Madrona

1/14/15 various inks, watercolor, Museum water-soluble
colored pencils, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

Madrona (arbutus) trees retain some of their leaves year-round. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t know this (or notice this) fact until just now, when I Googled for a bit of information about the red-barked tree that is ubiquitous in (and native to) these parts.

All I knew was that I’d passed this tree in my neighborhood many times, noting its hacked away shape for a future sketch. This afternoon as I sketched it, I realized that the tips of its branches were foliated. Unfortunately, I didn’t capture its lopsided shape accurately; the cut-away area on the left is actually much larger. I’ll go back another time to sketch it again. In the middle of January, though, I found it comforting to sketch a tree still hanging onto its leaves.

(Note the blue sky and long shadows! We’re having a short sun break this week before rain returns tomorrow.)

P.S. Here’s a funny observation about sketching on the subway!