To start this project off I decided to write down a trail of thoughts stemming from the question, ‘what do trees mean to me?’. From growth, life, persistence, to more symbolic meanings like truth, stability, virtue, protection, I found it easier to get more of a feeling for the subject matter and to focus on the essence of the individual trees I was drawing.
Focusing on the ‘essence’ of the tree I started by breaking down the tree into it’s overall shape first. Then breaking the overall shape down into smaller clumps of foliage and then trying out different ways to represent the foliage to give a pleasing representation of the tree.
I chose an old oak tree near my parents house that I used to walk past every day when I was younger. It always struck me as an aesthetically pleasing representation of a tree. With no twists or repression of form it stood strong, proud and established. The well rooted curves on the trunk gave the tree an authority of true structure and stability, completely moulded by nature from inside and outside forces.
I liked this idea so decided to work on practicing a few techniques of representing the foliage in a convincing and complimentary way.
Without trying to busy the drawings with too much detail I tried a few different techniques with different species of trees to see how if I could get a convincing feel for the tree. Using graphite pencils was successful because I could scribble in vague elements of the canopy and give the viewer an idea of the foliage without having to go into every leaf detail.
After using graphite I was experimenting with woodless charcoal and found that this too gave a great variety of possibilities to create a natural look to the intricacies of the trees.
I found the key to drawing trees for me was to simplify it into one overall shape. Break that down it clusters of tone and shade. Then give a suggestion of the foliage specific to the type of tree, for example birch with the characteristic white bark and tiny dotted oval leaves, or the fir with its conical sharpness and firm, solid tendril leaves. I think that’s what gives each tree its essence, and coupling that with how it has been shaped by its environment gives each individual tree its own personal character.
Eeyanski Arts 