STORY BEHIND THE ART OF LARA CALL GASTINGER

Curious Allies: Mutualism in Fungi, Parasites, and Carnivores

The Fifth New York Botanical Garden Triennial

Moonglow Lichen

Dimelaena oreina

I love to hike, and the Blue Ridge Mountains are my favorite place to explore. During a hike back in 2015, I photographed a moonglow lichen growing on the rocks at the top of the mountain. Lichens are organisms made up of algae and fungi living together symbiotically, benefitting from each other. Little did I know that this lichen would appear in my life a few years later.

 In 2022, I saw the lichen again; by then I had learned how to use the Seek phone app. This time, with the helpful app, I found out that it was a crustose lichen with a clever and unique name - moonglow - because of the way the outer band of lichen is lighter in color as compared to the center! The lichen grows and radiates outward from its center and has this effect of a glowing lighter edge. I did not have intentions of drawing it at the time, I just had a great appreciation for its delicate and unique patterning.

When I heard about the call for the Curious Allies exhibition, I knew the moonglow lichen could be a unique painting. This lichen has a distinct pattern against the rock, and I wanted to emphasize that “glowing” beauty. At the ASBA conference in Tarrytown, NY, I purchased a full skin of vellum from Pergamena that looked like a rock or a natural substrate that these lichens might grow on. I also purchased a wood panel and used my skills from Carol Woodin’s vellum mounting zoom class to stretch this piece of vellum.

Then, it was time to get started! I practiced on the small scraps left over from the large skin to figure out my paints and if this would work. I used a palette of Chinese white, neutral tint, moonglow (!), and sometimes a gray green mixture (ultramarine and Indian yellow). The tedious process of painting consisted of putting down a large wash of white/green and drawing repetitive tiny circles and shapes with neutral tint. It was a very long process to create these tiny shapes over and over.

I used my numerous photos for reference and pieced together my own composition. The lichen grows along cracks in a rock face, so I used the imperfections on the skin to guide the growth of the lichen and define the composition. That is why there is such a large central focus along the central backbone of the vellum skin.

The composition, fine details, and repetitive patterns give the painting a contemporary feel that draws the viewer closer.

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Read more about this artist's work: 25th Annual