Dr. Winter's trees

You do know I like drawing trees. This is the first "Dr Winter" tree, done while waiting for my wife's app't with her new pain-free dentist. Not long after that appointment the he moved from this urban location to nice new quarters in a suburban office park so I never had the pleasure of drawing this particular tree again. It was in tough shape with broken diseased limbs. I wonder how well or IF it has survived the last five years! 

I found an interesting tree at the new location and over time drew it several times. The second tree, done soon after the move, is drawn in much the same style as that urban tree. One problem here is the clogging of ink marks, - some areas overworked but I learned! With the traditional six month dentist appointment schedule, I adjusted and each successive drawing became cleaner.  You can see the progression !

I love looking at progressions, - witness my love of cartoons. There is something about repetition and variation that really appeals to my design sense. The old dictum says repetition is the heart of good design. Whether that is carried out in a literal sense, like wallpaper, or in the repetition of similar elements like color and shape or in the hand of the artist, pen strokes for example, is a personal choice. 

To me the visual artist is a person who brings  order to the blank paper, canvass, or even the stage. The character of that organization depends on individual preference but should be there in some form regardless of subject, medium, size, etc. There's a consistency to the work in the last two pieces I find lacking in the second. It is overworked!  I like the balance between open areas and inked sections in the last two but might decide number three works best because it is a bit more casual and has nice textural interest.  I can't decide. 

"Although order in a composition is important, order without variety and personal expression can be boring."   Britton Francis

"The profoundest order is revealed in what is most casual."  Fairfield Porter

"Creativity, making art should never bore the artist."  Cathy Johnson