Tag Archives: tree

Three Trees and a Rock

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5.5"X7" Pencil & marker in Moleskine

A couple of days ago I was walking on the common and came across this interesting "mashup". It was probably rather a challenging subject for a 10 minute sketch but I wanted to give it a try.

The maple and the locust must have grown up together, because if one had grown first it surely would have overwhelmed the other. The trunks are so close together that they actually seem to be conjoined. The birch in the foreground is about a foot from the main trunk.

I have walked past it many times but never noticed its disparate nature before. Perhaps because of the way that each tree's leaves changes colour at a different rate and to a different hue, it was much more apparent this time.

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Tree

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7"X5.5" Pencil in Moleskine

Yesterday it really did feel like Spring but it was quite a bit colder today. This was sketched during a lunchhour last week. I am hoping that there won't be many more opportunities to draw such a chilly scene.

I haven't done much actual painting recently, it has been really hard to find the time. As we get into the season I have to work more and more weekends and when I am not working I seem to have other things I have to do, like plumbing. I really hate plumbing, but it beats paying the plumber. My next project is retiling the bath surround which is at least a little more creative than removing and reinstalling a toilet!


Palm Trees

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7.5"X5" Mixed media in Moleskine

This is actually the same tree from two different vantage points. The fist was painted at ground level, looking up slightly, the second from the porch, you can see the ocean (Atlantic) in the background.

Even before the events of last week, the people of Rincon were very aware of the various perils that Nature can inflict upon them. They have suffered from  devastating hurricanes and earthquakes within recorded history and there is a clearly marked Tsunami Zone in the downtown area. They are currently in the process of moving the schools out of the Tsunami zone, onto higher ground. There is discussion about "how high is high enough?" My sister likes to think that their house is "high enough" and she is probably right. It certainly seems like a pretty steep walk back up from the beach, even though it only takes a few minutes.
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Solstice

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5.5"X3.5" Watercolour & ink in Moleskine

Not a very good photograph but I was too lazy to scan it (I have to take my laptop into the other room). This is really "Noon on the Common 158" or something, but I thought I would take advantage of the date to call it something else. I found a great spot with my back to the wall of RH1 (the main rehearsal studio, otherwise known as the Studio Theatre for a few weeks of the year). I think that this tree has figured in a few paintings and drawings over the past few years too.
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Tree, Puerto Rico

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A couple of small pictures of the same subject, the tree outside my window in Puntas. I am going to be straying from my usual seasonal themes for some time to come I think. I still have a lot of material from Puerto Rico and I want to use it while it is still fresh in my mind. I got behind this week, despite my good intentions, because I had issues with Bell and was without internet access for three days.

Against the Day

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9"X6" Mixed media

Not much of an offering but at least I tried.

I went for a short walk at lunchtime and sat for a few minutes to do this quick sketch. I wasn't helped by the fact that I was drawing "contre jour". It was also a bit chilly and I didn't have my fingerless mitts with me. I did find a great place to sit however, back-to-front on the soccer bleachers. This provided a ready-made table.

I used watercolour pencils, "Graphitint" pencils and three different pens for this. As well as the fountain pen which I use quite a lot, I also used a Staedtler pigment liner and my latest toy, a Pentel pocket brush.

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October Morning

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7"X5" Acrylic on board

You can't trust the weather at this time of year. This morning was bright and clear and the sun made such pretty shadows on the fallen leaves. It kept diving back behind the clouds though so I had to snap a picture to try to freeze the moment. That is my only excuse for doing this one from a photo, as it is the view from my living room window at about 8:30 this morning.

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Date Palm

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5"X8" WC pencil on paper

Dipping into the archives again. A couple of years ago I was in Tucson around this time of year, for a conference. I was lucky enough to stay with some friends for a couple of days before and after and I got to see a bit of Arizona. This stately palm was just outside their house.

Drawings and paintings done from life can evoke memories so much better than photographs. Looking at this little sketch I can smell the early morning desert and feel the dry air on my skin.

Another Tree

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11″X8″ Marker on paper

I wasn’t going to post anything tonight, feeling a bit under-the-weather and sorry for myself, then I remembered that I had done this a couple of days ago out on the common at lunchtime. I did rather a lot of these last year, combining Copic markers and office highlighters, it must be a Summer thing.

I love the trees at this time of year, the foliage still thin enough that the “bones” are still visible, and the leaves themselves still so new that they seem almost transparent in the strong Spring sunshine.

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