Fremont Chestnut Tree

 

9/21/26 European chestnut tree, Fremont neighborhood

A ginormous European chestnut tree grows in Fremont that is a marvel of nature. Decades ago, a fire hydrant was installed in the sidewalk with presumably plenty of space between it and the tree. Now the roots are growing around the hydrant like it’s just a minor inconvenience! Right now the leaves are still green, and it’s full of fuzzy, green chestnuts that I understand will eventually be the kind that are tasty to roast and eat.

The man who lives in the house behind the chestnut came out to rake. Although the tree still has most of its leaves, I can imagine what a huge job it would be to keep up with them once they start falling.

I first learned about this street tree, the widest-diameter chestnut in Seattle, from Taha Ebrahimi’s book, Street Trees of Seattle, which I used as a guide for sketching many street trees a couple of years ago. A recent Instagram post from Taha reminded me of it, and when she showed photos of the roots wrapped around the hydrant, I knew I had to sketch it. My sketches feel puny, though; I’d need paper four times as large to capture even a part of its crown.

How big would my paper have to be to capture this whole tree!

How annoying. . . like a seed stuck between teeth!

A Single Snow Gum Eucalyptus

 

5/3/26 snow gum eucalyptus, Maple Leaf neighborhood

A pair of spectacular snow gum eucalyptus trees on my walking route were among the many trees I sketched a couple of years ago while following the book, Street Trees of Seattle. Sadly, about a year ago, I saw that one of the pair had lost a major branch that had been precariously hanging over the street. A few months later, the entire tree was taken down due to poor health. According to author Taha Ebrahimi, these were the first snow gum eucalyptus street trees to be registered in the City of Seattle in 1978.

I didn’t have the heart to sketch the remaining tree for a long time. Walking by recently on a beautiful morning, I finally sketched it. In the foreground you can see the wide stump of the one that had to be cut down, but at least its remaining sister is still thriving and dancing.

(Even after sketching it several times, I still can’t seem to scale it accurately so that it fits on the page! The top of the crown reaches far beyond what I show here.)

Changes in the ‘Hood

 

5/11/25 Maple Leaf neighborhood

I hadn’t walked in this part of the ‘hood in a few weeks, and suddenly – poof! Two new houses are under construction where only one once stood.

On the same walk, I noticed that one of a pair of unique snow gum eucalyptus street trees that I had sketched last summer had lost a major limb (see below). Even as I sketched it back in July, I had worried about those huge, heavy limbs. I couldn’t show their full length in my sketch, but many hang way over the street. This limb must have torn off, and its remains had been cut.

5/11/25

sketched on 7/15/24

Ballard Errands

 

9/27/24 Rosellini's, Ballard neighborhood

With several errands to do in the Ballard neighborhood, I decided to make a whole morning of it, starting with breakfast at Rosellini’s Fine Cakes and Baked Goods. Knowing what a fan I am of Macrina Bakery, several friends kept urging me to try Rosellini’s croissants, insisting that they are even better than Macrina’s. A bit skeptical, I was certainly willing to do my own research. And darned if they weren’t right! Holy-moly, that was the best croissant I’ve ever had – maybe even better than those I’ve had in France! Thank goodness I can’t walk to Rosellini’s in five minutes as I can to Macrina’s, or I’d be in big trouble.

Fully fortified, I got on with my errands, and in between, I had time for a couple of tree stops. The first was a group of birch bark cherries documented in Taha Ebrahimi’s book. The other was a Japanese cherry that looked like it was on fire – both its color and its shape.

Wedgwood and Greenwood Street Trees

 

9/2/24 Wedgwood neighborhood (I've enjoyed sketching a variety of oaks in Wedgwood. I always had a certain shape of leaf in mind when I thought of "oak trees," but I've discovered that the shapes can vary widely.)

My street trees project is winding down for the season (until the weather forces me to sketch from my car, which I’m not sure will always be possible with street trees, but I’ll try). Here are a few more from the Wedgwood and Greenwood neighborhoods.

