Tree drawing is akin to tree hugging, but you get graphite, not bark, under your fingernails. When drawing trees, you get to visually hug way up to the crown and out to the ends of the smallest twigs.
This video was made at the Quantico Marine base in Virginia last week. The model is the Wisdom Tree (so named by the Marines, not me!), an old willow oak at the edge of the Potomac River. It’s difficult to see the pencil lines in the uploaded video, but I think you can still learn much about the process of how to draw a tree with the “move around and stay fluid” method.
The assignment is to draw a tree. In this season, you will be able to focus on structure.
Please let me know how you like it. Subscribers – remember to double click the post title to see the video.
“The Wisdom Tree” at Quantico Marine Base. 8 x11 pencil drawing by Lillian Kennedy