Mushroom Art.
Our mushroom art heals bodies, minds, & INTERIORS.
The Forest of Enlightenment offers encaustic paintings, photos, and prints that integrates mushrooms and interior design. Paintings. Prints. Books. Space healing consultations. It’s all about mushrooms.
Some of our mushrooms are medicinal, some are culinary, and some are psychedelic. Many of the paintings are “inspired” by mushrooms and some of the paintings have mushrooms embedded into the artwork.
Mushrooms are the path to healing & enlightenment.
What are you waiting for? Healing starts on the inside. 🍄
so many options...so many mushrooms...so much beauty
so many options...so many mushrooms...so much beauty
Inspired by an exotic polypore (fungi) living on a tree that was resting over a creek, deep in a forest in Aspen, CO.
“Poly amorous” 36” x 60” encaustic wax on birch board. Available framed or unframed.
Inquire here about pricing.
“Poly Too” 36” x 60” encaustic wax on birch board. Available framed or unframed.
Inquire here about pricing.
Shaggy Mane. The magical mushroom that produces black ink for writing or drawing.
What do we do with mushrooms?
We hunt for them, research them, cultivate them, cook with them, travel with them, get creative with them, and heal our spaces with them 🍄.
This body of work asks the mushrooms what they want.
Mushroom artwork emerges as a co-creation between nature and psyche.
Original art is available based on inventory.
Custom/commissioned paintings and wall surfaces are also available. Call us at 970.948.9936
“The Lucid Dream”
Encaustic wax, pigment, and 36 grams of psychedelic Lucid mushrooms. 36'“ x 36.” More than a hero’s (heroine’s) journey! Inquire here about pricing.
“Texas Sun” 20 x 20.
Dried psychedelic mushrooms, encaustic wax, and pigment on birch board.
Inquire here about pricing.
The iconic Amanita muscaria 🍄
“The surface of these paintings is amazing. It’s like hanging a slab of polished marble.”
-Suzie M., client
“Amanita Blanc de Blanc” 36” x 36.” Encaustic beeswax and pigment on board. Inquire here about pricing.
“Neuronal Pathways” 36” x 36” encaustic wax and pigment on birch board. Framed or not.
Inquire here about pricing.
“Amanita Sunshine” 36” x 36” encaustic on birch board.
Amanita mushrooms are the most recognizable fungi on the planet. Some species invoke intoxications. Others are know for deadly toxicity, while others are considered choice edibles. Identify your mushrooms carefully before ingesting them.
Amanita muscaria are noted for their intoxicating properties due to their main psychoactive constituents: muscimol and its neurotoxic precursor, ibotenic acid. This iconic mushroom was historically used to induce hallucination by the indigenous shaman of Siberia, Kamchatka, and Central/South Americas. Vikings ingested them prior to war. Amanita muscaria appeared on rock paintings dated back to at least 3500 BC. The Amanita inspired the fairy tales of Santa Claus and flying reindeer (who apparently like eating amanitas), and Amanitas are found in the illustrations of Alice in Wonderland.
Today, muscimol, an alkaloid derived from certain Amanitas, is being studied as a medicine for various conditions. Increased pharmacological interest in Amanita muscaria’s role against some neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s is of growing interest in medical research. Extracts of Amanitas are currently sold as an effective anti-anxiety and sleep formal.
Some Amanitas – such as the grisette – are considered a choice edible, but others – such as the Panther Cap (Amanita pantherina) can be deadly.
“Flying” Amanita various images.
“Flight of the Amanitas” 2024, 60” x 30” encaustic painting with embedded with hand foraged and dried Amanita muscaria mushrooms. Inquire here about pricing.
Turkey Tail: The Master Healer
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor)
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) is a functional medicine mushroom known for building a strong immune system. Research also proves its strong anti-tumor qualities. Imagine meditating on this image in your healing space!
“The Tiger Awakens” and “Turkey at Work” encaustic beeswax and pigment on board. Several variations available. Inquire here for availability and prices.
Turkey tail grows in the wild in much of the world. The photo above is growing symbiotically with oyster mushrooms on a log. Turkey tail is often cultivated in facilities and extracted into powders and liquid extracts.