9/10/24 Wedgwood neighborhood

9/13/24 Greenwood neighborhood

Street Trees by Car

 

8/31/24 Japanese maples, Capitol Hill neighborhood

The remaining trees documented in Taha Ebrahimi’s book, Street Trees of Seattle, are out of reach unless I get in my car to drive to their neighborhoods. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my walking tours of all the street trees in Maple Leaf and Green Lake and many in Ravenna, Wedgwood and Bryant. The trees gave my fitness walking a purpose (and motivation). It was an ideal summer walk-sketch project!

My sketch documentation of the trees continues, though now with a different strategy. Whenever I have an errand or appointment anyway, I try to plan a tree or two to fit into the trip. Taha’s hand-drawn maps in the book make that task easy. If I see more than one tree in the same general area, I use Google maps to see how far apart they are on foot, and often I can park the car once and turn two or three trees into a mini walking tour. As the weather gets colder, I might even start sketching some from my car (although the best angles are usually from the sidewalk).

8/31/24 silver maples, Capitol Hill neighborhood

Last Saturday when USk Seattle met in Capitol Hill, I found several tree locations that were within walking distance from the meetup. I first sketched a row of three Japanese maples (top of post), the largest of which is the widest diameter of its type in the neighborhood. I bet they will be stunning come fall; I’ve made a note to check them again in October.

A couple of blocks away, I found the widest-diameter silver maple street tree in the city (at right). Based on the foliage, I think the two trees on either side of it are also silver maples (but a bit smaller).

The other trees sketched here are from the Bryant, Wedgwood and Crown Hill neighborhoods. Most of these trees do not look special; in fact, sometimes I wonder why they are documented in the book, since they don’t look particularly large (though many have other notable aspects as described in the book). Regardless of their size or how they look, drawing the trees always makes me appreciate them more. Trees are literally as individual as humans, and I’m honored to observe and appreciate each one’s uniqueness.

8/8/24 monkey puzzle tree (possibly the first I've ever sketched!), Bryant neighborhood

8/12/24 Holm and English oaks, Wedgwood neighborhood

8/17/24 grand fir and valley oak, Wedgwood neighborhood

8/28/24 dogwood and bristlecone pine, Crown Hill neighborhood

Heritage Persian Silk Tree

 

8/7/24 Heritage Persian silk tree, Wallingford neighborhood

Detail

According to Wikipedia, a heritage tree is defined as “a large, individual tree with unique value, which is considered irreplaceable.” Last year when I was learning about all the local trees that were in danger of being lost due to development, I sketched my first heritage tree, a yellowwood in the Wallingford neighborhood.

Last week I sketched another one in Wallingford, a Persian silk tree. In addition to being heritage, it is the city’s widest silk street tree, as documented by Taha Ebrahimi in Street Trees of Seattle. Sadly, the tree was slated to be cut down days after I drew it, not due to development but to injury. A truck accident had broken a major limb, requiring removal of the whole tree. On the day I sketched it, I saw that several sawn limbs were already lying on the ground. The tree was filled with tiny pink blossoms.

After finishing the large portrait, I walked away from the tree in several directions, trying to find an angle that would enable me to capture its full size. As usual, I encountered one of the frustrations of sketching urban trees: When I got back far enough to see all of it, much of it was blocked by other trees or cars.

Much taller than the two-story house behind it, the silk tree has provided shade and beauty to this Wallingford street for decades. Thank you, old silk tree, for your long years of service. (And many thanks to Taha’s Instagram post that alerted me to the tree’s demise in time for me to sketch it.)

