Our Neighbor’s Tree

 

4/18/21 Our neighbor's tree

Whenever we’re enjoying our backyard deck during warm weather, I see this tree, which is just on the other side of the fence we share with our neighbor. I don’t know what it looks like from their yard, but the side that faces us shows an amazing branching structure. When I follow certain branches with my eyes, they look like they have braided themselves. Every time I see it, I say to myself, I have to draw this tree sometime. For many years, however, I had no idea how to approach drawing its complex mass of trunk and branches. After taking Kathleen Moore’s class in drawing trees with graphite, I finally felt ready to take it on.

Last Sunday afternoon, the sky was perfectly blue, the temperature was 75 degrees, the deck was shady, and I had just poured myself an iced beverage. “Sometime” finally came.