Vesma Lukstina

Mushroom Woman Natural mushroom pigment on watercolor paper. This time I did not begin by drawing a figure. I placed drops of mushroom pigment along the top edge of the paper and let them run down, fi…

Mushroom Man

Natural mushroom pigment on watercolor paper. This is attempt to draw with mushroom pigment in much the same intuitive way that I usually draw with a pen. I began without a preliminary sketch, letting…

Kaunas

An old plein-air watercolor from my student years in Kaunas. It is still one of the works from that time that I feel particularly close to. I’d be interested to hear how it reads to you now, especiall…

Kiss

An intuitive line drawing made without a preliminary sketch. Does the image feel too familiar or clichéd because of the subject, or does the way the two figures merge give it enough individuality?

Simbioze

Natural pigments from two fungi — a bracket fungus and a gilled mushroom — on paper. I’m exploring how the different pigments behave, overlap and leave traces as they dry.

The hardest place may be somewhere in the middle

I’ve been having one of those periods when I seriously question whether my work has enough artistic value for me to keep pursuing it as seriously as I would like to. I sometimes think there is a parti…

Transformation: tree — bracket fungus — tree

Drawn with liquid extracted from fungi and directly with a piece of fresh bracket fungus using its natural moisture. Does the work feel resolved as it is?

Ballpoint pen on A4 paper. Drawn intuitively on a folded sheet — first one side, then the other. After unfolding the paper, I added a few lines in the middle to connect the two sides.

Apple

This work began as an experiment with a print made from Tetra Pak, combined with charcoal, wax crayon and green marker. I worked intuitively with the textures and marks produced by the different mater…

Apple

One work from a larger series. I’m interested in what viewers see in it without giving further context beforehand.