My daughter Bethany has an idea for a book. She asked if I would like to illustrate it for her. I was delighted to accept the assignment.  The first photos arrived shortly after I agreed. There is a wonderfully sinewy, slightly shaggy-barked tree in front of her house. She sent me several snaps of it from different angles. I call it the ‘gnarly tree’, for lack of a better description. There was a really gnarly tree in Sunnyvale a number of years ago. It probably isn’t there anymore. I think it might have been an oak. It could have been used as an illustration for the term ‘fractal‘. Every branch had a smaller, identically-shaped branch projecting from it.

But I digress. Below is the first picture Beth sent me:

Gnarly Tree Photo 1

Today’s watercolor experiment:

I did a quick sketch in pencil (2B), and was struck by the continuity of the ‘sinews’. I don’t know what botanical term to use. Is ‘trunklet’ a word? It seems to me that the trunk as a whole is made up of little trunklets, gnarling their way up toward the branches.

Gnarly Tree Watercolor 1
12″x9″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block

This sketch is rather bare. For some reason, I wanted to get it done quickly.

I took more time on the study below, based on another photo Beth sent me.

Gnarly Tree Photo 2

I used a wider variety of colors, including neutral tint, warm sepia, burt umber, quinacridone gold, charcoal gray, lamp black.  I used a couple of different colors to glaze, including lemon yellow and quinacridone gold.

Gnarly Tree Watercolor 2
12″x9″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block

This study had a nice wooden color. It would make a perfect under color for a grayish bark. Perhaps I should continue to work in this vein, but today, I quit while I was ahead.