Drawlloween: The Nevermore Tree & A New Poem

rubenalexander (69)in #illustration • 8 years ago (edited)

Name: Nevermore Tree
Date: 10/04/2016
No: 4

When I got to the bottom of the list for the known cryptids for the next Drawlloween theme, I knew I had to draw the man-eating tree.

There was a reference to the tree limbs being like snakes, so I gave each limb a snake head. I didn't want it to consume humans though, but the raven stood out as a perfect substitute. To me, ravens were always spooky black birds, but this tree would soon be it's preditor.

The initial name was going to be The Raven Eating Tree . I soon changed this to The Nevermore Tree as the thought of snake like branches yanking ravens from the sky seemed to be poetic in the spirit of Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven.

“...Other friends have flown before— On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.” Then the bird said “Nevermore.”

- Edgar Allen Poe

Practice illustrations for the bark, limbs, and snake

Nevermore Tree with the utensils used for the sketch minus the two green pencils used for the grass (oops!).

Here is the poem inspired by the Nevermore Tree

Scatter

Spindly spiny spinning round.
Serpentine limbs above the plain.
Could messenger pigeon or dove be caught?
No. This tree favors raven's veins.

Observing lifted drift and draft.
Feathered fowl from flowing mound.
Erupt like black shrapnel after
Each fang descends muting caw sounds.

Spindly feathered spinning round.
The raven enters one of three fates.
It escapes or is smitten to the ground.
Or is swallowed whole without a quake.

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#poetry #halloween #drawlloween2016 #tree