Foxfire

Title:	Foxfire
Genre:	Fantasy
For Sale:
Views:	1265
Posted:	12/20/2019
Status:	Unpublished

Projects: Kest has worked with numerous publishing companies including Yankee Publishing, National Geographic, Marshall Cavendish, Troll, Franklin Watts, Western Publishing Company, Soundprints/ Smithsonian, the US State Dept., US National Parks, Picture-Window Books, Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt, Llewellyn, McGraw Hill, Scholastic, Symmetry, Tighe, and many more.

Location: United States

A few years ago, when my journey to become more acquainted with fungi was just beginning, I&rsquo d titled this piece, &ldquo Chanterelle&rdquo , believing that I&rsquo d painted chanterelle mushrooms. Instead, I&rsquo d confused it with the Jack-O-Lantern mushroom which is larger, more orange, and grows in clusters. Chanterelles grow singly, or individually. A mushroom enthusiast forager and friend recently saw this painting and set me straight. So I' ve renamed this painting~ &ldquo Foxfire&rdquo ~ which is another name for the Jack-O-Lantern mushroom. They are bioluminescent organisms which use the same chemical compounds to glow as do lightning bugs (fireflies): luciferase. And, JOLs are highly toxic so you don&rsquo t want to eat them. I first saw them growing at the base of a tree in our woodland neighborhood and they are really quite bright in color. Rather unmistakable. In the image: a golem (boggart?) may spy a lost ring in the leaf litter on the forest floor. In the image are Jack-O-Lantern mushrooms, paw paw trees with fruit, insects, ferns, moss, and a slug. Painted in oils on a gessoed ground applied to a sturdy 1&rdquo thick cradled and cross-braced hardboard. Painting is framed with a floating metal frame in warm German Silver. Foxfire. 2020. 24" x 36" h oil on cradled hardboard. This painting is also being offered on my website kestfineart.com. There, you can get more framing images, a cost breakdown, and shipping details.