The Apple Tree (a 100 Word Story)

I promise trees aren't the only thing I think about. 😅 But this apple tree story came spilling out last month, and I felt I had to honor it at the risk of developing an overly tree-ish reputation. 

Please do be forewarned that the story itself is a bit darker than what you may be accustomed to seeing from me. I've shared before that part of what drives the Tales From The Mandalina Tree is my feeling that illustrated stories shouldn't only be for children; that adults also deserve to have splendidly-colorful artwork paired with the kind of stories we need: stories that acknowledge and wrestle with the often-grimmer realities of the grown-up world. So without further ado, "The Apple Tree":

Some Thoughts on Burial Places
In the creation of this story, I found myself reflecting on the sense of horror we tend to attach to final resting places, and thinking about different lenses through which such locations might be viewed. 

When Alex and I lived in the ancient city of York, England in 2019-2020, one thing that stood out to use was how it sometimes seemed that everywhere we stepped in that city we were standing on someone's grave. Lacking the luxury of the huge wide open spaces we enjoy here in the U.S. and boasting a far longer history of continuous urban habitation, the more densely-populated European cities are often chock-full of burial places, and inscribed tombstones can double as paving-stones. When I first looked down and found myself standing on a gravestone, I was a little dismayed and hurried to scoot off of it. But as time passed, I grew accustomed to this different attitude towards burial places. I grew accustomed to the idea of cemeteries being used for community events like mindful exercise classes or picnics, to the idea that the place where a body has been laid to rest may go on being a place vibrant with life.

The Process 
At about 5x7 inches, the illustration for The Apple Tree is quite a little painting. But bringing it to life was more than a full day's work, and I always like to respect that process by snapping some photos as I go along. Here is the initial line drawing after it had just been penciled in on my lightbox using the copy paper draft shown in the cover photo for this post.

And here you can see that pencil drawing mounted to a painting board and then rendered all over again in watercolor with a very tiny brush. You can also see the swatch card I created to help me map out my color families.

Here you can see the one in-progress shot I managed to snatch after I got sucked into the flow state that carried me through the many hours of painting this piece. 😆 And next to it, the final painting:

And to finish, here it is after the tape peel and also nestled neatly behind the cream and lichen-green double mat I picked out for it:

If you'd like to bring this piece home, prints are here and the original painting is here.

All the best, 
Bryana