Chasing The
Champion Trees
Chasing the Champion Trees is an ongoing body of work by Plein Air artist Simone Stivi. Rooted in reverent direct observation, she captures California’s most storied Champion Trees in pen on paper.
At 321 feet tall with a crown spanning 80 feet, this is no ordinary tree. This tree is a record holder, a survivor, a measure of deep time.
Found in the ancient forests of Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, this Sequoia sempervirens rises immense among its neighbors, many themselves towering giants, yet dwarfed by half in its shadow.
The piece was drawn in the presence of this tree, felt before it was fully seen.
A sea of understory ferns and white trillium carpets the forest floor below, delicate against the massive scale above. What this work carries is that sensation of standing inside something larger than yourself: the awe, the gravity, the quiet and enormous strength of a place that has been growing long before we arrived, and will continue long after.
The Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is the tallest tree species on Earth, native to a thin ribbon of coastal California and southern Oregon where summer fog rolls in from the Pacific to sustain them through dry months. Living well beyond 2,000 years, these trees accumulate extraordinary size slowly and relentlessly, their bark growing thick enough to resist fire, their wood resistant to rot and insects.
Rendered in vertical lines with ballpoint, and Micron pen on mixed media paper, each mark reflects the 100+ hours spent observing this Champion Tree both in life and later in my outdoor studio from photos taken on-site.
18" × 24", ready to frame.
Includes a beautifully hand-signed certificate of authenticity.
At 241 feet tall, a crown width spanning 48 feet, and a girth of 335 inches, this Sugar pines (Pinus lambertiana) is the largest known of its kind in California. A Champion Tree found in the Calaveras Big Trees State Park.
Native to the West Coast of North America, they grow naturally in the mountains of Oregon, California, and Baja California. They are famous for producing the longest cones of any conifer, which can measure up to 26 inches in length.
Drawn at first on location, this piece carries the full monumental awe of that encounter.
Rendered in vertical lines with ballpoint, and Micron pen on mixed media paper, each mark reflects the 100+ hours spent observing this Champion Tree both in life and later in my outdoor studio from photos taken on-site.
18" × 24", ready to frame.
Includes a beautifully hand-signed certificate of authenticity.
Standing at 82 feet tall with a crown width of 118 feet this Champion Bishop Pine was found after a ten mile trek in the Point Reyes National Seashore.
Drawn in the presence of it’s native windswept coastal landscape this piece carries the movement, light, and quiet strength of its environment.
Considered highly vulnerable Bishop pine (Pinus muricata) is a California native tree found along the coast from Humboldt County to Baja, often in arid, rocky soils. Known as a "pyrophyte," its thick, spiny, 2-3 inch cones are serotinous, often requiring heat from fire to open.
Rendered in vertical lines with ballpoint, and Micron pen on mixed media paper, each mark reflects the 100+ hours spent observing this Champion Tree both in life and later in my outdoor studio from photos taken on-site.
18" × 24", ready to frame.
Includes a beautifully hand-signed certificate of authenticity.
At 142 feet tall, a crown spanning 114 feet, and a girth of 201 inches, this Carya illinoinensis is the largest of its kind in California, a Champion found not in a celebrated old-growth forest, but rising from the private ranchland of Sonoma County, above rolling green hills near the Russian River.
To stand beneath it is to understand scale differently.
Drawn at first on location, this piece carries the full monumental awe of that encounter. A singular pecan tree, well over 200 years old, immense and deeply rooted, towering above the landscape around it with quiet, unmistakable authority.
Rendered in vertical lines with ballpoint, and Micron pen on mixed media paper, each mark reflects the 100+ hours spent observing this Champion Tree both in life and later in my outdoor studio from photos taken on-site.
18" × 24", ready to frame.
Includes a beautifully hand-signed certificate of authenticity.
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The Artist
Simone Stivi is a plein-air artist devoted to the spirit of California’s plants and trees.
Traveling solo through wild landscapes in her van, Frankie, she seeks out ancient beings that have stood for generations.
Her drawings are created in their presence.
An intentional practice rooted in reverence and a deep sensitivity to the natural world.
Her current body of work, Chasing the Champion Trees, honors California’s most extraordinary giants.
Each piece carries the spirit and quiet gravity of the being it was inspired by.
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![A person with brown hair and wearing a brown jacket is sitting on a tree stump, reading a book. They are outdoors in a park-like setting with large, leaning trees and clear blue sky. The scene is lit by warm, late-afternoon sunlight.]()
Plein-Air Artist
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![Four women standing on a rock ledge with green hills and a clear blue sky behind them; they appear to be on a hike or outdoor excursion.]()
Community Builder & Organizer
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![A person standing on rocks in a desert landscape, wearing a large sun hat, black clothing, and carrying a whiteboard, looking out at mountainous terrain under a blue sky with scattered clouds.]()
Hiker & Adventurer
