A few years ago, when my journey to become more acquainted with fungi was just beginning, I’d titled this piece, “Chanterelle”, believing that I’d painted chanterelle mushrooms. Instead, I’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~ “Foxfire”~ 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’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” thick cradled and cross-braced hardboard. Painting is framed with a floating metal frame in warm German Silver.

Painting will be shipped wrapped in a protective acid-free cover and a layer of foam and then slid into a heavyweight shipping carton. Shipping costs (if not a local pickup) are figured into the price of the artwork.

(Purchase a beautiful print from ImageKind here.)