As temperatures cool, I’m outside more and enjoying the beauty of some of my favorite subjects–trees. I cannot get enough of them. I’m usually in a quandary as to whether to simply sit or stand in the presence of a tree’s beauty drinking it all in, or to record it’s beauty in pen or paint while standing there. More often than not, I come home to record what I remember…not merely a duplication of what that tree looked like, but of what it felt like to be near it. I teach at a school where nature is upheld as an endless source of inspiration for our minds, our imaginations, our hearts. I LOVE this aspect of the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education. In our teacher training days a few weeks ago, we were handed a packet of information about Nature Study that included wonderful quotes about trees…here’s one for today:
And see the peaceful trees extend
their myriad leaves in leisured dance–
they bear the weight of sky and cloud
upon the fountain of their veins.
–Kathleen Raine, Envoi
September 8, 2009 at 12:27 pm
A Charlotte Mason school in your area? You are sooo fortunate! I really like the color in this. Beautiful!
September 8, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Oh so beautiful…I want to get right in that scene! Trees are one of my favorite icons.
September 9, 2009 at 4:01 am
I like your way of working. Colorful and loose on some of these and then you do that nice portraiture in black and white. I’ll have to come back and see what else you do. If you find time with your teaching that is!
September 9, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Energy and harmony and wonderful colors! It’s beautiful and inspiring.