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| 8/5/22 Maple Leaf |
In my early years as an urban sketcher, I had so much
trouble with trees that I officially declared them a sketching nemesis. (It
should be stated here that those were the years in which I was trying to use
watercolor on cheap, inappropriate paper and wondering why my trees never
looked like Virginia Hein’s or Chris Haldane’s. Even if I’d had
the skills, the paper I was using would not have flattered any trees I was
trying to paint.)
Many years later, I acknowledged that trees and I had become friends. In fact, I now love drawing them so much that I have taken entire
classes at Gage specifically on the topic: once with Kathleen Moore and
twice with Kristin Frost. I love trees.
I admit, though, that until I began sketching, I didn’t
really appreciate or even notice trees. Sure, I loved the pretty colors they
turned in the fall, but beyond that, I hardly gave them a glance or a thought.
It was the act of drawing them – either individually as subjects of intense study or, more often, as background or compositional elements
– that made me learn to appreciate them.
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| 8/5/22 Green Lake |
Even when trees are not the subject of my sketches, I have
come to appreciate them during our current long stretch of dry, warm, sunny
days: Almost all of these sketches from my daily fitness walks could not have
been made if not for the shade of trees. Looking for shade first before I sketch is not something I usually have to consider much (although with the changing climate, it’s likely to become an increasing consideration). If we’ve ever
sketched or painted in the shade of a tree, let’s all say thank you now for
their humble, quiet service. |
| 8/5/22 Green Lake |
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| 8/5/22 Green Lake |
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| 8/8/22 Green Lake |
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| 8/9/22 Maple Leaf |
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| 8/11/22 Ravenna ravine |
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| 8/15/22 Green Lake |
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| 8/15/22 Green Lake |
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...but the job took longer than I expected,
so I was able to get the whole truck. |
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8/15/22 Green Lake. I worked very quickly, thinking
this line worker would finish before I did ... |
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| 8/17/22 The Brothers from Maple Leaf. Mt. Rainier is covered with snow all year round, so I'm always surprised when I see so little white on The Brothers by mid-summer. |
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| 8/18/22 Trash day in Maple Leaf |
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| 8/21/22 An astonished Mini Cooper in Maple Leaf |
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| 8/21/22 Maple Leaf |
Virginia and Chris both draw trees as though they were drawing a human portrait. Most of us search for symbols that represent the trees we put in our sketches and they don't identify an individual at all. I think that's why most of us struggle with trees.
ReplyDeleteYes, good point. Taking the classes I did really helped me see and appreciate trees as individuals -- and draw them as portraits rather than scribbled background color. Even as compositional devices, they are more interesting when they are seen as unique, not generic.
DeleteI often think that the urban sketcher approach (small and quick) short-changes everything but the main subject. If I'm going to draw a car in 20 minutes, I can't spend an hour drawing the trees around it (grin). And so the symbols come out and I draw brillo pad trees.
DeleteTrees are all a little (or a lot) different, both in shape and color. I love observing them to see what colors would best represent them. I think all of us plein air painters and sketchers appreciate them for their shade too...especially at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm sure you appreciate shade trees with all the plein air painting you do!
DeleteWhat a great series of sketches! I particularly like the 8/18 trash day sketch, and the two colored 8/5 ones. Tree portraits have really helped me understand how to show volume and depth; it's a new challenge every time.
ReplyDeleteTrees never stop being challenging for me, either! Even after all these years.
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