BY LESLIE REGO
William Wordsworth, an English romantic poet (1770–1850), wrote:
“While with an eye made quiet by the power
Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,
We see into the life of things.”
These words flitted through my mind as I came across a tree. Why was I so taken by this tree? Was it the swooping shape? Maybe it was the balance of straight and curved lines. Maybe I was entranced by the branches that stretched out into the vastness of the space surrounding the tree. My eye was seeing harmony. My being was embracing joy.
Ask yourself why you love a particular tree. Is it because the tree sports an odd shape? Or is it because the tree perseveres, even under adverse conditions? Maybe a tree within a group of trees has caught your attention. Visit your tree in the early morning before the sun peeks over the mountains. The tree will appear flat. An hour later, as the sun streams down the mountain slope, the tree trunk will split into dark, medium and light tones, creating a rounded mass. What previously appeared flat will now have form. The leaves will sparkle.
At midday, with the sun overhead, the contours and textures appear quiet. The tree is not as divided into dark and light, but primarily resides in the light sphere. Then evening comes. The tree is backlit against a beautiful sunset and it becomes a silhouette against the sky. Ask yourself again, why do you like this tree so much? Do you love the large mass of foliage against the bright noon sky? Or do you prefer the silhouette of the trunk and branches in the lower-light hours of the day?
Often I come across a lone pine tree, one majestic tree clinging to a sagebrush-filled hillside. It is the only tree for miles, and yet there it grows and thrives. The lone pine tree tends to be enormous because it is not competing with other trees for sunlight. The trunk is massive. The branches are hefty and extend for a sizable distance. The tree commands the hillside.
On this particular day, the lower sky was luminous, encompassing the top branches of the tree I was admiring so much. The trunk was starting to appear round, still mostly in dark, but one edge had a slash of sunlight. The branches were in silhouette, making them appear immense. This is the moment I began to draw, the moment when the tree entered my soul.
Leslie Rego is an Idaho Press Club award-winning columnist, artist and Blaine County resident. To view more of Rego’s art, visit leslierego.com.