Material note: Because I intended to use graphite with Eduardo Bajzek’s method, I chose a Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook for the portrait. Zeta paper is well-suited for graphite – with enough tooth to grab graphite (and colored pencil) easily, yet smooth enough not to show an obvious texture. Since I rarely make such a sketch as a double-page spread, however, I didn’t realize that the center spread of each signature has small dots of glue over the binding thread holes. Applying and especially smudging graphite over these glue dots as well as the exposed thread emphasizes both prominently – in an unattractive way. I noticed the same issue when I used a Hahnemühle sketchbook during Eduardo’s workshop when the page spread I used also happened to be in a signature center. In the Hahnemühle, the strong texture helped to hide the dots (with some additional work). But the Zeta wouldn’t allow this. Very annoying to see those dots and dashes down the center – I’ll have to remember this for future spreads with graphite.

Good-bye and thank you!

Finishing Ravenna

 

8/1/24 Ravenna neighborhood. This Doug fir is one of the most magnificent street trees in this series -- enormous and split right down the middle.

These are the last of the street trees in the Ravenna neighborhood documented in Taha Ebrahimi’s book, Street Trees of Seattle. These are also probably the last I could do on foot, which is sad, as I’ve so enjoyed having street trees as a destination and purpose of my daily walks this summer. Ironically, getting into my car to go after a tree requires more effort because I like to use gas efficiently. I always feel like I need to have another errand or appointment in the same direction or area. But the documented trees will also give me a good excuse to explore neighborhoods I might not get to otherwise.

The most notable tree here, from my perspective, is the Italian cypress (below). It was so completely obscured by the shade of the larger trees around it that I could hardly see it. I wondered how it could ever get enough sunlight to survive – and it wasn’t looking very healthy.

8/1/24 Mini peach and Italian cypress, Ravenna neighborhood

8/6/24 English walnut, Ravenna neighborhood

Material note: I’ve started a new Uglybook – in tan! With so many vibrant, saturated colors available, why would I take a turn with such a traditional hue? Maybe I’ve had too many bright colors consecutively and needed a palette cleanser? Actually, back in the Dark Ages when toned books came only in tan or gray, I enjoyed making tonal sketches on tan paper. It’s a nice change. And at the rate I fill these little books, it won’t be long before I’m back to something brighter.

Wedgewood Rock Tree

7/23/24 Wedgwood neighborhood

One day I was running errands in the Wedgwood neighborhood, when I came across an unexpected sight: An enormous boulder in front of house! That was back in 2016, and a little research informed me that the 19.5-foot-tall rock, known by locals as “The Wedgwood Rock,” is actually a glacial erratic. “Deposited more than 14,000 years ago by the Vashon Glacier, it was a landmark for Native Americans in what was once a dense forest” (Wikipedia).

At the time, I didn’t pay much attention to the trees growing next to the rock, but it turns out that one, an Atlas cedar, is documented in Taha Ebrahimi’s book, Street Trees of Seattle. (The second tree is not looking very well; refer to the linked post to see what it looked like in 2016.) I think it’s notable mainly because it is growing right next to the huge rock, but I still enjoyed sketching it along with the rock again, all these years later. It’s still remarkable to find something like that in a residential neighborhood.

More Ravenna Street Trees

 

7/15/24 Ravenna neighborhood

When I think of the Ravenna neighborhood, I assume it’s the area a bit too far south and east to walk to and back home within 60 minutes (my typical daily walking duration). However, according to the neighborhood boundaries indicated in Taha Ebrahimi’s book, Street Trees of Seattle, many trees technically in Ravenna are in easy walking distance. Last time I drove to the area where several trees were, but I was able to sketch these by walking directly from home.

While sketching the old Yoshino cherry tree (on the blue page), I had a nice chat with a nearby resident who was watering her garden. I had noticed that this Yoshino wasn’t alone; the whole block was filled with old cherry trees. Indeed, she confirmed that they are gorgeous in spring. Duly noted for next year!

The western hemlock below is the second-widest hemlock street tree in Seattle.  

7/25/24 Ravenna neighborhood

7/26/24 Ravenna neighborhood
(My "negative" note on the edge refers to testing negative for COVID that morning.
I had heard that numerous Sketcher Fest participants had tested positive after the event;
I was relieved to have dodged the bullet.)

