During years of study and exploration, Stephen Lyman discovered his calling: to paint the wilderness with passionate commitment, and to communicate the joy found there in each image. Through his beautiful paintings and extraordinary photography he celebrates the importance of the wilderness as a whole.

Into the Wilderness is more than a splendid art book. With it, you can journey with Lyman into a wilderness very few have experienced. You can share the sensation of being in the wild--exploring, discovering, studying, and enjoying the all-encompassing beauty of unspoiled nature.

Into the Wilderness features Stephen Lyman's favorite paintings, as well as many unpublished paintings and sketches. In addition, the artist includes more than one hundred of his own photographs showing details and overviews of the natural world that inspires his paintings. Through Lyman's paintings and photography, and in the words of writer and former Sierra magazine editor Mark Mardon, each of us can experience the deep quiet of the woods, find serenity at the water's edge, climb mountains, and be completely at home in the world of the wilderness.

Mark Mardon's writing developed out of a fascination with nature during his childhood in Flagstaff, Arizona. Even at a young age, he roamed the countryside to scrupulously record the descriptions and habits of lizards and snakes. He developed his journalistic skills in Peru, where he wrote for the South American Explorers Club and others. After obtaining a degree in environmental studies from Vermont's School for International Training, he secured an assignment as associate editor of Sierra magazine, where he worked from 1986 through 1994. Into the Wilderness is his first book.

Stephen Lyman is an explorer who specializes in painting the most elusive moments in nature. His love of the great outdoors stems from a childhood spent in the Pacific Northwest, where hiking in Snake River country was a regular family ritual. Lyman has since spent years developing his own style of painting. He has continued to discover the wonders of the natural world and of living a natural lifestyle. He has been a frequent participant in the prestigious international "Birds in Art" show at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, and was invited to be "Artist of the Year" at the 1991 Pacific Rim Wildlife Art show

Bev Doolittle was born and raised in California. She graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. She is a fine-art phenomenon in the world of limited-edition prints, where her editions and their sell-out rate are unsurpassed in the industry. She and her publisher, Greenwich Workshop Press, have contributed over a million dollars in proceeds from sales of her prints to the National Wildlife Federation, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Arbor Day Foundation, and, most recently, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Bev Doolittle's books include The Forest Has Eyes, The Earth Is My Mother, and The Art of Bev Doolittle.