About  Lichen  Landscapes

Lichens absorb water and nutrients directly from the atmosphere through their epidermis, inadvertently accumulating any pollutants that are present as well. These toxins can disrupt the fragile symbiosis of fungi and algae and lead to the death of the lichen. Therefore, lichens act as a litmus test for ecosystems: a healthy lichen community indicates a healthy ecosystem free from environmental contaminants.

My intimate and detailed portraits of lichen aim to foster appreciation for these odd and often overlooked organisms.

As an artist, I am drawn to gestures and lines and I start each work rendering the main sweeps of form. I then fill in those forms with obsessive detail. My paintings make you want to lean in and inspect closely, just like you do to fully appreciate a lichen growing on a rock or tree. To make the painting come alive I fill in my illustrations with botanically accurate and vibrant color. Each work is truly a landscape of details upon closer inspection. Try it!

Lichen Landscapes is owned and operated by me, Haley Golz, an artist and illustrator living in Duluth, MN. All works are original pen and ink and watercolors. I also work full time as a restoration practitioner for the Minnesota Land Trust, so you can find examples of other art related to that work and my other hobbies in the ‘other’ tab!