I've just noticed that I did these 3 doodles (which I've shown before) exactly 41 years ago today (yesterday). October 28th 1974.
Funnily, I was recently in the small nearby town where they were drawn, and the trees are looking exactly the same, just a tad older.
Plane trees are a big element in the French urban landscape; they dominate many a town square and avenue. France wouldn't be France without them.
I like the second one particularly, because I like the nakedness of the tree.
ReplyDeleteIt was also fun drawing downhill.
DeleteEnvious of your drawing skills. (I know exactly where that is of course!)
ReplyDeleteOf course.
DeleteLooks like they are pruned back hard every year. Or is it called pollarding? I like the simplicity of your drawing.
ReplyDeleteThe French are the masters of pollarding; especially with these Planes.
DeleteI love those…especially the first 2.
ReplyDeleteYou're very kind.
DeleteTo say that I really like the second one sounds a bit lame: but I do. It has a something that really appeals to me.
ReplyDeleteThank you Graham.
DeleteYou've captured the essence of a French town/village beautifully.
ReplyDeleteOther European countries could take some lessons from the French and provide towns with adequate trees and greenery. Atmospheric and good for the soul.
They certainly look beautiful here.
DeleteFrech towns are not the greenest !I live in Berlin which is considered to be the greenest town in Europe.
DeleteMr. Cro your paintings are besutiful. Love them.
Thank you Mia.
DeleteOh Cro ...... I LOVE your paintings. As Graham says, they are so appealing. Do you paint much now ? XXXX
ReplyDeleteNot a lot.... only when I feel inclined.
DeleteYour pictures are more than doodles, Cro. They are lovely.
ReplyDeleteI am going to check these trees out on the Internet as I have never heard of them.
They are very beautiful trees with highly patterned trunks.
DeleteNice drawings. London wouldn't be the same without planes either. I hear the council are felling as many trees as possible in Sheffield, because it is cheaper to do that than maintain them.
ReplyDeleteThey've been chopping down roadside trees here, in the name of elf-n-safety.
DeleteThese are excellent. I really like the tree.
ReplyDeleteThanks you Lisa.
DeleteLovely drawings ! Pen and wash perfect for the subject - I like the unpredictability of the wash.
ReplyDeleteAnd simple to carry around.
DeleteThey certainly are odd looking trees. The first picture looks, to my Canadian eyes, like snow on the ground.
ReplyDeleteThe French love to torture their trees; they won't leave nature alone.
DeleteIt took a while for me to get used to seeing the plane trees cut back so hard, but I have grown to love the winter shape of them and find myself marvelling at how a full head of leaves and branches can grow from out of the cut back wood.
ReplyDeleteLove your drawings, so simple but so expressive.
I love them. We even have some outside our tiny village Mairie.
DeleteThey cut back all the roadside trees around here to prevent them from felling power lines in the winter winds. I thought of you yesterday as I tried making some of your pickled onions. Have you posted your recipe?
ReplyDeleteYes, if you type 'pickled onions' into the search strip (top left), you should find it. I was just about to do some more myself (for Christmas).
DeleteMy father used to rave about London planes - are they the same as the ones in France?
ReplyDeleteYes, they're the same, with the speckled trunks.
DeleteLove the drawings Cro. There's something very satisfying about working with pen and wash.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I always have a pad, pen, brush, and a small bottle of water with me.
DeleteFirst one is my favourite.
ReplyDeleteI quite like that one too. It was drawn from a friend's kitchen window.
DeleteWonderful drawings !
ReplyDeleteJust looked at some of my old sketch books and had forgotten what I had in each book.
After I had read your post yesterday about what the
WHO said about bacon and all meats. On today Martha Stewart her recipes today are all about BACON !
And we all know everything is better with bacon.
cheers, parsnip
Good for Stewart, I hope it was as a result of the W.H.O. nonsense.
DeleteI'm always glad to find that an old tree friend is still thriving. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, we have come to love them now that we have finally managed to see them with leaves on them. When we first visited France in the early Spring they were just these funny tortured bones of trees and we really wondered about them and why they were trimmed that way but having now experienced their Summer shade in lovely village squares and long avenues of them we finally understand
ReplyDelete