When I was small my mother used to take me mushroom hunting. Recently, I rediscovered this incredible connection with mushrooms while taking a watercolor class from Sasha Viamensky, a Russian self-taught watercolorist at the Denver Botanic Gardens. He remembered my mother from their time together with the Colorado Mycological Society many years ago. He is world's leading expert on illustrating mushrooms in watercolor. Who knew we would have this connection? Specimens of this mushroom were made available to illustrate. I had this personal connection with these inky caps from my mother’s teachings. The colors alone drew me in. The rich browns of the gills and the black ink against the white cap are simply stunning together. This painting is for my mother who taught me to see nature, the original naturalist.
- Subject Matter: Abstract