The Star Gazer series explores the powerful Peruvian star gazer psychedelic mushroom embedded in handmade Japanese rice paper, beeswax encaustic, and pigment.
“Stargazer” 10 x 10, dried mushrooms embedded in wax and pigment. Many variations. This series is best hung as a group of 3-6 images on a wall. Inquire here.
Delicious. Boleus edulis the prized Porcini.
Every chef’s dream! A perfect porcini growing in a Colorado forest. Wild harvested porcini mushrooms embedded in encaustic wax on birch board. Each piece is 20 x 20 on solid birch board. Many variations and custom pieces can be created.
Inquire here for more information.
The many faces of mushrooms loved by chefs and beautiful as abstract art.
“The Cosmos” encaustic wax, pigment and photo on birch board 36” x 36”. Variable pricing depending on size.
“Flying Anemone.” Photo of the cap underside of a Sarcodon imbricatus (hawk’s wing) mushroom on museum-quality paper, metal, or glass. Price is based on material and size.
“Underworld” encaustic painting over photo, on birch board 20 x 20.
“Emerging” (below) encaustic wax on board 20 x 20.
Why does art from the forest matter? Because it’s beautiful…AND it is necessary.
“Art isn’t just decorative anymore.
It’s part of the entire model of healthcare.”
— Dr. Lisa Harris
“When you are an artist, you are a healer.”
— Naomi Remen
What is encaustic? Pigments are mixed with hot liquid beeswax. After the wax is applied to the painting surface – usually wood, plaster, or canvas mounted to a board, a heating element such as a heat gun or blow torch is passed over the surface until the wax is fused to the surface. Encaustic wax has many of the properties of oil paint, and in addition it offers a brilliant and elegant surface that traditional paint cannot achieve. Encaustic painting was invented by the ancient Greeks and has continued on for thousands of years.
Why abstracts? Can non-realistic images embody an idea or feeling? I would argue that they can. Trained in realism it was all that I KNEW. And yet…while hiking in the forests and studying mushrooms, the mushrooms themselves taught me how to abstract them into stunning images for homes, healing centers, hotels, and retreat centers. I believe that the soul of each mushroom shines through each encaustic painting.
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor.) Archival photo print on museum quality paper (any size). Perfect for a healing center, doctor’s office, home, or hotel.
Contact us for a price based on your space.
What do you find in the FOREST?
How many people these days really search through forests? Forest of Enlightenment is a journey deep into the wild heart of nature with emphasis on fungi and the mycelial network hiding in lush forests. My work takes me deep into nature to observe the secret world living among the trees. My process begins by wandering off-trail into quiet and remote places with eyes on the ground. My close relationship with flora, fauna, and fungi through photography, mixed media, encaustics, and oil continues to expand.
My fascination with the philosophical and biological interconnectedness of the human world and nature is a driving force behind this work. My lifelong love of wandering in nature involves deep looking, meditating, and capturing the special intersection of subject and light that calls to be seen. When abstracted or realistically portrayed, mushrooms deliver healing, beauty, and art that is worthy of deep reflection.
How do we integrate the secrets of the forest?
By bringing it inside!
Shelf polypore (Fomitopsis pinecola). Droplets – or guttation – is a source of bioavailable compounds. Fomitopsis is used in research for its anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-viral properties.
“Drops of the Divine” photo above on museum quality paper, metal, or glass. Please contact us for a quote based on your space requirements.
“Rosy polypore” growing on a log in Winter Park, CO
Yum. Delicious in dishes and on walls.
“Oysters in Love,” photo on archival paper. Call for a quote based on size and material.
Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) grow wild but are also cultivated for culinary purposes. in the wild Oysters grow on hardwood trees such as beech and oak, but also on conifers.
Abstractions + Dreamy Realism
Mushrooms are magical no matter how you look at them.
“Shakti Rising” (Larch bolete/Suillus). Photo on archival paper printed to size.
“Cup of Life” (Clitocybe gibba). Photo on archival paper printed to size.
“Hawks Wing” (Sarcodon imbricatus). Photo on paper, metal, or glass.
An edible mushroom found throughout the world including the Colorado Rockies.
