My Next Illustration Series is....

....all about Mushrooms! But not as you know them!

Finally, after leaving hints for however many weeks, I can now give you a sneak peak into my new little illustrative series all about, well..... mushrooms! But what if mushrooms were houses, cafes, restaurants, and more? What fun! Colour! Cuteness! Bold lines! Quirkiness! At this point, it's all just about having fun, and honestly, it's very on brand for me to stick with bold colours and something a bit surreal. After all, I am a person who wears far too much black, so it makes sense that I make up for it in my art. This also seems to be a theme with any of the tattoos I get too, but I digress.

No.1-3 of the 'Untitled Mushroom Series' (c.2025)

You may all ask 'how did Laura arrive at this idea for a series of art works?' Well, as an avid player of Dungeons and Dragons, and just tabletop RPGs in general, my longest running playable character is a Druid called 'Badger'. Druids live in the woods, mushrooms thrive in the woods, and Druids do a lot with mushrooms in the woods at the best of times, so in hindsight, it's probably been an idea I've had subconsciously all along. Also, it seems that there's been an increase to the public's general interest in mushrooms over the past year, specifically surrounding the red ones (the 'fly amanitas'), so I thought 'why not combine the public's obsession and my love of D&D together?' Oh, and maybe focus on other mushrooms too, because it's not all about 'Fly Amanita' is it? So yeah, that's how I've ended up with this concept.

As of today, I have finished the 3 in the picture above, and there will a few more I plan to complete before the end of May. Should they do well, and people want to see more, I'll make more. For now though, 6 originals seems a good place to start, and I'll be looking to sell the originals as well as limited prints on Etsy and one or two local businesses in York, depending on who is interested. There's already a shop on Goodramgate that's expressed an interest, so watch this space to see which one this might be! Now, as I continue to create this series, one thing I've yet to decide on is the official name for it. One name idea I had was 'Mushroom Madness', however I'm still unsure about this one, and wonder if there's a name that could work better? So, if any of you out there have any other mushroom or fungi pun related names for this illustration series, or just like the sound of the current one, please let me know. I welcome any and all suggestions, with the wackier and quirkier the better! You can either comment on the relevant social posts, or email me. I don't mind at all!

As a final note on this post, I leave you with the most recent draft sketch of one of the next ideas for the series, all inspired by the 'death cap' mushrooms, and what it would possibly look like if a building made up of such a mushroom was a mortuary? Fitting, for a mushroom that's deadly....

Draft for Illustration No.4; 'The Death Cap Mortuary' (c.2025)

Until next time, stay tuned for more intriguing updates! Best wishes,

ThatHungryArtGirl, aka, Laura