The forest floor

The forest floor is damp and fertile. It is a compost bin for fallen leaves, dead wood, animal droppings and insects. In the summer time I love the smell of it because the sun's heat brings out the aroma of pine needles and berries. I could eat it!  The winter ground is a different story, however. It smells of wet dirt, mushrooms, and decaying leaves. I breathe it in deeply when I walk because, although it sounds awful, I find it nourishing.

Above is a picture of mushrooms, (or fungus) growing on a dead tree. I think they are lovely. They undulate with a rhythm that reminds me of waves on the sea. The colors are subtle. I imagine all sorts of tiny folk living among the mushrooms and I paint them often. Here is one of my characters.

This is the elf, Mushinka.  He walks through the forest gathering mushrooms and as he does he also collects seeds and spores. Those fall from his hat and apron pockets as he moves along.
The decaying mulch becomes a a nursery for young plants and
new growth springs out of old.

One misty moisty morning.....

January seems to be slogging along in a dreary, fog shrouded manner. I have found the hope of spring in small buds on trees. Pussy willows perhaps? Crocuses are appearing above of the mud.

The fog adds resonance to even the tiniest sounds but the coyotes' high pitched calls carried further than normal last night and woke everyone in the house. I'm sure they were not right outside my window, but it sounded as if they were.

When it's misty, the dew clings to spiderwebs and makes them visible.  I imagined a little elf walking the web as if it was a tightrope.  I think he is a circus entertainer and he is performing for an audience of gnomes, fairies and woodland creatures. It looks difficult, but if he falls, the spider web will catch him.  His name is Webster.

Walking through the forest

          My name is Renee St. Onge Foster.  I live on a small heavily wooded island west of Seattle, Washington.  It is dark and rainy here most of the year, but in the summer time, it’s the most beautiful place in the world! Not to say that the gloom doesn’t have its appeal.  I love it because it speaks to me of magic and fairies and elves.

I often walk in the Grand Forest. That’s a series of trails through the woods that the park district maintains.  Many people use those trails.  It’s a sanctuary.  The trees drip with moss, woodpeckers chip at dead trees looking for bugs, owls fly overhead.  When it rains, the forest acts like an umbrella, sheltering you, and when it’s hot, the trees shade you.  It’s a perfect environment.

I started going to the Grand Forest many years ago. I could feel the presence of woodland spirits.  I let my imagination loose and pictured them doing all kinds of jobs. So I started doing watercolor paintings of them.  I did so many that I eventually compiled them into a book, well, actually, two books.

I graduated from college with a BFA in fine art.  My concentration at that time was oil painting and print making.  I’ve always used my art background for one thing or another, but am once again focused on painting.  Now my medium is watercolor.

This is a picture in the Grand Forest.  See how the moss hangs from the trees. It’s really very beautiful.