Snow Gum Eucalyptus

 

7/15/24 snow gum eucalyptus trees, Maple Leaf neighborhood

When I first tracked down these eucalyptus trees from Taha Ebrahimi’s book, Street Trees of Seattle, I was delighted to realize I already knew these trees. Admiring them for years on one of my walking routes (almost daily during the pandemic), I had always wanted to sketch them, but the light was never quite right in the mornings when I tend to take my walks. Learning that these were special street trees, however, motivated me to look for the right light and finally give them a draw.

The best light turned out to be in the late afternoon when I’m least likely to walk, especially as the days grew hotter, and that time of day is the hottest. One day before our recent heatwave set in, I made a gestural sketch to learn more about their form and try to capture as much as I could of their height (yet I lost most of their crowns; on the right in the page spread below).

Gestural sketch on the right

A couple of weeks later it finally cooled enough to go back and spend more time focusing on their trunks (top of post). From this angle, it’s hard to tell that these are two trees and not one, but when I move so that both trees should be distinctly visible, that parked car is always in the way (of course, that’s a Murphy’s Law of urban sketching). This angle does have the best light, though, so I went with it. They seem to lean so precariously from relatively slender trunks.

6/13/24 My first thumbnail sketch

According to Taha’s book, these are Seattle’s first recorded eucalyptus street trees. They were registered on July 25, 1978, the same day that downtown Seattle’s Rainier Club first admitted a Black member. That type of historical note gives amazing context to the life of these street trees. That was only the year after I graduated from high school – not that long ago, from a historical perspective – yet it’s shocking to think that Blacks were not admitted to a social club in liberal Seattle before then.

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.

Ravenna Street Trees

 

7/13 - 7/14/24 Ravenna neighborhood street trees

Now that I’ve finished sketching the trees in both the Maple Leaf and Green Lake neighborhoods, I’ve moved on to Ravenna’s trees documented in Taha Ebrahimi’s book, Street Trees of Seattle. Ravenna starts on the southern edge of Maple Leaf and goes all the way to the U-District, which is  a long walk for me. I might drive partway to the ones on the southern half, but these two near the eastern edge of Maple Leaf are easy to get to – a western hemlock and an orchard apple.

Sketching in neighborhoods often results in interesting conversations (or overhearing them). As I sketched the hemlock, I eavesdropped on two neighbors discussing a questionable man who had been seen carrying a case of beer, littering cans as he went and sometimes sleeping in people’s yards. One of those neighbors also told me that several flicker families have made their homes in the hemlock over the years. When he had first noticed me sketching, he thought I was an arborist taking census.

7/12/24 Ravenna neighborhood 

The next day, another neighbor who had spotted me sketching the apple tree was concerned that I was from the city and planning to cut the tree down if it was diseased. She loves the apple tree, she said, especially since she had recently lost her own old dogwood to disease.

I enjoy that these street trees give my daily walks a destination and focus.

Material note: I’ve noticed that this particular Uglybooks color is very difficult to photograph accurately, either with my camera or with my scanner. You wouldn’t know it from this image, but the color is much closer to a warm cyan than the cool light cobalt you see here.

7/12/24 Ravenna neighborhood

More Green Lake Trees

 

6/28/24 Green Lake neighborhood

I finished sketching the last four trees in the Green Lake neighborhood that were documented by Taha Ebrahimi in Street Trees of Seattle. Not all of the trees she highlights in the book are huge, old trees (though many are). Some are surprisingly small and indistinctive, like the tiny, young ginkgo in the middle of a street island. The twin quinces both have leaves that had been well-eaten by some infesting bugs, and I worried about their health. They are distinctive, however, for being the first quinces recorded in the City of Seattle as right-of-way trees (out of only 19 quinces in the whole city).

