Trunk

 

I've drawn this Silk Cotton tree in Lalbagh several times over the years, but the one above is the first one that I have attempted in colour. I like the way the curve of the huge tree-trunk dwarfs the earthy little red structure below it. Also, I read somewhere that the trunk of this tree isn't actually the trunk but the roots that have grown up above the ground. It's a bit hard to fathom. I'll have to read up further.

Here below are some of the black and white studies I made sitting in front of the tree. No sketchbook is large enough for me to do justice to the gorgeous textures on the trunk.
If you didn't know this drawing was one of a giant tree-trunk, you would only see it as a textured abstract drawing.

There is never any space left in my sketchbook for the branches of the tree, so someday I will have to take out a large sheet of paper and draw as much of the tree as possible on my desk. Given the mess that drawing with charcoal entails, that would probably be the better option.

 

Here are some flowers that decorated the ground under the tree. They are so pretty. They carpet the ground thickly during the flowering season.