Story behind the art of Christiane Fashek
26th Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art and Garden Center
Gimlet-eyed
Ramalina americana, Punctelia sp., Quercus fusiformis
“Gimlet-eyed” began as a study of a small lichen grouping in Dick Rauh’s Scaling Up class at the New York Botanical Garden. The completed piece tested my abilities to identify and accurately render species’ characteristics, embrace colored pencils, and solve the problem of depicting lichens on twigs. It is the first in my series of Texas Hill Country lichen paintings and my favorite because the learning curve was so steep!
By using a centimeter grid to draw the specimen at 1:1 scale, I was forced to deal with composition first. The lichens are wrapped around a broken Quercus fusiformis Live Oak twig. Despite the small size, 2.7 x 3.8 centimeters, I had to establish fore-, mid- and background. I atmospherically faded everything on the twig that’s trailing off into the distance to paper white, perhaps not a ground-breaking strategy for the long-time botanical artist, but an epiphany for me. I wanted the grouping to appear as it would naturally: in perspective, growing on a twig in the air.
I conferred with lichenologist Sheila Strawn, Ph.D., to determine the species. Scaling up 6x allowed me to place depict the characteristics of the Ramalinas.
Never having depicted a lichen in color before, I tried watercolor and colored pencil. I applied tea washes of varying greens to make sense of the graphite transfer. Over the washes, I used Faber Castell Polychromos, Derwent Watercolor colored pencils, and drybrush. The palette I developed for this artwork is the basis for all my lichen pieces.
About halfway through, I purchased a magnifying visor and realized a bit of young ball moss had fallen off the specimen, clarifying the lichen beneath. Unfortunately, I had tea-washed the ball moss onto the center of the piece. I was stymied as to the next step, so into a drawer it went. Six months later, in the hopes of resurrecting it for proposed NYBG Certificate work, I set about lifting and removing the moss, redrawing and finishing the piece. A close look reveals a tiny remnant of a pointed ball moss leaf at the bottom center of the painting, a reminder to persevere when you have nothing to lose.
A gimlet is a piercing tool; the Live Oak twig appears to be piercing through the Ramalina clusters. “Gimlet-eyed” is to have piercing eyes that notice everything – as I suddenly noticed all the detail when I had better magnification. A gimlet is also a tart alcoholic beverage. This piece is one of four in my Certificate Series. The pieces had beverage-related names: Up with a Twist; Lime and Mint, Cordial; and Tipsy.
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Read more about this artist’s work: 25th Annual