Painting in a Wildflower Garden

Yesterday, I spent the morning in the wildflower garden of the Raccoon Creek State Park Wildflower Reserve, where the light poured through the colorful blossoms of Blazing Star.

As I gathered my supplies and drove out to the site, I felt myself grow nervous at the thought of "Making a Painting," fearful of making a mess & failing.  My harsh critic, the Hobgoblin, was hard at work!

I reminded myself that I was allowed to paint without expectation, to simply go through the process rather than forcing myself to make something my inner critic deemed "good."

When I arrived at the garden, I decided to simply sketch with my paintbrush, skipping the pencil sketch.  Lost in the process, I didn't take photos of the progression.

 I began simply with splashes of the pink Blazing Star blossoms, with a mix of permanent rose & permanent blue-violet.

The stems and leaves came next, a mixture of sap green with a touch of permanent rose. 

The final step of the painting was the background -- interspersing areas of sap green with dark splashes of Hooker's green & permanent blue violet.  I touched in a bit of pink here and there to echo the flowers, and called it done.  

About midway through the process, I met two workers at the site -- interns Audrey and Jennifer.  We talked about their work at the park, about our shared interest in watercolors & creativity, and about pushing back against that frustrating harsh inner critic.

I've noticed that when I talk about the process, and talk about my own self doubts, it eases my struggle.  I get out of my head and notice how illogical the harsh critic's messages are.  

Is there any real danger in making a painting that I don't like? Not at all.  Every painting teaches me something.  Even if it shows me a technique or color mix I don't like.  I'm still learning and gaining ground.

In the end, I felt buoyed by my conversation with Audrey and Jennifer. As the old saying goes, "A burden shared is halved. A joy shared is doubled."

They halved my struggles with the Hobgoblin and doubled my joy in painting.

I jumped back into my painting with more spirit, and liked the finished piece.  Not perfect, but pleasing to me.

After wrestling with my Hobgoblin/inner critic, I felt a sense of peace, as you do when you've just exercised and rest in the afterglow.  

My tips:

• You don't need a big kit of supplies.  Use a small collection of your favorite paints, pencils, etc. -- whatever feels comfortable & familiar to you.
• Give yourself permission to make a mess!  No expectations or pressure.
• Find the part of the scene that really appeals to your artist's eye.  You don't have to paint the whole scene before you, just the part that's fascinating & exciting to you.
• Allow yourself sketching time to warm up.  You could try different mark-making to express the textures you see in your subject or simply swatch the colors you see. 
• Focus on exploring and making discoveries rather than making a pretty picture.
• Think about what you are learning.
• Encourage yourself as you would a friend.  Be kind to yourself and your art.

Does your inner critic tell you you can't make good art? I encourage you to push back against that voice, remind it it's wrong, and go out and make imperfect art.  It feels good to face the Hobgoblin down and to learn from each painting or artwork.

Here are some photos from the wildflower garden at the Raccoon Creek State Park Wildflower Reserve.  I hope you'll use them to create your own art!

Happy Creating!

Nature Journal: An Afternoon Walk

A recent walk on a lakeside trail reacquainted me with what's in bloom right now.  The parking lot at the state park office featured a garden bursting with native wildflowers -- from Queen of the Prairie to bergamot, blazing star and goatsbeard.  Along the trail, American Bellflower stood out in its beauty.

It's a tall, leggy plant, but if you look closely, its individual flowers are elegant...

...even fairy-like.  I found this individual blossom irresistable to draw!

The evening was lovely, and I took a two mile stroll with my nature journal, sat on a bench by the lake, and drank in the peace of the scene.

I find that sketching & writing descriptions of nature connects me in a deeper way than simply sitting.  It relaxes me like meditation. Back home, drawing from photos I took along my walk reminds me of the beauty of the experience and cements it in my memory.

I hope you get the time to relax in a favorite place with your nature journal or sketchbook. I'll be teaching a Nature Journaling class at the Raccoon Creek State Park on Saturday, August 1st from 10am to 1 pm.  You can register by visiting the park's website here:

https://eventsreg.dcnr.pa.gov/register/create/52622653639305

 

Happy Creating!

