Sketchy Tree Series Part 4

We’re going into the LAST WEEK of my solo exhibition at Vines of New York in Geneva! Have you been able to visit it in person yet? Do you have a favorite piece you saw there? (I have more details at the end about the show if you still need to visit.)

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.)

Roots Run Deep

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.

One of my favorite drawings from this series is “Roots Run Deep.” It has so many different textures and shapes through it. I had a lot of fun creating this one and I’ve gotten a lot of feedback that others enjoy this one also. I really like that you can see the base of Bucktail Falls in the background.

“Roots Run Deep” was 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.

Bucktail Falls in Spafford, NY, which is towards the Cortland/Syracuse area. If you do decide to visit, please be mindful that it is on private property.

Solo Exhibition at Vines of New York

LAST WEEK!! Visit Vines of New York in Geneva, NY to my Sketchy Trees series as well as a selection of waterfall paintings from my 50 New York Waterfalls Project through July 31st! 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.