Gunnar Norquist’s drawing of Jōmon Sugi, the ancient cryptomeria tree on Japan’s Yakushima Island, continues his exploration of venerable trees as witnesses to time and bearers of sacred presence. Rendered in graphite with meticulous care, the work captures both the tree’s monumental scale and the intricate textures of its weathered bark — ridges, crevices, and mossy folds that speak of millennia of endurance. The drawing evokes a reverence for the tree’s age, thought to exceed two thousand years, and the way its massive, gnarled form seems to hold the memory of countless seasons, storms, and sunrises.

As part of Norquist’s Ancient Trees series, this piece stands as both portrait and meditation — a testimony to creation’s resilience and beauty. Each mark of the pencil becomes an act of contemplation, a slow uncovering of the divine craftsmanship embedded in nature. The artist’s painstaking process, often involving thirty to sixty hours of sustained work, mirrors the patience and persistence embodied by the tree itself. In this way, Jōmon Sugi is not merely a depiction but a quiet act of devotion: a conversation between human maker and the enduring witness of God’s goodness in creation.