Osher Nature Journaling Workshop

We had a wonderful time at our Osher Nature Journaling Workshop!  The weather was lovely, the woods were full of life, and my participants were eager to get outside and explore.

We started the day indoors, talking about the process of nature journaling, trying out drawing activities.

Then we went outside to explore nature around the Raccoon Creek State Park Recreation Hall.

Participants sat in folding chairs, recorded observations...

... and sketched nature.

Some wrote poetry.

Others simply sketched with a pencil.

We returned to the Recreation Hall where we shared our discoveries...

...sketches ...

...and poetry.

Seeing and hearing everyone else's creative explorations uplifted and inspired me.

After lunch, we headed out on a nature walk through the woods to a Civilian Conservation Corp-built camp. 

We each took time to sketch and record what we noticed.

We returned for a final wrap up and sharing session at the Recreation Hall.

Many thanks to David for his work setting up, lighting and photographing for our class, and to my participants for being great adventurers and exploring the topic of nature journaling with me!

Here are my sketches from the day.

I hope you're enjoying the summer and finding time to sketch!

Happy Creating!

Nature Journal Update

One of the most important aspects of nature journaling for me is sitting quietly in nature and noticing what's going on around me.  Slowly, the details filter into my awareness.  Then I sketch them on the journal page.

This page is from a quiet Friday afternoon when I sat in an empty camp and watched the animals while I sketched the scene in front of me.

I sat on a picnic table under a porch roof and noticed the flycatcher hunting from its perch on a fallen branch. Then I noticed so many darned houseflies swarming the area and heard a groundhog digging under the building behind me.

The breeze stirred in the trees, a Wood Thrush sang from the woods, other birds like the Ovenbird joined in.  I sketched scenes from the hike I had just taken -- the fawn that had burst from the woods and crossed the trail in front of me; the green inchworm dangling over the trail from a gossamer thread.

While at the park, I spoke with Ranger Karter, who said that in an earlier job he had led a nature journaling program for kids.  He would ask them to write lists of 

1) what they heard, 

2) what they smelled, 

3) what they saw, and 

4) what they felt.  

That's a great way to immerse yourself in nature and slow down!

Nature journaling is a wonderful form of self care.  It helps us to slow down and disconnect from the frenzied world of everyday life.  It gives us time to reflect and be still in the moment.  Sketching in nature, no matter how simple your sketch is, connects you with whatever you're sketching -- a peaceful tree, a curious bird, a beautiful flower.  It brings these aspects deep into our minds and spirits -- luxurious gifts to ourselves.

Here are some of the things I saw on my hike.  I hope you make a sketch or two from them, or better yet, go outside and make sketches from what you see there!

Happy Creating!

Welcome, Summer!

Yesterday was the Summer Solstice, and I celebrated with a painting of a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Pterourus glaucus) on Blue Spire Larkspur from my garden.

I started with a pencil sketch, then began adding in the black markings on the butterfly with an India ink brush pen.

I sketched in the Larkspur in waterproof ink.

Then I began painting the scene, starting with the butterfly first, and moving on to the Larkspur.

I found that I would have been better off painting the yellow of the butterfly first, then adding the black markings in India ink.  The yellows I used: Winsor Lemon and Azo yellow showed on the black ink, so I had to dab those areas with a paper towel while they were wet.

I began adding in greens and shadows made from the purple I was using -- Permanent Blue Violet mixed with Phthalo blue -- and cool Hooker's Green.  I love the dark, shadowy colors that result.

If you mix violet with a yellowy green like Sap Green, you get a muddier shadow color.  But cool greens and cool violets create a luscious, dark, purple-indigo shadow color.

I love the bits on the top left where the cool greens, violet and dark indigo interact.

Butterflies are fiddly little things to paint and draw.  They have so many details, and those details are mirrored in their symmetrical wings.  I remind myself that my goal is to celebrate what I see in nature with my art.  It's okay not to get everything perfectly accurate.  That's what field guides and photographs are for!

If you love butterflies, I hope you'll use these reference photos of the Tiger Swallowtail to make art!

Happy Creating!