On pine trees and pinecones

The smell of pine trees takes me back to childhood and walking in the pine plantings that dot the landscape in rural Michigan. There are several large pine trees in the community park from which I get my pine fix. They also furnish pine cones for use in my little rocket stove. I have never identified the species (that is very important to my inner science geek), so I decided to sketch the bark, needles, and  pine cones as a reminder to me when I get around to looking up a pine tree key. I haven't done that yet, so can't say the species, but the practice has been interesting.

The pine cones have been sitting in the middle of my table, so I keep coming back and trying different media in an attempt to make them look better. The pattern is a Fibonacci sequence that looks deceptively simple.

First, I did a couple of quick sketches.

Fude nib pen and ink on
Blick mixed media paper, 80lb. 

Koh-I-Noor Tri-tone pencils and Noodler's Lexinton Grey ink.
Blick mixed media, 80lb. paper

I wasn't really satisfied with these sketches, so did a more detailed sketch. That took more than an hour. Too long! I came to notice the mountain like details of the individual scales and began sketching from that angle.

Faber-Castell water colour pencils (student grade)
Blick mixed media 80lb. paper

Finally, tried using black paper to provide the shading and did two 15 minute sketches. I have been having fun with the effects on this black paper. The right sketch was done first with my new Spectrum Noir metallic pencils. They lay down smooth and show up well on black paper, but must be sharpened frequently to keep a point. So I tried the sketch on right with a Prismacolor Col-erase blue pencil, which seems very hard when I am trying to use it to put in light lines on mixed media paper. After I finished the sketch, I remembered the pencil is "copy not", meaning it is not supposed to photocopy! So I colored two scales with metallic pencil in case the blue didn't show up. It did.

15 minute pine cone sketches with Prismacolor Col-erase pencil on left
Spectrum Noir Metallic pencils on right. Canson 92lb. black drawing paper.

Here is what the pine cone is supposed to look like.

iPhone picture of the unidentified pine tree pine cone, including a pine nut.

The trees have little clumps of needles coming out of the side of the large trunks.

Pine needles. Graphite and colored pencil.
Strathmore 300 sketch paper.

iPhone picture of pine. I started sketching on site,
then finished from the picture after my feet went numb.

Once a geek, always a geek

I am a science and technology geek. I think I was born that way but then, I also was nurtured in that direction. When I was in second grade, having read all the fun books in our little school library, I was forced to pick a book from the science section. I picked "Earthworms" and learned that they have five hearts and can regenerate up to half their body. What!?! It was like finding out that there were aliens in my backyard. I reread that book over and over during the week I had it. When I had to take it back, I begged my dad to buy it for me and was broken-hearted when he said he couldn't buy a library book. But, that day he put the book in his lunch box and made me a hand lettered and illustrated tiny book about earthworms during his lunch hour. That little book of stapled, lined paper written in pencil was kept in my desktop cedar chest with my most precious keepsakes until I was 16, when most of my treasures were destroyed. Now why did this story come to mind?

Goulet Pens recently recorded a video of a presentation by "the napkin note dad", who discussed the impact that written notes can have on those who receive them. I highly recommend this video. For Starwars geeks, there is a funny story about trying to go through TSA with a light saber.

Writing is often thought to be outdated in the digital age, but a hand written note can be more evocative and more permanent than a text, or even an email. Part of the power of a hand-written note is in the memory evoked by the sender's distinctive handwriting, as well as any little doodles or sketches that can be added. Those notes are often saved and reviewed for years. Since seeing that video, I am considering how to encourage my granddaughter with written notes. Maybe even make her a tiny, illustrated book about something that she is geeked over. Like earwigs.

Notes about earwig observations.
Exceed 100gsm paper and inks

Sam and her dinner guest. Ink and ink wash.
Still working on shading. Exceed 76gsm journal paper.
8/19/19

One of the things that I appreciate about my dad (who raised three of us as a single dad in the 60s when single parents were not common and single dad's were almost unheard of) is that he never said,"You're a girl, you shouldn't be interested in science and math." The societal attitudes at the time certainly did not encourage girls to pursue STEM interests. My dad sometimes brought home little things in his lunch box (he worked at a research facility) to demonstrate simple scientific principles, like electrical charges and chemical reactions. Because of dad, I didn't give in to peer pressure in school to hide my enthusiasm about learning, especially about science. I'm glad I got to be a geek when being a geek wasn't cool. I love seeing the same enthusiasm in Sam.