I learned something about the tulip trees...

I love tulip trees (Liriodendron) - the shape of the leaves most of all probably. Large cup-like flowers with intricate shapes and crazy pattern, a lovely set of colors. The almost cone-like seedpods. Pointy remains of seed pods that make a naked tree look even more interesting than just a naked tree. The shape of the overall tree - it's awkwardness without leaves and might with them. How much shade it gives. The fact that they are related to magnolias.

But one thing always bothered me - the sticky sap on some of them. But not on others. I never could figure out the pattern, then remembered to search online and...

View this post on Instagram

Morning sketchbooking - I learned something about the tulip trees today... #tuliptree #tuliptreeflower #sketchbooking #sketchbook #liquidwatercolor #visualjournaling #visualjournal #nature #naturesketch #naturesketching #drawtolearn

A post shared by Nina Khashchina (@ninaapplepine) on May 22, 2019 at 10:32am PDT

"Tulip tree aphids (Illinoia liriodendri) commonly feed on the underside of the tree's leaves early in the growing season. Aphids feed on tree sap and cause pale, yellow spots on leaves and may also make leaves curl or pucker and distort blooms. The insects ingest more sap than they need and secrete the excess as honeydew, which leads to sooty mold."

Sketchbook #115: Bits and pieces

These are little things that accumulate in my sketchbook. There are days when I know what I want to draw and days when I just open a book and... if I don't start right away - I might never start - so I take first thing in front of me and start moving my pen - be that a tree trunk or a broken light switch. Or - if I managed to clean my table so much there is nothing there - I open up the news (that's the one about the death of Koko the gorilla) and draw - the trick is not to read too much - just glance, close and draw from memory. I drew that branch with tulip tree from memory too I believe - it was still on my table but by accident, I left a book on top of it so it became flat - hence this is my memory of how the now flat branch looked like the day before :)

Tulip Tree Flowers

Tulip Tree is Blooming!

January 2014: Treasures of Two Very Different Days

The paper in this sketchbook continues to challenge my sense of understanding how to draw - mostly because sometimes I don't slow down before drawing. But when I do I get a very different feeling from it - as if we will be friends at the end :)

September 2013: Weekend Scans.