About this Painting

Title - “Legacy”

This 48" tall painting shows the layers of the forest, from the light filtering through the canopy to the soil layers that nourish the hemlock seedling on the nurse log. Read the story behind the other paintings in the series here.

This is a listing for the original. This is a fantasy painting of a hemlock seedling growing on a nurse log, part of the Forest Floor series.

Original painting is acrylic on canvas with gold metal leaf, 16x48" with 1.5” canvas depth.

This painting is signed in paint at the bottom right corner by the artist, and on the back with the artist’s custom aspen leaf stamp. The edges are painted to match, so you can hang it without a frame.

Hanging hardware will be attached for shipping. This painting is unframed, but you can contact us after purchase for framing options.

You can also shop prints of this image. Choose from canvas prints, paper prints or embossed foil prints.

About Shipping and Currency

This item ships from British Columbia, and may take several weeks to arrive. Prices are in US dollars. Local BC customers, feel free to contact us directly for sales in CAD.

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About this Species

Much artistic license was taken with the Forest Floor series, and composition often won out over biological accuracy. However, here are a few of the species Kathryn chose to honour in this painting:

Western Hemlock

Western hemlock is a conifer species that grows in wet regions of the Pacific Northwest.Seedling hemlocks often grow on nurse logs, and tiny seedlings may wait for decades for a light gap to form in the canopy from a fallen tree before growing rapidly to take its place.This species is a climax species in the ecological succession of the Pacific Northwest forests.Western hemlock forms ectomycorrhizal associations with many species of fungi.

Sword Fern

The sword fern, Polystichum munitum, is am evergreen fern native to western North America. This fern grows in the understory of coniferous forests in BC, and is adapted to thrive in moist soil and cool temperatures.The individual fronds live for up to 2 years.The sword fern is named because the lobes of the pinna (small leaves within the frond) resemble the hilt of a sword.This plant was used by the Coast Salish peoples as a topical pain reliever.

Coralroot Orchid

These pink and white orchid flowers do not photosynthesize like most plants - they instead use nutrients from mycorrhyzal fungi, in a process known as myco-heterotrophy.As a result of this process, the strange, beautiful Corallorhiza flowers have never been successfully cultivated and can only be enjoyed on the forest floor.

Deer fern

This low-growing fern is native to the Pacific Northwest, and is an important winter foraging food for the deer of the coastal areas.

Chipmunk

These small striped rodents are members of the squirrel family, and play an important role in seed dispersal in Pacific Northwest forests.In addition to seeds they consume many different kinds of fungi, including those involved in symbiotic mycorrhizal associations with trees.

Western chipmunks mate and produce a litter only once per year, and rely on a stockpile of food in their burrow over the winter since they do not hibernate.

Garter Snake

There are approximately 35 species of garter snake, with varying markings adapted to habitats on beaches, forests and grasslands.These harmless snakes bask in the sun on forest trails to thermoregulate, and overwinter in large communal sites underground called hibernacula.

Chickadee

These small, nonmigratory seed eating birds are native to North America, and flock in social groups.Chickadees cache their seeds for winter, and have amazing spatial memory, remembering the location of thousands of seeds.Chickadees nest in tree cavities and lay 6-8 eggs.

All images remain copyright © Kathryn Beals.