Simply Complicated
It was a banner year for the White Pine tree in our yard. Laden with green cones at the uppermost branches throughout the summer, the tree rained down pinecones throughout the fall. I decided to collect a basketful before winter, thinking I might find them useful as holiday décor. They did, indeed, look nice in an old metal basket on our back porch, but the more I looked at them, the more I wanted to draw them. The simplicity of this sketch belies how very challenging that was to do. My plan was to paint five or six cones of varying sizes, but after the first, I changed my mind. And here you have it.
Tips and Techniques– If you want a drawing challenge, pick up a pinecone. There is a fractal design underlying their spiral structure and, while knowing that helps, it is still easy to get lost trying to figure it out. I recommend starting with pencil and using the darker values to help you find your way.
Drawn In 
I feel similarly about drawing/painting fern fronds!
Agreed. It’s easy to get lost with ferns too.
Thanks for the encouragement and tips for drawing pinecones. Challenging , for sure . Happy New Year, Jean.
They are so abundant that it makes sense to learn to draw them…but maybe we need to try it in small doses.
You couldn’t have picked a more perfect title for this blog post! Your persistence paid off, from top to bottom, with this beautiful pine cone. (Completely understand why you didn’t create a cone bouquet ….. one with spirals is ambitious enough!). Congratulations! Oh yeah …… taking on Fibonacci is a monumental challenge. And how easy it is to become hopelessly lost. I have quite a collection of failed attempts, but have managed to work out the spirals to create a few convincing cones. And our piñon pine cones are a third the length as the white pine!
Happy New Year, Barb! I’m going to tackle some more, but I think I’ll look for the smallest ones in the pail! We just had our first big snow, so I’m glad I collected them and have a subject at the ready. I liked your juncos!
I did a pinecone in watercolor on vellum once. As you say, really tough!
I’ve never worked on vellum. I bet it ups the perfectionism.
So well done Jean!…as everything you produce is…. I’m a 50% fail rate at what I produce…but that is also a 50% pass rate, fortunately.
I remember hearing in a sermon years ago that pine cones were given as an example of … (maybe the Fibonacci sequence? (as are a lot of things in nature) I live in Queensland, Australia and noticed (1) the jacaranda trees bloomed early (2) the mango trees were absolutely COVERED in bloom and (3) the bush turkeys were nesting higher than usual (all signs of a flood year) and sure enough there is major flooding not far from where we live. Nature has so much to tell us if we can only listen. I wondered if your mega pine cone harvest was also a sign of impending flood… just a thought. Don’t panic…just have you to go stuff on hand…. it may not be….
Lots of love from Australia, Marylin Smith
Thanks Marylin. So interesting about those things being a sign of impending rain/flooding. It was a mast year here for oaks and there were lots of maples keys, too. I think that happens every few years, but I need to look up whether pines do the same. Wishing you a year of 75%+ success!
It might be worth you doing a bit of research on mast years for oaks/maples/pines to see whether those were flood years in your area…. and then start a folklore about it…it may help people prepare…. certainly our Bureau of Meteorology is not helpful – they are always “surprised”…and of course our water management people always have to open the floodgates right in the middle of the deluge (?!!!)
I’ve learned that white pines have a mast year every 7 to 10 years. It doesn’t seem associated with flooding. Mast years seem to have more to do with ensuring that some seeds survive to reproduce.
I have drawn some pine cones but never thought to do the top view. Love that idea! Thank you Jean.
Try them from all angles. (All challenging, in my view!)
What an interesting thread of comments — the word “pinecone” strikes fear in my heart — what a mind boggling puzzle for me to draw one! Loved reading these comments especially the nature signals of an impending flood year in Australia. I have read recently that small government agencies out west are more often looking to their Native American neighbors for help in working the lands and dealing with natural disasters such as fires, etc. since they have 20,000+ years of ancestral knowledge. We can learn so much if we just listen closely to what they can tell us about the relationship people have had with the environment.
So true Marleny. We have so much to learn if we only listen and lead with humility over hubris. And you’re right about pinecones, it’s so easy to get lost but it’s well worth it. I think you’re up for the challenge.
They’re so hard to draw! I drew one very carefully once, working my way around by counting and drawing spirals. 🙂 It came out well but what a complicated undertaking that little drawing was – it’s so easy to get off track – now which seed was I drawing? 😉 Your task was extra complicated by including two views, which is a very nice idea. And then the color, which you got perfectly!
Exactly my experience…”which row was I on?” I didn’t think it would be so hard to stay on track.
🙂