Tree Study

8/9/19 graphite tree study

Through a studio window, I can see several trees across the street and behind our neighbor’s house. With my eye, I can distinguish them by color and shape and see how some stand in front of others, but I thought it would be an interesting challenge to try to draw them in monochrome and distinguish them by texture only. I didn’t spend enough time on the sketch to bring out the shadows that would have defined the branches more, but I always thoroughly enjoy the sensation of scribbling graphite this way to evoke trees.

Bonus: The tree on the right – a tree I have seen nearly every day the past three decades – turned out to be two trees standing very close together. You can see the two slender trunks and two somewhat indistinct leaders. Only the act of drawing made me observe them closely enough to notice this.