Mark Frith

This is one of the most gorgeous books on trees that I’ve ever seen, and now I’m thankful to own it, because Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore in Berkeley was wise enough to stock it. Years ago, Vicky and I had started a fine collection of books on trees, now I continue collecting on my own.

This is a large-format black, white, and gray book of graphite sketches has more than twenty huge ancient oaks trees from around Great Britain. Mark Frith is the brilliant artist that was able to find a generous patron in the late Felix Dennis. Mark began drawing the first of the trees back in 2010, and it took him two months to complete that first one. His patron’s enthusiasm allowed Mark to steadily increase the number of trees that he would sketch for this collection. What a wonderful concept that one man’s generosity led to this artist traveling around Britain, getting permission from generous landowners to set up and be able to take the time that his intricate sketches took. As a tree lover for all of my life, if I ever had enough money (come on Lotto) to be any artist’s patron in this way, I would jump at the opportunity. The artist’s patron had been involved with trees for years, as he was also responsible for the planting of thirty thousand acres of native British forest, before his death in 2014.

As for the book itself, it simply takes my breath away. The incredible detail involved in these large sketches is stunning, and the book is a treasure to own. The quality of the paper is thick and has a fine feel to it. Most of the trees gets several pages. Facing the page where these large, luscious sketches are displayed, is some information on each tree (its local name, scientific name, location, and the year it was drawn), and then on the following page, is a historic quote, faced by an enlarged section of a part of the complete sketch.

In the back of the book are several pages of details, and stories about each one of the trees. This book is a class act in all ways. Many of these ancient trees (being hundreds and hundreds of years old), are battle-scarred, misshapen—and while some have all manner of supporting wires, and metal or wooden supports to keep them standing—Frith has decided to not include these modifications in his sketches and give these magnificent trees their dignity. Many of the trees have been hit by lightning, and damaged by humans and insect over the years, leaving some of them with large hollows in their main trunks. Community pride often leads to claims that many of these ancient giants are one thousand years old, but there is no practical way to confirm those claims.

I fell in love with this book immediately, and I often find myself slowly going through its pages. Upon purchasing the book, I immediately took it to a place among the large trees at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, which was a very special place for Vicky and I. We often picnicked, read, talked for hours, took photos and our granddaughter there, and acted foolish among the greenery, impressive stonework, and the dead there. It seemed so natural to experience every page of this impressive book in such a place. I’m proud to include this book in our tree library.… (altro)