Now that I’ve made small gesture sketches of all the Maple Leaf and Green Lake trees, I have in mind three that would make nice portraits. Since the gesture sketches were all done in morning light, I’ve gone back to see one of them in late-afternoon light, which is definitely better than morning. Unfortunately, one that would be particularly magnificent to draw has a trunk that will always be in shade due to its huge canopy. It’s always challenging to draw anything in total shade, but I’ll have to make do.

This page spread got a little cramped and more cluttered than I had intended. While walking around Green Lake to get from one tree to another, I suddenly spotted two crows mercilessly harassing a bald eagle minding its own business high atop a tree. I should have given the birds more space (and therefore kept more space for the trees), but the spectacle felt like part of my tree-sketching story, so I put them on the same spread. (I posted a short video on Instagram.)

Green Lake Street Trees on a Perfect Day

 

6/19/24 Green Lake neighborhood (This page spread turned out disheveled; the house with the unusual roof doesn't belong here, but when I saw it on my walk, I wanted to sketch it on the spot or I might not find it again later.)

Studying the map in Taha Ebrahimi’s book, Street Trees of Seattle, I’ve been planning my strategy for sketching all 10 trees documented in the Green Lake neighborhood. Five are located toward the southern end of the lake in the Tangletown micro-neighborhood, which is farther than I typically walk, but it was certainly doable. I just needed ideal conditions: Not cold, but also not hot, and definitely sunny. Wednesday morning was perfectly clear, the temperature was in the mid-60s, and by noon, it would be 70: Perfect! I set out with my sun hat.

My favorite in this batch is the impressive bigleaf maple (above) – the sixth widest-diameter maple street tree in the city, according to Taha. It’s on my list as a potential candidate for a portrait later. The ovens wattle acacia is also distinctive for being Seattle’s only acacia street tree.

By the time I sketched the pair of ginkgos (above), I had walked more than 11,000 steps from home – a few more than I had calculated based on Google’s estimated walking times. With an appointment in the early afternoon that I had to go home to get my car for, I decided to take the bus back. I almost hated to do it, though; everything about the day was beautiful, and I wanted to keep on walking.

Although I don't enjoy crossing the freeway to get to Green Lake, I do when I know this will be my reward. . . Her Majesty, Mt. Rainier, to the south . . . 

. . . and a pivot from the same spot gives me The Brothers to the west. Didn't I say it was a perfect day?

Green Lake Street Trees

 

6/17/24 Green Lake

Sketching all the special street trees in Maple Leaf in Taha Ebrahimi’s book was almost too easy. I’ve already moved on to the trees of Green Lake, which will take longer because there are 10 of them scattered over a wider area. Shown above are two that are closest to home – a ginkgo and a southern catalpa.

Scanning a street as I search for a tree’s address (the residence closest to the tree), I can sometimes guess from a block away which tree it will be: Often the widest or with a distinctive trunk. Like the spectacular snow gum eucalyptus I sketched in Maple Leaf, this magnificent catalpa has an extraordinary trunk that I spotted easily from a distance. It is certainly a candidate for a more complete portrait later this summer.

Maple Leaf’s Street Trees

6/13/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood

When I learned about the very special bigleaf maple in the Ravenna neighborhood from Taha Ebrahimi, I also learned that she had recently published a book devoted to many special trees in Seattle – specifically urban trees growing on public rights of way. Street Trees of Seattle is organized by neighborhood, and each tree is described and shown on hand-drawn maps. In addition, the author’s drawings of many of the featured trees, their leaves and other features are also included in the 288-page book. What a gem of a tree guide for someone like me who knows very little about trees but loves drawing them!

I bought a copy right away and was delighted to find that all eight of the trees documented in the Maple Leaf section are right on my various walking routes! In just two days, I sketched seven (I skipped one that was mostly behind a fence). My summer project will be to choose at least a few to make larger, more detailed portraits.

Although Green Lake is technically not my neighborhood, it’s within walking distance, so I plan to sketch as many as possible of the 10 trees documented in that neighborhood, too.

6/14/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood

Street Trees of Seattle, by Taha Ebrahimi