangered gray wolves wandered into Klickitat County, the area’s first confirmed wolf pack in more than a century, according to Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Federally protected west of Highway 97, the uncollared female of this breeding pair, known as the Big Muddy Pack, went missing a year later and WDFW discovered that someone killed the male, WA109M, near Trout Lake last December.

As a tribute to Big Muddy, Markgraf painted portraits representing WA109M and the female wolf for her collection — not just copies but expressions. Washington’s wolf population was virtually hunted to extinction in the 1930s, but since 2008, the apex predators have naturally migrated from neighboring states, increasing to a minimum of 260 in 2023 while hunting ungulates like deer.

“A lot of times the animals they’re preying on are weak, sick or diseased, some of the less fit individuals, so they can really help herd health in that way,” said Gabe Spence, WDFW wolf biologist. “They can also be an indicator of general ecosystem health. If the landscape can support wolf packs, it’s probably doing pretty well.”

While the population is rebounding, at least 13 wolves were unlawfully killed in 2023 and 2024, according to WDFW. Markgraf recognizes this scarcity and, along with Big Muddy, brought other endangered species to life in her collection, such as the western gray squirrel. Some, including the Big Muddy female, she fashioned entirely with homemade black walnut ink.

“I can’t believe how perfect nature creates things,” said Markgraf. “I just feel like I’m one of them. Well, we are animals, but I’m probably closer to being an animal than most people.”

On April 4 at 5:30 p.m., join Markgraf in the White Salmon library for the first of four lectures in the Wild About Nature series centered around beneficial fire and lichens. The following presentations will take place every Friday in April at 6:30 p.m. in the Mountain View Grange, and Markgraf encouraged everyone to bring their kids. A full list of speakers is available here with separate pages for each week. 

“There’s no end to learning about nature, and you don’t know that until you start trying,” she said.

If you have information about an illegal wolf killing in Klickitat County, contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 1-844-397-8477 or www.fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips, and you may receive a monetary award. You can also call WDFW at 1-877-933-9487 or send an email to reportpoaching@dfw.wa.gov.