“The ginkgo tree is from the era of dinosaurs, but while the dinosaur has been extinguished, the modern ginkgo has not changed. After the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the ginkgo was the first tree that came up.” ~ Koji Nakanishi

Ginkgo biloba (or maidenhair tree) is a species of tree, native to China, with distinctive twin-lobed leaves. It has been widely cultivated for many centuries, as a source of food and traditional medicine.  Scientists sometimes refer to it as a living fossil, because all it’s closest relatives are extinct.

I chose to make a collagraph of these leaves due to their unique shape and a graduated roll in yellow and green to represent the change of colour in autumn. Unfortunately I only had these colours in water-based inks, which dry too quickly for effective collagraphs. A better result could be achieved with oil-based pigments, to allow time to apply, wipe back and reapply for the desired effect. This plate is A4 size.