Sketchy Tree Series Part 2

In celebration of debuting my Sketchy Tree ink series, I’m sharing a little bit more about some of my favorite drawings from this series this month. (If you missed last week’s, you can check it out here.)

My Sketchy Tree series has it’s roots (pun intended) in my 50 New York Waterfalls Project where I hiked to, photographed, and then painted 50 different waterfalls throughout the Finger Lake area. During the project I took hundreds of reference photos of anything that caught my eye along the trails. These photos became the inspiration for my Sketchy Tree series.

Water Flowing

One of my favorite drawings from this series is “Water Flowing.” So much so that I accidentally drew the scene twice without realizing it. “Water Flowing” (above) is framed at 6×8 inches, “Flowing Water” (right) is one of my mini sketches only 3×3 inches in size. I like them both so much and couldn’t decide which to feature today (so you get to see both!).

The drawings were created with ink pens. I started with basic outlines and slowly added multiple layers of shading and texture in a loose intuitive way. At the end I added highlights of white and silver to make certain features pop.

The scene I drew is near Bucktail Falls in Spafford, NY, which is towards the Cortland/Syracuse area. The waterfall is one of my favorites because of how secluded it felt even though it was right near the road. After the other waterfalls I visited that day being noisy and crowded, it was a refreshing change of pace. If you do decide to visit, please be mindful that it is on private property.

Solo Exhibition at Vines of New York

Visit Vines of New York in Geneva, NY to see these drawings and more in person through the month of July (2022)! Vines of New York is located at 772 S Main Street in Geneva which is right along Seneca Lake on Route 14. The gallery is full of beautiful work inspired by nature and/or made from natural materials (and makes wonderful gifts).

Gallery hours are 10am to 4pm Thursday though Sunday (or by appointment). Here is their website for more information. They also have an online shop that has a couple of my pieces as well as work by other artists from throughout the gallery. If you stop by make sure to sign my guestbook and let me know what you thought!

50 New York Waterfalls Project

Learn more about my 50 New York Waterfalls Project and view the paintings.

Learn more about Bucktail Falls.

About the Artist

Laura Jaen Smith is an artist who lives and works out of Horseheads, New York. Her inspiration comes from observing the beauty she sees around her. After a decade living out west, she returned back to New York State and started seeing the same old places with new eyes. She is most interested in capturing small moments in nature that might otherwise be overlooked.