We just wrapped up a perfect Sunday: time spent with 13 enthusiastic tree-lovers in the Bay Area’s Holbrook-Palmer Park (California), learning and practicing tree sketching skills for field journaling.

For this Art of Trees workshop, co-instructor Patricia Larenas and I were bless with wonderful students, a beautiful day, and a plethora of interesting trees from which to choose, from the native stately Coast Live Oaks and mighty Coast Redwoods, to the exotic and odd Monkey Puzzles and Japanese Maples, all putting on a great show. The Atherton Arts Foundation was the perfect host, and we are so grateful for Dorothy and team who make it such a welcoming, perfect venue for art education.

Here are images of our pages and happy students.

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This video shows the progression in Kate Rutter’s journal using the field exercises to zero in throughout the day on a final sketch of a wonderful Coast Live Oak. First sketch for scale and notes and ideas . . . she remarked it was a bit “flat” so she spent time with “oak marks” (love that!) and the next 13 thumbnails exploring and getting to know the oak, its shapes, negative shapes, bark, and finally found a perspective she loved and used in a completed final field sketch.