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Fungus Fun at the GNSI

9/4/2016

1 Comment

 
  This summer, I attended the annual Guild of Natural Science Illustrators conference in Santa Cruz, CA. Every July, the GNSI members gather for a week of seminars, keynote speakers, workshops, and field trips. We learn from each other, and I always come home with renewed inspiration and ideas.

  This year, I participated by teaching a mini-workshop on painting mushrooms in watercolor. The workshop filled up fast, and I had a wonderful group of artists. Unfortunately, July is not mushroom season in California, so I was not able to go foraging. Instead, I stopped by our local mushroom farm, Far West Fungi, to pick up specimens of lion's mane, oyster, shiitake, and other beautiful fungi.

  Each student picked out their favorite specimen from the box. I spent some time explaining the different parts of the mushroom and also a little about fungus ecology and safe practices for foraging. I then did a quick tutorial on the steps to painting a mushroom, focusing on which characters to pay attention to when making an accurate sketch. When I paint mushrooms, I like to use dry brush techniques to achieve textures. I also use a white gel pen for highlights, which comes in handy when painting some of the slimiest fungi! We spent some time practicing these techniques.

​​  What a really fun experience! I might have to do more workshops when mushroom season starts up.

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affordablepapers link
10/30/2018 06:17:30 pm

When I first started painting, I was always frustrated because my paintings do not turn out to be the way I expect them to be. It was stressful for me because I am a perfectionist. I always want things a certain way, so my patience was really tested when I started to learn how to paint. After a few months, I was so happy because I was able to paint a decent subject. I chose to paint the Eiffel Tower from Paris because it is one of the places I hope to visit someday.

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