Why Pat Became a Lichenologist

This painting is about my friend “P” who was born in Pembrokeshire but left to pursue a glittering career as a Lichenologist . This time spent ,especially in the woods at Tycanol and on the Pencaer peninsula I could see why… its is as if every surface of every tree ( and fence post or gravestone or wall ) has its own tiny ecosystem living on it , Lichens , Liverworts ,Mosses, and Fungi. And the Trees seem lit from within by the grey green glimmering lichens on their trunks and branches so an alternative title for this painting could be “the Trees are Lit from within”