Stephen Malkoff, auburn alum, has returned to his roots to draw Toomer's Oaks.
"I'm an Auburn man and I've played football at Auburn and I've studied architecture at Auburn," Malkoff said. "I'm a tree artist, which is kind of unusual. They're not many people that specialize in drawing trees, so it makes sense that I'll be the one drawing the trees."
Immediately after graduation, Malkoff decided that he did not want to pursue his architecture career.
"When I came home from Auburn I met my wife. I became a starving artist," Malkoff said.
Malkoff started drawing trees when he created a piece for his wife and his one-year anniversary.
"There's an old oak tree they call the Ole Oak in Geneva, Ala," Malkoff said. "She loves the tree and it's where we go to get away from the hustle and bustle of life. I thought, 'You know what, I'm going to draw that tree for her.'"
When Malkoff started working on the rendering of the Ole Oak he found his calling.
"It's kind of weird how sometimes in life you don't really know your destiny or calling, but drawing that tree for my wife ended up being my career," Malkoff said.
Malkoff strictly uses pencils for his tree drawings.
"I love pencil," Malkoff said. "I just love pencil because it's so pure. What you see is what you get. I love the fact that I'm a modern artist and the drawings I do are modern works of art, but when you look at them they look like they could have been done hundreds of years ago."
After he created the piece for his wife, Malkoff began to draw other iconic trees across the country.
"I drew the tree that Walt Disney played on as a boy," Malkoff said. "It's a giant cottonwood tree in Marceline, Mo. and I drew the tree that George Washington planted at Mount Vernon. I stayed at Mount Vernon as a guest and that was just an incredible experiment."
Malkoff was not expecting to draw the Toomer's Oaks for a while until he got a call about the poisoning.
"First I didn't believe it," Malkoff said. "I'm thinking it's a joke and then I'm thinking 'You know what this is for real.' So I grab my camera and I head to Auburn to photograph the trees."
Malkoff photographed the oaks in winter of 2011 and started drawing them during the summer of 2011. The final prints were released in fall 2011.
"I marketed the prints on my own, but I felt like it was time to do something with our alumni association to preserve the memory of The Oaks and to raise money for scholarships," Malkoff said.
The original drawing is currently located in President Jay Gogue's home.
"One day my hope is that it will hang in the Jules Colins Smith Museum of Art where more people can see my work," Malkoff said. "Most of my drawings are in private collections, but I'm always honored when the public can see my work."
While at Auburn, Malkoff said he took rolling Toomer's Trees for granted.
"You don't think of the not being here," Malkoff said. "I loved rolling the trees and what an awesome unique tradition. I can't think of any other university flying an eagle before every game, the Tiger Walk and watching the band march in. And then after a victory, you can go roll some trees without getting arrested."
Malkoff said he does not even like to say Udyke's name.
"I feel bad for the guy because there are certain people that determine their self-worth depending on an event or relationship," Malkoff said. "I determine my self-worth on who my creator is. Some people just take it too far and the trees were an easy target."
Malkoff said Auburn made a tremendous effort to save the trees.
"Alabama folks came to help save the trees too," Malkoff said. "The University of Alabama folks that get it and understand tradition, they came through for us."
To purchase the renderings of Toomer's Oaks visit Malkoff's website, Tiger30.com, or call his gallery at (888) 410-3559.
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