This ongoing series of paintings of lichen explores a micro-universe that grows on the forest floor, climbs tree trunks and limbs and sprawls across rock cuts. I am a photo-based painter, and these images were captured on hikes in the forests of Ontario: in the upper Ottawa Valley, along the French River, in the Sudbury area and in Haliburton. As well, I have taken many photos of lichen during my winter vacations in Northern Florida and they too have become subjects for my paintings. I was compelled to make these paintings because I was attracted to the repetitive patterns of the lichen, the variety of its texture and shapes and its infinite detail. By magnifying lichen as a subject for large paintings, I was interested in presenting them as other-worldly and alien, as if they were of another time and place.

Trumpet Lichen

2022. Acrylic on canvas, 30×60″ (private collection)

Pelt Lichen and Moss

2024. Acrylic on canvas, 30×40″ (private collection)

Chanterelle Mushrooms and Pelt Lichen

2021. Acrylic on canvas 36×60″ (private collection)

Monk’s-hood Lichen and Beard Lichen

2021. Acrylic on canvas, 48×60″ (private collection)

British Soldiers and Pixie-Cups

2021. Acrylic on canvas, 24×24″ (private collection)

Hammered Shield Lichen (detail)

2021. Acrylic on canvas, 40×30″ $1800

Red-Fruited Pixie-Cups

2021. Acrylic on canvas, 40×30″ (private collection)

Pelt Lichen

2021. Acrylic on canvas, 24×60″ (private collection)

Organ-Pipe Lichen

2021. Acrylic on canvas, 40×30″ (private collection)

Hammered Shield Lichen

2021. Acrylic on canvas, 30×48″ (private collection)

Juniper Hair Cap Moss, Pelt Lichen, and Foam Lichen

2021. Acrylic on canvas, 48×72″ (private collection)

Mealy Pixie-Cups and Beautiful Branch Moss

2021. Acrylic on canvas, 48×72″

British Soldier Lichen (Douglas, Ontario)

2023. Acrylic on canvas, 24×30″ $1500

Mealy Pixie Cups and Reindeer Lichen

2021. Acrylic on canvas, 24×60″ (private collection)

Pebbled Pixie-Cup and Organ-Pipe Lichen

2021. Acrylic on canvas, 48×48″ $2500

Forest Floor, Douglas, Ontario

2020. Acrylic on canvas, 24×60″ (private collection)

Forest Floor, Douglas, Ontario

2020. Acrylic on canvas, 24×60″ (private collection)

Pin Cushion Starburst Lichen (2)

2020. Acrylic on canvas, 36×48″ (private collection)

British Soldiers (fall)

2020. Acrylic on wood panel, 9×12″ (private collection)

Scarlet Pin Lichen

2020. Acrylic on wood panel, 11×14″ (private collection)

Moss and British Soldiers

2020. Acrylic on wood panel, 8×8″ (private collection)

Pelt Lichen

2020. Acrylic on wood panel, 9×12″ (private collection)

Forest Floor, Alice, Ontario

2018. Acrylic on canvas, 48×60″ (private collection)

Forest Floor, Alice, Ontario

2019. Acrylic on canvas, 30×36″ (private collection)

Forest Floor, Alice, Ontario

2019. Acrylic on canvas, 24×30″ (private collection)

Trumpet Lichen and Pine Needles

2017. Acrylic on canvas, 24×48″ (private collection)

Forest Floor, Alice Township

2015. Acrylic on canvas, 24×30″ (private collection)

Sea Storm Lichen

2017. Acrylic on canvas 18×24″ (private collection)

Forest Floor, Douglas, Ontario

2019. Acrylic on canvas, 24×60″ (private collection)

British Soldiers – Cladonia cristatella (3)

2016. Acrylic on canvas, 60×36″ (private collection)

Pin Cushion Starburst Lichen (1)

2017. Acryilc on canvas, 24×24″ (private collection)

Lichen V

2014. Acrylic on canvas, 48×96″ (private collection)

Hammered Shield Lichen

2016. Acrylic on canvas, 36×60″ (private collection)

Trumpet Lichen

2016. Acrylic on canvas, 48×36″ (private collection)

British Soldiers – Cladonia Cristatella (2)

2016. Acrylic on canvas, 24×30″ (private collection)

Lichen II

2014. Acrylic on canvas, 60×36″ (private collection)

Lichen Cascade

2016. Acrylic on canvas, 30×40″ (private collection)

Forest Floor, Alice, Ontario

2016. Acrylic on canvas, 24×48″ (private collection)

Lichen IV, Apalachicola, Florida

2016. Acrylic on canvas, 36×60″ (private collection)

Lichen (Alice, Ontario)

2013. Acrylic on canvas, 36×60” (private collection)

Lichen IV

2014. Acrylic on canvas, 48×48″ (private collection)

Lichen III, Apalachicola, Florida

2015. Acrylic on canvas, 30×30″ (private collection)

Lichen I, Apalachicola, Florida

2015. Acrylic on canvas, 30×30” (private collection)

Lichen I

2014. Acrylic on canvas, 36×60” (private collection)

Lichen Leafy

2015. Oil on canvas, 12×16″ (private collection)

Shelf Fungus

2014. Acrylic on canvas, 24×18” (private collection)

British Soldiers – Cladonia cristatella (1)

2014. Acrylic on canvas, 30×30″ (private collection)

Forest Floor, French River, Ontario

2013. Acrylic on canvas, 24×40″ (private collection)

Corals of the Forest

2016. Acrylic on canvas, 36×60″ (private collection)

Lichen (Sunset)

2015. Oil on canvas, 30×15” (private collection)

Common Green Shield Lichen

2021. Screenprint on Saint-Armand  Canal paper, 10×9″ (Otter Paw Print, St. Catharines)

Pin-Cushion Starburst Lichen

2021. Screenprint on Saint-Armand  Canal paper, 10×9″ (Otter Paw Print, St. Catharines)

Cumberland Shield Lichen

2021. Screenprint on Saint-Armand black denim paper, 24″ x 18″ (Otter Paw Print, St. Catharines)