A Tree With a Heart

One of the things I find amazing are the various shapes of trees, how their branches might grow twisting and turning in unusual ways and some of the holes you see in trees.

What caught my attention with this particular oak was the heart-shaped hole.

Working with pen and ink on toned paper, trying to depict moss against leaves and branch/trunk under heavy shade, was quite a challenge.  I was in unknown territory as to what to do or how to go about it without making it too dark and showing some depth.

This is what I ended up with and I'm not real sure at this point how I feel about the results.  I'll have to revisit this page days or even weeks down the road when my mind is fresh to really know :-)

Strathmore toned paper; Microns 005, 05, and 03 and some smudged graphite to gray some of the canopy area that was a bit too bright so that the main branch came forward more.