When out walking there is no end to the surprises and this painting recalls one of them.
An encounter with a field of mushrooms occupied a fair chunk of mind when I walked the Camino de Santiago, because I was reading a book at the time about their potent nature and curious about the lengths humans go to to stay living. Surely, living is about having two feet on the ground, so to speak. According to mushroom literature, apparently not. Delving into my imagination, which I really enjoy sometimes, these friendly fellows came up. As you can see, they are minding their own business, nestled in among the grasses and being gently caressed by the wind with that wonderful sense of mysterious spore migration going on, which, thankfully, us humans cannot intercept, however hard we might try.
I thought about all the hype given to special mushrooms and their potential to transcend special humans and how we wrap ourselves up in things and ideas. And, really, what it all boiled down to was the human need to go for a good long walk.
It is a hope that a chance to be elemental is on the cards by tramping in your finest gear to my little exhibition by the sea. It could be a real possibility, because it is coming up soon at Earlyworks, South Fremantle, on Thursday 7 October at 6.30pm.
And, some say, it is one not to miss.