I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree.

I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do.

-Willa Cather, O Pioneers! (1913)

In honor of Earth Day, some drawings of trees.

Trees are fascinating things to draw. As children, we draw a brown rectangle topped by a green circle or triangle and call it done. But to observe an actual tree is to find a wondrously complicated arrangement of twisting forms and textures. Each one is as unique and individual and possessing of a specific personality as any human. And trees make great models. They can hold a pose for hours!

Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them.

- Bill Vaughan

 

Most of my drawings are of trees sans leaves, because I've yet to crack the code on how to draw a mass of leaves. It's the same way with hair. I'm still searching for the way to depict the sum mass of thousands of individual components.

Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing "Embraceable You" in spats.
-Woody Allen

Flowers are great to draw, too, but I find them difficult. Their leaves and petals are just as complex as the limbs of a tree, if not more so, but require a delicacy and grace I usually fail to capture. I guess delicacy and grace don't come naturally to me. I was relatively pleased with this one, but it's still pretty stiff and solid. It has kind of a Rockwell Kent vibe to it.

If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if the screamed all the time, for no good reason.
- Jack Handy