A Tree Sketchbook

Old Maple Tree 

   Trees have been my life-long companions, everywhere that I have lived. I found some inexpensive sketchbooks that had paper with a good feel to it and I filled one of them with sketches of trees from different places around the country that I particularly like. All sketches are done in pen and ink.

   Some trees were met only in passing, such as the these trees on a beach near St. Augustine Florida.

   A few years ago I was on the north rim of the Grand Canyon while there were active forest fires burning in the area. Forest that had burned a few years ago had green new growth under the tall spikes of burned tree trunks. The bare and polished gray trees made a dramatic pattern against blue sky.

Here is an oak tree in Marin County, California, living on a grassy hilltop.

A row of eucalyptus trees in Marin County, California. Rows of live oaks, eucalyptus, cypress trees or allees of espaliered trees seem to invite a walk to whatever is beyond the path they shelter.

There are many beautiful trees in Victoria, British Columbia, including beech and sequoia, some quite large. This beech lives near the downtown area.

   In Wisconsin we are surrounded by many species of beautiful trees. Here are walnut trees growing on County P east of Valley.

   An elm tree garlanded with red ivy stood on the ridge on County V for many years.

   Splendid, big old locust trees filled the air with fragrance from their white flowers every spring at a friend's farm south of Hillsboro.

   The thorns on these trees were one of my favorite toys as a child. I would make chains of thorns stuck one to another. During recess at school we sat in the grass under the trees making crowns and necklaces of the locust thorns and twigs.

   Here is an old oak near my home.

      And finally, the forest of trees near Warner Creek on a winter day.

    That's my little tree sketchbook. I hope you've enjoyed meeting some of my tree friends! I'd love to  hear of special trees you know.

   Sharing this blog is appreciated. Thanks for visiting.

The Old Road - Walking Into Beauty

Bright Promises - Walnut Ink and Watercolor on Paper 8" x 10"

    Walking Into Beauty.....that phrase immediately seemed right to both Joanne and me as we

began collaborating on a project to combine poetry and visual art to express our experiences walking the Old 131 Trail through the middle of the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. For years we both have walked what we call 'The Old Road', in all weather, seasons and times of day. It remains our favorite place to wander and observe this land we love.

     We also made a book of the poems and drawings! We feel poetry is best read and re-read over time. The book gives you the opportunity to remember your own wanderings on The Old Road, and share some of the beauty there with others who may not be able to walk this trail.

Along the Riverbank - Walnut Ink on Watercolor Paper 8" x 10"

   We think of The Old Road as a way to connect many aspects of this place. Through time, it has been an animal track, a footpath for humans for thousands of years, then a highway, and again a footpath for humans and all who live here. In that way The Old Road connects us all through time and a shared way through the land.

   Walnut ink was used for the drawings. Gathering the nuts from trees in the valley, making the ink and then the drawings and finally sharing the images with you lets Walnut speak through the process and the sharing. Walnut trees are common here, growing in the rich soil. They offer food and shelter for many who live in the land, and finally their wooden bodies as well as their fruit (nuts) for human use too. Walnut ink has been used for centuries to color human made objects and for writing and drawing. So the walnut ink connects us to the walnut trees, the others who depend on them, and to human connection to walnut trees over time.

   The Old Road is an invitation for you too, to walk into beauty on the Old 131 Trail in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve.

     The Old Road drawings and poems now are on display at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve Visitor Center, through May 4th, 2018.