How my month of trees is going so far!

My 30 days of 30 trees project is nearing halfway, and I’m surprised how much I’m enjoying this time I’m spending on branches and leaves. There have been a few days recently where I almost didn’t paint or draw a tree, and I had to make myself sit down and get to work right at the end of the day.

It amazing how much time you have in a day when you really squeeze it. You think you’ve done all you can in a day (and boy, do I do a lot in a day) and then you keep your promises to yourself and do just that tiny bit more. I’m proud of myself for continuing my tree practice, even when I’m not totally feeling it.

I purposefully kept this month’s project vague and wide open enough so that I could meet it on any day- my best or my worst. Just draw a tree. Any medium, any amount of time. Heck, I could draw stick figure trees with crayons if I wanted. That would count! But I’m finding that in this practice, if I sit down to do 2 minutes of a tree, I always want to do 5. Then 10. And if my limited time allows, I’ll let myself get sunk into the leaves and branches for an hour!

Every tree I’ve made so far captures something about who I was that day that’s permanently filmed in my mind. I remember sitting on the porch while painting the apple tree leaves, my two babies playing in the dirt. I remember how much I loved seeing that tiny tree on a rock on my hike. I remember my very first tree painting this month of my parents’ maple, and how I felt like this was a “boring” subject to choose for the month. Boring! And now I’m completely immersed in it.

I may take more time next month, choose a select few from the studies I’ve done here, and finalize some larger pieces. Right now I’m thinking:

-aspen (obviously)

-willow (by popular demand)

-cottonwood (for sentimental reasons)

I wonder which trees will inspire me next?