Cannot Be Unseen

 

8/6/26 photo reference

In addition to feeling oppressive, our days of unhealthy, smoke-filled skies were frustrating: What a waste of otherwise excellent sketching weather! During an abbreviated morning walk, wishing I could linger for a sketch, I snapped a quick photo of a stunning yellow-green tree. My intention was to sketch from the photo the same day: Maybe the immediacy would help me feel more like I had sketched it from life.

That didn’t work; I still felt like I was just sketching from a photo. Nonetheless, I enjoyed trying to capture the crown’s volume and that brilliant color. Although it wasn’t a conscious choice, I noted afterwards that the Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook’s off-white paper captured the day’s smoky yellow light.

It was when I was putting the sketchbook on my scanner that I saw it: The tree was a green man’s profile. Auugghh!! Once seen, it cannot be unseen.