‘The real, prodigious study to undertake is the diversity of the scene offered by nature.’ — Paul Cézanne
A colleague asked me the other day, regarding my sketching practice, if I had a most preferred subject to draw.
I scrolled through my sketchbooks mentally, but soon I noticed that special subject while we were hiking one of the many beautiful tracks during a weekend day trip. I have lately been noticing - and drawing - New Zealand Aotearoa’s trees.
The trees on this side of the world are so different than the native trees from the place where I come from. I’ve noticed these patterns: most of them are evergreen and have a chunky trunk at the base, and many thick branches that open up tall and wide like an inverted pyramid from almost the ground. The most common hue I’ve observed is an intense dark green. I suspect the shape has to do with resisting the constant strong winds in the islands, while the colour must be a result of it raining almost every single day. The names of the trees here come from te reo Māori, and they are beautiful words: Nikau, Totara, Kauri, Pōhutukawa…
When drawing trees, I have been exploring mostly relationships in colour, shape and edges, and tones in between or in negative spaces. Interestingly, this unintentional attention to the trees happened much earlier, before I moved here to New Zealand Aotearoa. It’s interesting how sometimes we find subjects and inspiration in such organic and unpredictable ways...
That is why it was such a happy coincidence to come across this fantastic book in the public library: Cézanne Drawing. This is the catalog book of the exhibition that the MoMA in New York did a couple of years ago. I have known Cézanne’s paintings for years - he’s one of the masters - but I have been truly astonished by his drawings, which I didn’t know about.
Here’s a small tip and something I have found recently: if you feel compelled to the work of a certain painter, go and find their drawing production - sketches, study notes, observations, rough drawings, etc. They tend to be masterpieces on their own, and most of the time more interesting even than their painted work (if even possible!).
Cézanne’s drawings are currently being a source of inspiration and learning. His drawings of trees have made me think of other artists I appreciate who have also noticed the beauty of nature and captured its essence in drawings.
These are some other artists that might bring you inspiration in the specific theme of trees, apart from Paul Cézanne:
David Hockney. The Arrival of Spring in 2013 in Yorkshire is one of my favourite series. He draws these trees in black and white, working the tones and marks. I owe it to Hockney and his ‘Spring Cannot Be Cancelled’ that I notice and appreciate more the arrival of Spring and the change in seasons.
Antonio López. A great painter and fantastic draughtsman, his trees are a mix of realistic and contour drawings, including the blank space as another material. The drawing is mostly left unfinished, with shading and detailing areas of interest.
Christoph Niemann. He’s such a reference for so many things, but he’s also got a love for drawing trees. He uses abstraction as a tool, which reveals a particular style. Niemann also has some tips on how to draw them, he writes: Trees are much too complex to follow rules; each is unique, constantly changing character through the seasons, and I’ve made my peace with that.
Ultimately, the attention we give to the subject we are drawing expands our understanding and connection with it. Nature is a constant teacher, and, as Rick Rubin says in The Creative Act: A Way of Being:
‘Deepening our connection to nature will serve our spirit, and what serves our spirit invariably serves our artistic output.’
✏️✨
Happy sketching!
ana
PS.
Digging out that sketch of The Giants from 2022 made me reconnect with a project I left unfinished after moving out of London. For about a year I took photos of The Giants in my daily walks to the park. It is so powerful to look at the photos from different seasons side by side. My only intention back then was to notice and to take visual notes, but looking at this sparked some inspiration of picking up this project again.
This is a sneak peek into it:
Oooh, I love the 'giants'. There's a row of Horse Chestnuts near me that line a path and I'm mesmerised by them. I never thought of trying to sketch them though. Maybe I will have a go one day.