THE LEAVES OF THE SESSILE OAK
Earlier in July, we had a sketching day at Dartington, and I collected some “natural treasures” which I later drew and shared on this post.
The sessile oak tree
We had our picnic lunch in the shade of a large tree which I later discovered was a sessile oak. As I wrote in that previous post, “Sessile apparently means that things are joined on directly, rather than with a stem. The acorns of our famous English oak (Quercus robar) are attached to the branch with a stem, whereas the sessile oak’s acorns are directly attached with no stem. The leaves of the sessile oak are also less deeply lobed. It is a rich habitat for all kinds of creatures and often has lichen on it apparently. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland.”
Lichen-covered branches
This particular tree had some dead branches that were absolutely covered in lichen, and a lot of this had dropped to the ground. I was able to pick some of them up and later did a drawing of my “Dartington Treasures,” included in that post.
Here are the drawings of the lichen-covered twigs I collected, edited out from the photo of that original drawing.
Leaves of the sessile oak
I also collected a little cluster of leaves that I picked up from under the tree.
I promised to share a coloured pencil drawing of this once I’d got round to doing it. I have now completed it, and it took several sessions. What looked fairly simple at first glance proved to be very complex with a lot of different shades of green. It was a challenge, but quite enjoyable, and I am pleased with the result.
I drew this in the form of a botanical specimen.
It has a vintage look, with the addition of a textured paper background and a distressed label. For additional realism, I also “taped” it down with a bit of virtual sticky tape!
Continued learning and happy memories
I really enjoyed making the acquaintance of this unusual cousin of our famous English oak, Quercus robar. There is always something new to learn while out and about. While I have always been observant, and interested in little things that a lot of people fail to notice, my observation skills have been further honed since taking part in the wonderful DrawAwesome course back in 2024. It is a pleasure to bring little natural treasures home and immortalise them in art.
When we used to go out for family walks when I was younger, my Dad always liked to walk with a stick, and he used it to turn over bits and pieces on the ground, and was always coming home with what my Mum described somewhat disparagingly as “bits of old iron.” I preferred natural things! Collecting them now, reminds me of many happy country walks with my parents and sister.
