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puimun β An Oak Shaped Hole in the Sky
Published: 2009-01-18 20:55:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 24672; Favourites: 993; Downloads: 426
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Description
A tribute to the great oak that once guarded the trailhead across the street from my house. A giant that was felled during the storms last year as the mud at the roots was loosened so that the whole tree pulled free and tumbled down into the gully. Iβm sad to no longer look out my front window and see those grand arcing branches obscuring the lower ravine. There is a oak-shaped empty gap in the sky now where that tree used to be, and the voices of walkers along the lower trail echo sharp and too loud up to where I can sit on the stump. But it is springtime now, and the volunteers have come over many weekends and planted new shrubs and saplings all around, carefully marked with red ribbons so as to not get trampled by visitors to the trail.Size: 8x10 inches
Medium: pen and ink on bristol board
Original available for sale here: [link]
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Comments: 98
have you heard of elementals that everything rock plant fruit vegetable tree has its elemental
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Hello there! 
Thank you for sharing your art here!
Greets!
Feel free to fave the article!
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In a village not far from my town there was a tree. Possibly an oak, I don't remember well, because I was so little. Anyway, the tree stood away from the forest, alone at the edge of a field, and on crossroads, too. One year it was struck by a lightning, and half of it died. People from the village cared for the tree, so they built a kind of brick chimney inside the trunk. That was before I was born. I myself remember the solitary tree, despite the remains of the dead trunk being supported by bricks and mortar, had one healthy bough, which sprouted fresh new leaves every spring.
...and since I used to be very much into Slavic pagan beliefs, I can't help wondering if maybe the tree was inhabited by a guardian spirit; there were such creatures, called wilce or sjeny, who protected trees that were somehow special: remained untouched after the whole forest had been rooted out, stood in a symbolical place (at the top of a mountain, by a spring, at crossroads) or survived a disaster. the tree I've just told you about seemed to fulfill all these conditions (:
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thank you for sharing that. I'm always interested in little bits of lore from other places
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Once again, I'm taken away by how amazing your art is. If I had the money, I'd buy a print.
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i am feeling sorry for your oak. such a sad story behind a nice picture.
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love the way you did the tree, and the curly branches, nice!
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I think you should plant an oak sapling in the same spot, even though other trees have been planted, I think it would be fitting
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Nice picture! I love how the branches of the tree look. Great work.
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Really beautiful, I love the oak tree blossoming out into the sky! Certainly a lovely tribute!
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this would make a beautiful poster for the wilderness society, or ( as a flyer for one of our local north east forest alliance fundraiser gigs... ) err, the latter not quite an outright request...
I'm always lifted a little spirit wise when i see your drawings Stephanie, ever since elfwood years ago. often playful / true to themselves or something.. -only well wishs.
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Such great pen work and I love the idea behind it.
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Awesome pen drawing; great crisp contrast. The story is a bit sad, but it gives realism to the fantasy.
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It reminds me of Fern Gully
Both that movie and this have great stories.
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This is beautiful. You've inspired me to break out my pen and inks. Did you use a quill/dip pen or a tecnical pen?
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I use gel pens.
hi-tec-c is what they're called, from a japanese stationary store. They are .3 thickness
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Wow! That's gell pen?! You've done a wonderful job with them. Thanks ^_^
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Yeah I long ago gave up on quill pens because I always ended up splattering stuff everywhere!
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Lol, I totally understand. I built up a system of having paper towels everywhere. And changing nibs is always fun ^_^
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I have experienced a very similar feeling not long ago either.
There was this lovely sad willow under my window, arching over the parking lot. It's drapey fresh green canopy marked the arrival of spring for decades! This winter, some two weeks ago, it was cut off. Entirely. They said it was rotten inside (I checked, it wasn't that bad at all) and since willows are supposedly mellow and brittle kind of wood (roughly translating here) there was a danger to the cars.
When I noticed it was gone, I stopped dead in my tracks.. It just felt so.. empty all of the sudden. I will miss it even more when spring arrives...
Wonderful portraying of that emotion!
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Another stunning inking project!! Your technique is stunning, the use of the white silhouette for the tree limbs against the hatched leaves makes the tree look very ghostly.
And I hate see old trees like that go down. You feel like so much history is lost when a tree that has lived for a couple of centuries falls. ;_;
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Golden!
I only wish I could see it a little larger, the line work here is great.
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Awesome concept and you portrayed it amazingly. I love how the electricity seems to be lightning AND a tree all at the same time. That really takes some skill and you've definitely got a way with that ink pen. The whole piece seems very surreal.
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So astounding and sad, definately a fave.
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Great pic, sad story
I feel that every one of us, if he (or she!) has a chance, should plant one tree - at least. For those, who will come after us, to have some gorgeous old green giants to look up toβ¦
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It's a big lost. But the worst is looking at the many aged old trees are being cut down by some psychos. I's a big shame to Poland, that noone of that bloody clerks take care of old trees. I can't fight it!!!
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it's so sad and so lovely at the same time, great job
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this is awesome, i love the detaill and the tree is cool
Amazing job
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The story grasped my heart and holds it firmly.
Blessed be the little new trees so that they grow beautiful, strong and wise
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This lovely and it's great to see your pencil work. What a sad story inspired this.
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I rent a house out; there used to be a great old cedar at the corner. Gnarly and Twisted, it had to be a good 100 years old; it was why I bought the property. A tenant decided to cut it down 2 days after he moved in. Sorry for your tree.
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Yep. Cut down it, a 30 year old grapevine growing along the fence, and a jasmine that was about 12 years old. he was supposed to be buying the house and it fell through. now the property is missing its curb appeal. Frustrating.
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This is so sad, it tears me up when an old tree falls 
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That's gorgeous.. !
I love the way you draw your (correct me if I'm wrong) water droplets. They remind me of the glass ball that Jared (David Bowie) has in the Labyrinth.
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love your graphic approach, negative use is really well seen
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It's so sad to see the elder trees fall. We've had some pretty windy storms blow through lately here in Georgia and thanks to the drought conditions, many old trees had weak roots and were toppled. There is no more perfect descriptor than the gap in the skyline that you mentioned. I'm happy to hear that new saplings will grow into the space the oak once filled.
Mainly, we have Kudsu to fill in the spaces here O_o
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