I'm not remembering the reason or the story behind the above sketch apparently done in 1993, but I do know it's an olive tree.
Since I was a girl, twisted, gnarled trees have been a favorite subject matter in my drawings and paintings. Once I'd spent my entire two week Christmas break in 12th grade sizing up my black ink drawing of a twisted pine and painting it as a mural on my bedroom wall. My mother taught me how to use the grid technique and use blue chalk powder through pin holes to trace the full-sized template onto the nine foot by eleven foot surface, which I then afterward painted in Prussian Blue acrylic paint, mixed with black on an azure blue wall:
Here is the original ink drawing of the tree I painted on my bedroom wall as a teenager. The grid ratio is 6 inches to the half inch square. Needless to say, I was grief-stricken when a couple years later they
sold the house. I was told the mural was a selling point, but I did not profit from it.
That would make a fascinating sculpture, too. Were you thinking of doing it in 3D?
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great drawing- kind of an ultimate bonsai.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a photo of that wall mural?
Yes, it would make an interesting sculpture, Marian, but I haven't figured out how to do it. Much of it would be problematic, even in bronze!
DeleteAnd yes, Roger, I think I do have a photo of the painted tree somewhere, from 1969. It's not a very good one, and probably rather degraded through the years (I think I saw it once in the bottom of my photo box). It might even be a Polaroid! I also have the original ink sketch I did as a teenager, complete with grid drawn over it, 1/2 inch per the 6 inch enlargement.