Leaf Meditations

As our winter becomes grayer and wetter, I lean into all things golden and warm. Inside my home, I’ll warm a mug of milk and stir in golden milk powder: a mix of turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper, with a bit of honey and coconut oil stirred in. And when I go out to sketch trees, I visually drink in the golden foliage, especially the ginkgo trees. I have a practice of taking nature inspired ‘beauty breaks’, which has turned into what I call ‘leaf meditations’. I need my leaf meditations to counterbalance the negative stressors of life.

I like to ‘car sketch’ when the weather is gloomy, and one of my favorite places to go is Derby Street in my neighborhood. There is a two block stretch of fabulous old ginkgo trees whose leaves turn into the most riotous golden mass in late December. Year after year I’ve sketched there, always thinking that I alone gloried in the beauty of these autumn ginkgos. Then I sat down to sketch one day, with the window rolled down a bit for my Meerkat to get fresh air, and I overheard a dog walker saying she had heard about the ginkgo trees of Derby Street. So I guess the secret is out…

Ginkgo trees are so ancient ( from 270M years ago) that they are considered ‘living fossils’, and they are the oldest trees on Earth. Their leaves are shaped like no others, and I often like to draw leaf portraits to play with color and pattern.

The first rain storms will bring down so many leaves that the car roofs will be covered and the sidewalks will be so deep in leaves that my feet feel like they’re walking on soft carpet.

Another tree whose autumn leaves I adore is the persimmon. These waxy leaves glow orange, with bits of vivid green, and spots of brown decay. When the late afternoon sun hits these trees, they light up like a flaming torch. I love to use Neocolor II crayons to capture these colors against a gray-toned sketchbook, and the crayon texture also mimics the waxy surface of the actual leaves.

After I’ve met illustration deadlines where I’ve needed to draw more tightly and recognizably, I relish a messy, fast leaf painting on paper that is wholly unsuitable for watercolor. I find that that keeps me from making anything too precious. I like to do these two-handed: painting with my right hand, but drawing with my non-dominant left hand. It was raining the night I painted this, so that found its way into my painting.

I tested all the yellow I could find in my art supplies and used as many as I could to try to capture the intense golden hue of the ginkgos. I’m still not sure I’ve found it yet! I do know that I find calm when I’m sitting, breathing, and painting these gorgeous old trees. It’s been a tumultuous year, and sitting in front of a tree that is much older than I am, with its roots sinking deep into the earth, is a calming and grounding experience.

This golden life feels like it’ll go on forever, but the first big rain storm of winter will take down every leaf, and all of a sudden the show is over until next year.

I hope you all have a place to draw that gives you a comforting sense of groundedness. Is it beside a tree, or do you have another place you can go to to find some calm? Leave me a comment, and if you liked reading this, can you restack my post?

Wishing everybody a Happy New Year and hope for a less chaotic year ahead. (And a tree is waiting for you to exhale your stress, breathe in its oxygen, and draw its beauty.)

OTHER COOL THINGS

Got a New Year’s resolution about learning to draw? My urban sketching class is starting again on Saturday, Jan 10 at Arch Art Supplies in SF