They Grow Like This Here

Part of a drawing for a recent book cover for Modjaji Books; I'll post the whole thing once the book is ready.

The trees along the banks of the Liesbeeck River have been twisted by the wind as they've grown, and lean at the most precarious angles. I've been meaning to draw them for something for ages, and this was the perfect opportunity. It was difficult to choose the best one; perhaps I'll need to do a series of them. It was delicious to work in black and white again.

It was an educational drawing, too. Once we'd finalised the design, I knew exactly what I had to draw, and the main elements should have taken about an hour. I printed in the morning, settled down to draw in the afternoon, and then spend the remainder of the day faffing around. Different paper, different ink, finding a new pen nib, sharpening already sharp pencils, changing my mind about the best tree to draw. By the next morning I'd worked up quite a bit of annoyance with myself, and drew the whole lot perfectly in about 20 minutes.

I think the faffing about is part of the process, and I need to remember to allow time for it.