Making a Drawing from Two Very Different Elements

Temple Trees - A page from my sketchbook

African bilbao trees:

This pen and ink drawing was inspired by two images. The first is a photo of those beautiful, mysterious African bilbao trees.

Todai-ji Buddhist Eastern Great Temple in Nara, Japan:

The second image is of the stunning Todai-ji Buddhist Eastern Great Temple in Nara, Japan (Great Buddha Hall), which I visited a few years ago. Along with being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this temple is also the largest wood building in the world, dating back to the early 8th century AD.

My original drawing

I gave the massive bilbao tree trunks movement by exaggerating their lines to suggest they were dancing. The leafy canopy became Japanese temple roofs. The tree in the center also has that enormous incense pot at the base. That pot is always burning at the entrance, sending smoke to the heavens. Most visitors purchase incense sticks to add to it, saying a prayer for good health. The tree trunks are filled with bold patterning.

Later I scanned the drawing to add simple areas of color and background texture using Photoshop.

My final rendering:

Steemians, thanks for checking out this post. Please follow me @misterrsomebody and comment below your thoughts!