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Monday, July 22, 2024

Southern Catalpa

 

7/11/24 southern catalpa, Green Lake neighborhood

6/17/24

As I’ve made small sketches of street trees, I’ve been noting ones that I want to go back to for larger portraits. One was a southern catalpa near Green Lake, which author Taha Ebrahimi notes in her book, Street Trees of Seattle, as being the eighth largest-diameter street catalpa in the city.

When I had made the small sketch (at right), its trunk had caught my attention, but I saw that its crown kept it in continual shade, which made drawing it difficult. I wasn’t sure yet how I would approach the portrait when I returned several weeks later, but I walked around the tree several times looking for the right composition. From a distance, I finally saw the full crown – and that’s when I realized that a good half of it had been lopped off to accommodate utility lines. While its trunk was beautiful (and entertaining to the family that had hung a swing and a rope ladder from it), its crown told the full story of its ongoing sacrifice in the service of humans.

4 comments:

  1. Oh...I love how it extends on the one side. It is so impressive that way and I can just imagine how majestic it would look if it hadn't been trimmed for the utility lines. Nicely done!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! Most street trees would look very different if they were left to grow as they want to!

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