Story behind the art of Lara Call Gastinger

27th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and the Society of Illustrators

Decaying Branch

Trametes versicolor, Quercus sp., and Punctelia sp.

My dad is an amateur naturalist and is very curious about all that he finds in the woods. He sends me pictures of plants and asks me what they could be. On one of my visits in fall to his house and woods, he wanted to show me some mushrooms on a log that he had set aside for me. He lives near a lovely beech oak maple forest that is very shaded and cool and has abundant mushrooms following a rain.

We walked through the crunchy fallen beech and oak leaves to a very long branch lying on the ground, covered in turkey tail fungi, mosses, and lichens. It was a magical tiny world that I wanted to stare at. It was a multi-layered mix of many different species that I was unable to identify. The branch was about eight feet long and we cut it down to a manageable three feet to put into the back of my car.

In my studio, I set it on a large piece of cardboard and took numerous photos along the length of the branch to piece together as reference. I sketched parts of the branch in my perpetual journal to explore it and get to know it. Further sketches helped me determine if it was likely to become a painting. It was a breathtaking specimen.

At first, I was very intrigued with the colors and patterns and started a pencil sketch on Fabriano Artistico hot press 300 lb. paper. I decided to add color and started on the right side with some warm browns for the wood and bright blues for the turkey tails. But it did not seem right, and I felt that this was not going to be successful. It was almost too colorful (for me) and had too many patterns and I wanted to eliminate some of the distractions.

I decided that it might be interesting to paint in one color. I frequently enjoy creating monochromatic paintings either in sepia or neutral tint. I chose to paint this branch in Daniel Smith neutral tint watercolor because I wanted to emphasize the textures and shapes that made up this elaborate tiny world.

It was challenging to keep tabs of where I was on the log when I was painting. I had created a rough sketch that generally mapped out key areas on the log and I depended on my reference photos too. I was unable to keep the log inside on my desk the entire time of painting. It was drying out and occasionally had small bugs or debris falling from it.

I composed the branch to be long and narrow on the lower part of the paper to mimic the way I found it on the ground. Moving along the log, examining my painting, the viewer can see the tiny details change from turkey tails to lichens and mosses. When looking at this painting, I hope it will instill in the viewer a great sense of awe like what I felt when I painted it.

Next Story

Back to List

Read more about this artist's work: Curious Allies