Course work: A quadripartite drawing of an American red cedar (very common here). This particular one arises from two trunks, also a fairly common finding, and has the advantage of not being partially concealed by a mass of other trees. The foliage on these trees is very dense, and the branching pattern is difficult to follow beyond the first of second bifurcation. I drew a general outline of the tree, a larger outline with the shadows between the foliage masses indicated, the paired trunks and the lower branches, and some detail of the foliage, which is what I hope the somewhat confusing fourth part of the instructions means.
I then drew four images of a wild persimmon, also very common, almost to the extent of being a nuisance tree. These are densely-leaved deciduous trees, with somewhat serpentine branches that tend to be fairly long. The leaves are shiny and reflect sunlight strongly. In season, the fruit, barely edible by humans, is relished by wild animals, particularly coyotes.
Reading:
Rose-Marie & Ranier Hagen What Great Paintings Say (Vol. 2)
Taschen, Köln, 2005
Pp 674-691
Personal sketchbook work: A graphite drawing of a cottontail rabbit that I photographed while out looking at trees last evening.
Total time: 2 hours 16 minutes
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