Trees and sketchbooks

There are some lovely trees in my area and I've been meaning to sketch them for ages. The one above is a huge plane tree on the corner of the road outside the local mairie's office. Across the road there are some handy benches to sit and sketch but it's so enormous and my sketchbook very small so I just focused on the trunk.

Another favourite tree, this one I can see from my kitchen window. It's incredibly tall and somehow manages to look even bigger from the window. I love the shape of the trunk and there is another tree on my bus route with the same 'tuning fork' trunk. I'm not sure what it is but it could be a Stone pine. I added the little building behind for scale, a bit of cloud and the glimpse of the Jura mountains you can see from this angle.

I don't normally draw trees or landscapes but these were really enjoyable. It may be because of the size limitation - with a larger sketchbook it would be too intimidating, too overwhelming, I think.






Now there is only one page left in this sketchbook. I was in Green & Stone last week and picked up another couple but I noticed they have changed the paper from a soft off-white to bright white. I don't mind the white but I really liked the old fashioned feel of the original. I still have a couple to use and this has taken years to fill so I won't miss them just yet!

Here are the Green & Stone books I use at the moment. The lovely little pocket sketchbook with the canvas cover, stud fastener and pencil holder. And the black square format sketchbooks - one I call my 'random' sketchbook and one is for doodles. I have a million other types but these are the ones I use most just now. Keeping things small has helped get over a very long and persistent 'writer's block'.

Also, in Green & Stone I discovered Conte pencils. These are not the charcoal pencils I've tried before but more like very black graphite. They may have been around forever but I've never seen them before and these are a really exciting find!