Apple Trees in My Backyard
A dozen ancient apple trees watch over my backyard in Harpswell, Maine. Just like humans, each tree wears the joys and tribulations of its life on its twisted branches and hollowed trunk. I can’t walk by them without marveling at their dancing forms, the way light plays over them, their intricate shadows.
My goal was to try to capture the personalities and beauty of three favorites using graphite and colored pencils. “Walking Tree” stands on two skinny legs overlooking our house. “Spiral Apple Tree” looks as if it has been wrapped by a strangler fig, with parts of its body bulging out in teardrop shapes. “Dead Apple Tree” has lost its bark but, thanks to a skirt of moss, not its sense of life.