Monday 21 June 2010

Roots


Saturday I went to the Botanical Gardens in Palermo.  It was really interesting and I enjoyed wandering around leisurely in the sunshine, not only for the amazing plants and trees but for the birds too.
My favourites were the enormous Ficus trees that grow roots down from their branches forming amazing shapes and forms.  While I was there I sketched the lily ponds but as soon as I got back home I drew the Ficus trees while they were fresh in my mind.




Of course I took many photo's, but there was so much to see and absorb and I'm hoping to go back and do some more sketching.   Perhaps taking some sarnies and a flask of coffee this time as there is a distinct lack of refreshment facilities inside the garden!

15 comments:

debra morris said...

Great drawing Cathy, amazing tree

martinepittet said...

Terrific drawing ! What an impressive tree!

Unknown said...

Fabulous Cathy.

Anonymous said...

GORGEOUS!! You really captured a composition of these roots that is stunning and lively. I like the hint of blue- it really gives depth. WOW to the whole drawing!!
I like your new profile photo too.

Gillian Mowbray said...

Cathy - that's stunning work. I love it. May I ask - is that pen with CP, or just CP?

Alex said...

This is amazingly beautiful! I love how the trunk folds and all, and you definitely brought out the true beauty of nature

Cathy Holtom said...

Thank you Pam x

Gillian - It's pen, then I shaded most of it with black cp, then a little bit of colour over the top.

Thank you all for the lovely comments.

Anonymous said...

A lovely drawing! We have seen enormous strangler figs in Australia - the fig starts growing on a branch of a host tree, then gradually strangles it with roots the same as in your drawing.

nanke's stuff said...

What a great drawing! It's sort of other-worldly and mysterious. I love it. And I have to say, those strangler figs in Australia sound pretty creepy to me! lol nancy

Unknown said...

Wow! I love that tree! Beautifully sketched and colored too!

Cathy Holtom said...

Sorry Nancy, I think this is one of the Australian strangler figs. Anne's description is the same as I had in Italian!

seesue said...

The smoothness of those sinuous roots. This is an amazing entry into your delightful blog.

Janene said...

This is a wonderful drawing of a beautiful tree. I love how you used the subtle brown and blue tones to bring out depth and add liveliness to the drawing. Also, the spray of leaves adds much.

Lesley Purcell said...

This root drawing is just beautiful! What a fascinating tree this must be to see in the flesh!

Anonymous said...

A beautiful sketch and done from memory, really great! I love drawings from memory. This botanical garden seems very interesting.