Champion Tree
A Champion Tree is the largest known individual of a particular species, determined by a standardized point system based on height, trunk circumference, and crown spread.
Chasing The Champion Trees
For this collection, I traveled across California by van, creating plein-air drawings of the state’s largest Champion Trees featured in California Trees: A Field Guide to the Native Species by Matt Ritter and Jeffery B. Pine.
Each tree holds a distinct presence - marked by time, weather, fire, and survival.
Drawing became a way for me to slow down enough to truly witness: to trace form, texture, and weight while absorbing the subtle energy of place. These works are not just representations, but encounters.
This series reflects an intimate dialogue between myself and the environment. Where attention, duration, and movement across the landscape become part of the final work.
Working alone and on-site, I carried minimal materials, allowing each drawing to emerge directly from the experience of being there.
The process embraced unpredictability - weather, terrain, and access shaping both the journey and the outcome.
Each piece carries traces of that encounter: the conditions, the time spent, and the act of witnessing.
