Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Day 48, Painting a Day

Lita's Magnolia Tree, 8x8, colored pencil on paper.

I did this one by request. My parents recently bought a home, and my mother particularly loves the Magnolia tree in the front lawn. She asked me to use it as a subject. And here it is!

Leaves, individual leaves that is, drive me crazy. But in a portrait of a tree the most important characteristic is the tree's shape. It would have detracted from the painting to define individual leaves, as you couldn't discern them from the distance from the subject anyways.

I love trees. And am going to hunt down Joyce Kilmer's (1886-1977) poem, Trees and post it.

Trees

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

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast.

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

2 comments:

yarska said...

Amazing. The tree feels so free. It seems to shimmer, too. The yellow-green is a delicious addition.

Cafeglover said...

You can see the preliminary sketch in back, a little. I'm glad you caught the shimmer! That came from the light on the flat leaves, but to me, they were shimmering.

I really love trees, I'm glad I depicted it freely.. Thanks for that.