Painting and drawing have, from time to time, occupied much of my life.  Once I became interested in trees, my artistic passions met my scientific ones and these detailed tree portraits are the result.  Combining art and science has long been a goal in my life and I take pride in creating botanically accurate tree portraits. My first 'modern' tree drawings were of the western red cedar champions I prepared for my 1994 edition of the 'Washington Big Tree Program'.  These illustrated the great differences in character between the trees, even though their dimensions were similar.  It is usually not possible to take a clear photo of an entire tree, since they usually grow in forests.  Thus the drawings allow people to see the tree – the whole tree – as they never can in person.  Once my book was released, many of the comments I received were about the drawings.  I added still more drawings in 'Champion Trees of Washington State', which was published by the University of Washington Press in 1996 and finally 'Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast', which features 126 tree portraits.

I call the drawings 'architecturally correct' because I use laser measurements to ensure proper proportions.  The laser is not only used to collect data on the size of the trunk and the height of the tree but also for the heights of various branches, reiterations, breaks, kinks, or any other eccentricity that will aid me in doing an accurate drawing.  Sketches are made in the field and photographs are used to capture the 'details' of the tree.  In dense forests, a dozen or more photos are needed to capture all parts of the tree.  Trees in clearcuts require very few.  The portraits are obviously of only one view.  This view is sometimes chosen out of necessity, since the trees are often located in dense forests where clear views are lacking.  If there was a choice, however, I picked a view that accentuates the tree's unique character.  The portraits of some famous trees such as the General Sherman or General Grant will appear different from some of the classic photos you may have seen from these trees.  This is because when you are at the tree, you are looking up at the tree and these two cases, branches coming out towards you appear taller than the top, even though they are not.  In this way the drawings are more accurate than even a photograph would be – in terms of proportions.