Story behind the art of Patricia Luppino

Curious Allies: Mutualism in Fungi, Parasites, and Carnivores

The Fifth New York Botanical Garden Triennial

"Samba" - Oakmoss, Hammered Shield, Shaggy Strap Lichens, Lyell's Bristle Moss on oak twig x 2

Evernia prunastri, Parmelia sulcata, Ramalina farinacea, Orthotricum llyellii

After several unsuccessful wandering expeditions to local woods on Long Island to harvest mushrooms or lichen for subjects for Curious Allies (an activity I generally avoid due my fear of tick-borne illness), I finally admitted defeat. 

Dejected and fearing that I would need to bow out of this “curious” exhibition, I whipped out my laptop and began wandering the internet. Unsure exactly what I was seeking, a simple search for “lichen” revealed that there is a demand for lichen and moss in the terrarium and fairy garden market! Curiouser and curiouser. 

Etsy I thought! The one place you can buy anything and everything you didn’t know you wanted. Enter my now favorite Etsy vendor, Yuliya Beky, owner of the Seattle-based company Pacific Moss West, who sells lichen and moss gathered from her very own coastal garden. I ordered a sampling of tree branches packed with lichen and moss. In just a little over a week my precious parcel arrived carefully packed to retain moisture. Wow! What a beautiful sampling on just a few little branches.

I enjoy choosing botanical subjects that evoke an emotion or resemble something “unbotanical”. There was no mistaking this specimen as a carnival dancer. Dressed like Carmen Miranda with flowing moss locks, complete with a cinched waist, puffy sleeved, puffy skirt dress, and a high heeled shoe. Samba!

Now that I had decided on my subject, I needed to identify the many species of lichen on this branch. Yuliya to the rescue again! I sent her a photo of the branch and asked if she could help me identify the various species. She sent back the photo labeled with not only the common names, but the Latin names of each species. Wow again! Now that’s customer service.

This was my first attempt at a lichen portrait. I decided to enlarge it x2 so that the viewer could better appreciate the detail without magnification. I worked with colored pencil on film as I find it easier to get crisp details on film versus paper, and erasing, where needed, is cleaner.

I loved working on this piece, and I hope it transports the viewer to the Brazilian carnival.

Many thanks to Yuliya Beky and Pacific Moss West for providing this lovely specimen and for her assistance with identification.

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Read more about this artist's work: 24th Annual