Field Notes from the Studio: Amanita verna
The Destroying Angel, or Amanita verna, mushroom as seen through my observation and sketches.
Sharing a whimsical illustration of a poisonous plant is such a little vibe; I really love the juxtaposition of making this killer appear ‘cute’.
It’s so hard to talk about my art because, I will be totally honest, it isn’t that deep. I just like things and want to draw them. For example, in this case, I really like the colors that I am seeing, and I love nature and all of her little babies, so as I was looking for something to draw one day, I stumbled upon this type of mushroom in a textbook and was inspired to do a quick, field studies-type of drawing of it.
I’m not trying to get philosophical or metaphorical here, I’m just drawing for the sake of fun and practice. When I studied drawing, the person I was learning from was very skilled, and I learned so much about “looking with a different eye,” and while that sounds very weird and ominous, it’s such a game-changer in how I observe objects when I draw. I don't really know how to explain it — it's kind of like looking at the object, but also looking past it too, like imagining the back and side that can’t be seen from the current view. It’s also about imagining how the object would feel and its texture, and incorporating that observation into the drawing. It's definitely a skill that helped me improve my work, but now that I am not drawing for a living, I can just draw a heap of wonky mushrooms. I kind of like that.
Thanks for hanging out with me today. Do you have a favorite mushroom?
— R