For this exercise I was asked to find a tree that interests me. I have a fairly big garden and some of my trees are beautiful. Below are some photographs.

I decided to draw the tree below as I really like its shape, it looks like it has been bent out of shape after years of wind damage. It is also in my opinion the prettiest tree in my garden, and I love my little bird house resting on its branches.  

I then decided to take some more up close detailed photographs of the tree just so I could learn about my tree in a more intimate detail. 

I decided that I would try to draw my tree from different view points and angles in order to explore the most exciting compositions. 

I was asked to create four preliminary drawings in order to help me get to grips with the structure of the tree. 

For my first drawing I sat on my bench next to the tree and drew on my table. I worked a4 size and I started by drawing a simple outline of the trees basic shape using charcoal. I found this drawing much harder than I thought it would be as there seemed to be so much going on and I felt like I kept loosing track of which branches were which & where they were all placed! I added both biro to my drawing to try to capture some smaller detail and some black ink to try to show the darkest tones. I tried to shade areas that described how the foliage forms in different masses around the tree and I tried to show the texture of the foliage by using scribbled marks with all of my media’s. 

I found this drawing difficult and to progress further I need to work out how to draw busy masses and foliage more successfully. 

My drawing oddly enough does portray a mood. But considering it was a beautiful sunny and bright summers day, I seem to have captured the wrong mood as my drawing makes me think of a dark, eery, scary forest on a cold windy day. 

For my second drawing I decided to zoom in and work up close to the tree. I focussed on a small area of bark on the trunk. I laid down book paper on top of my a4 paper to try to make the page more interesting to start with. I again used a mixture of media including biro, black ink and pencil. 

This drawing allowed me to really understand some of the small details that make up this beautiful tree and it allowed me to focus on the small detail that was lost on my drawing of the whole tree. 

For my third drawing I sat on the floor next to the tree and looked upwards. I again used white a4 paper with some book page collaged onto the page. I also used a mixture of media’s including biro, ink and charcoal. I drew the opposite side of the tree this time and again had the same struggles as before. I found observing so much detail difficult and I kept getting lost whilst following branches and leaves. I feel like I did capture the overall form and structure of the tree, but again my masses of branches and foliage needs work. I again seem to have unintentionally created a mood of darkness and gloom whereas sitting in the garden on a glorious sunny day seems to contradict this mood. 

For my final drawing, I wanted to focus on just a few leaves and branches of the tree. This detail is what I seem to have missed in my drawings of the entire tree. I stayed sitting on the grass in my previous position but this time focussed in on a very small area of the tree. I again worked on white a4 paper with some book page collaged on top of it. I used a mixture of biro and ink and I tried o capture a sense of shape and form. Whilst also trying to show light and shadow. As I was sitting on the floor away from this branch I was unable to observe its tiny detail, however I do feel like I have captured the essence of its shape.