Sally Featherstone
Close Encounters with Ancient Trees
It is truly amazing to gaze on something that has been alive for a thousand years or more. I have been fortunate to encounter redwoods and sequoias in California, olives in Greece and Italy, ancient oaks in England, and the remnants of old rainforests in Wales and the West Country. A year or so ago I began to celebrate these encounters in a series of drawings. They're available as originals, art and inkjet prints, and post cards.
The Major Oak is a huge English oak near Edwinstowe in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England. According to local folklore, it was Robin Hood's shelter.
It weighs an estimated 23 tons, has a girth of 33 feet, a canopy of 92 feet, and is about 800-1,000 years old.
Signed Original private collection, USA
Giclée art print, A3 £45
Inkjet print, A3 £17.50
The Queen Elizabeth Oak is a sessile oak tree (Quercus petraea) in Cowdray Park, West Sussex, England. It has a girth of 12.8 metres and is about 800-1,000 years old.
Legend has it that Queen Elizabeth I stood under the tree with her bow, waiting to shoot a stag which was being driven towards her. Apparently she missed!
Signed Original £350
Giclée art print, A3 £35
The Old Man of Calke is a Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur) in Calke Park in Calke, Derbyshire.
It's the largest of the ancient parkland oaks on this National Trust estate. The girth of the tree is 10.01m and it's estimated to be 800-1200 years old.
Signed Original £350
Giclée art print, A3 £35
This old oak (Quercus robur) stands in the car park of Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.
It is one of the namy old oaks in the park of this famous stately home. The hunting Tower can be seen in the distance, through the boughs of this ancient tree, carefully protected by a reinforcing strap.
Signed Original £350
Giclée art print, A3 £35
Another old oak stands among many other ancient trees on the slopes of the park to the north of Chatsworth House, in Derbyshire.
Its great trunk has become a hollow which may shelter animals or birds without damaging the growth above.
Signed Original £350
Giclée art print, A3 £35
The mighty Gregynog Oak continues to quietly grow in a secluded corner of the woodland on the Gregynog Estate in Powys. It is estimated to be at least 500 year old, measuring 9 meteres at its widest point. Other ancient trees also grow in these woods.
Signed Original £350
Giclée art print, A3 £35
This must be one of the oldest limes in the Welsh National parks, standing at the top of the magnificent woodland Torrent Walk on the B4416 between Dolgellau and Brithdir.
Small-leaved and large-leaved lime trees grow throughout the UK and the common lime has characteristics of both species, with heart shaped leaves and grey green trunk, often inhabited by mosses and lichens.
Signed Original £350
Giclée art print, A3 £35
The landmark Moreton Bay Fig grows in Balboa Park, San Diego. It was planted as a small tree in a garden of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition and, with a century of growth, has become a magnificent giant.
In 1996, the tree was measured at 78 feet (24 m) high, with a crown width of 123 feet (37 m) and a girth of 486 inches (12.3 m). Ficus macrophylla is a native of east Australia.
Signed Original £350
Giclée art print, A3 £35
Yorkshire Sculpture Park has a spectacular collection of outdoor sculptures from many major sculptors. It is also home to beautiful areas of woodland, one of which is enhanced by a sculpture by Anthony Gormley mounted on a tree trunk, where it looks out through the winter treetops towards the Lake.
Signed Original £350
Giclée art print, A3 £35
Postcards of Ancient Trees
Post Cards of The Old Man of Calke, The Queen Elizabeth Oak, The Major Oak and the Ancient Olive. Sold as a pack.
£5 inc postage to UK mainland. Contact for rates to other areas.