Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Illustration Friday: Puzzled


You know me...when I learn the topic for Illustration Friday each week, I usually start thinking in botanical terms. This week, "puzzled" reminded me of the strange characteristics of the bark of a Ponderosa pine tree in California's gorgeous Sierra Nevada. When you walk through an area with lots of Ponderosa pines, the ground is scattered with what look like jigsaw puzzle pieces. At certain times in its lifecycle, the trees develop furrows in their trunks that display this amazingly unique texture. I only illustrated a single piece in my drawing above, but this is what it looks like on the tree:


This drawing is a collection of some treasures that I collected last summer while visiting my son, a field biologist, who was studying Spotted Owls near Dinkey Creek in the Sierra. (Don't worry, I'm careful not to pick up bits of nature in protected areas.) The small pinecone is from the huge Lodgepole pine, and the moss is sort of a reindeer-type of moss.
My son has since moved on to another of California's natural wonders, Pinnacles National Monument, where he is part of the California Condor study group. He's a lucky young man: here are his "workplace" shots. (The second shot includes my daughter, who turns 23 today—Happy Birthday, E!)

Dinkey Creek, CA     July 2011
Pinnacles National Monument, CA    April 2012

10 comments:

  1. I love your drawing. Lucky family to take trips to such beautiful places, and even luckier son to work there!

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  2. Good subject for 'puzzled', it's amazing how wonderful nature is. Your son must enjoy his job, how lucky he is!

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  3. I can't believe how that wood looks just like puzzle pieces. Very cool. The drawing is lovely and Happy Birthday to your daughter!

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  4. Wow, what a fascinating (& Mellingaceously botanical) take! We have a lot of pines here in NC, but mostly Eastern White & Longleaf, & their bark chips are rougher & more angular, not nearly as graphogenic. (See, I like to make up words too! ;-) I loved your "buttonical" quip!)

    Beautiful drawing, & I concur on the lucky son comments & the b-day wishes for E!

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  5. Beautiful rendering and interesting natural phenomenon with the tree bark. Funny, I was tempted to draw a fossil fragment of a 'Monkey Puzzle' tree before opting for a mineral study in my IF entry this week. My daughter will be starting college soon with the hope of earning a degree in Paleontology - hence the fossil reference. Glad to see your son following a path that takes him to such wonderful locations.

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  6. Nice, Sarah. I like how you sketched your sketchbook, and your work is always so detailed it looks real. I love the Sierra Nevada mountains, we are so lucky to live close enough to them to visit! Last year we spent some time in King's Canyon which I think deserves just as much admiration it's more famous neighbors...

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  7. What a wonderful post, Sarah! Happy happy birthday to your little one...23! : ) Exciting! And congratulations to your son re: Pinnacles..what a lucky man! Goodness, I was not familiar with the Ponderosa pine puzzle bark...fascinating!! Your illustration, as always, is wonderful. I'm wishing you a super week ahead..we're heading into some warm weather out here! : )

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  8. Really beautiful drawing! I like that the sketchbook is incorporated in the piece- a sketch of a sketch!

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  9. Gee.... I can really picture these pieces of nature that you've captured on your page. I recognize them for sure! Amazing!

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  10. Great illustration Sarah, i have never seen Ponderosa pine bark, it definitely looks like jigsaw puzzle pieces.

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