Reposted from my August 2022 newsletter, edited for this platform.

Rain, Rain, and Mushrooms

August was kind of a blur. Visitors, travel, orcas, puffins, humpbacks, and glaciers. And a whole lot of rain.

It has been raining since mid-July. No joke. So much water makes me feel we're living in the temperate rain forest of southeastern Alaska instead of the drier climate of southcentral Alaska where Anchorage sits.

All that rain gave rise to mushrooms. And what a diverse array of fungus there is!

Admittedly, mycology (the study of fungi) is not my strength. They look weird, they feel weird, they smell weird, and they taste weird.

As a naturalist, though, I have always appreciated their diversity and complexity. I recognize the many roles fungi play in the environment:

decomposers
nutrient cycling
carbon cycling
food source
human health
environmental protection
sustainable materials
- (source; UN Environment Program)

As an artist, and with so many mushrooms bursting around me, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to investigate this group of organisms.

So into the rain I went, outfitted in full rain gear from head to toe. Ten steps from my door I saw the first mushroom, a group of waxy cap spp.

This particular species is a small, delicate, and semi-translucent fungus. Note the distinctive gill pattern, too.

The diversity found along a half (city) block was astounding. Below are six more images, detailed examples of my mark-making techniques for different species.

Notice all the ways the pigment edges change across each sketch; some soft, some hard. This serves to create texture and show how light shapes an object, as well as create interest for the viewer.

Perhaps the rainy mood influenced these loose ink sketches and translucent, wet watercolor pigments layered in a variety of ways.

This exercise was deeply interesting, dare I say even fun! I sought help from two mushroom foragers to ID the specimens (thanks, Sue and Andrew!), and spent time dissecting and making spore prints until...

...let's just say, after two days of sitting on a table in my studio corner, an abundance of another organism that aids in decomposition emerged.

Look for a few mushroom paintings to drop in my Alaska store this fall.

Who Are the Fun Guys Among Us?