Rex Vicat Cole (1870-1940) wrote a wonderful book in 1907 – British Trees v.2. He illustrated the volume with his own tree drawings and paintings and this birch tree landscape drawing is one of them.
Its too bad that the book wasn’t published in color. The black and white version creates a bit of a dismal and forlorn look to the single bird tree in the foreground. Though, after looking at a number of his paintings, it does seem that his work includes a bit of darkness, even in the sunniest landscapes. Behind the tree are some evergreens and a distant mountain range. The sky looks as if a storm is brewing as the clouds seem to be gathering over the young bird tree.
Cole is remembered for his work as a landscape painter, who had a preference for depicting trees.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.