Paddle & Paint

A recent warm afternoon found me on a paddleboard in the local state park lake.  I paddled my nature journaling supplies across the lake to a dock and picnic area accessible only to boats. Settling in a sunny spot, I made this quick watercolor sketch of a cluster of trees across the lake.

I find that the peace of sitting in nature with art supplies, & focusing on what you find beautiful has the power to slow you down and relax you. 

How do you do this?

My top Nature Journaling Tips:

1. Find something that fascinates you. 

2. Focus on exploring that natural feature with your art supplies -- expressing the colors, shapes and textures you see.

3. Don't try to make your artwork "pretty" or perfect. There is no such thing as perfect! Such expectations weigh you down and stop creativity.

4. Let yourself fall into the experience of expressing what you see.  You might even want to write about what you notice alongside your drawing or painting.

 5. Think of your art making as a meditation, a time to focus on nature and explore what your art supplies can do.  I find that when I take this approach, I'm often surprised by how much I like the end result. 

6. Leave yourself open to serendipity. I spilled some candle wax on this page of my nature journal.  Not wanting to waste the page, I put washi tape down to prevent the oily spot from transferring to other pages.  I like the way the indigo tape frames the scene.

I hope these tips help you to take your nature journal outside and get creative!

Painting in a Campground

A Wednesday afternoon in the state park campground provided a quiet woods with plenty of picnic tables for me to sit and paint at.  

Now that school is back in session, demand for campsites during the week is low, so tents and occupied campsites were few and far between.

I took advantage of the peaceful woods, finding a beautifully weathered and gnarled maple tree to paint in my 6"x 9" Soho kraft paper nature journal.

 I began with a rough pencil sketch, then began mixing colors and painting larger shapes and slowly added more details.  I focused on the bright highlights and dark shadows on the maple, and made sure to lay in a variety of greens in the forest canopy background.  

I ran out of time before I finished on location, so I took a few photos of the scene and finished the painting later at home.

Before I left, I wrote:

Sun-dappled woods.  An old, knobby maple tree in the campsite catches my eye -- packed with holes, warty, mossy & worn -- you know it has stories to tell.

Looking back at this entry, I remember the freshness of the air, the peace of the woods, and the mosquitoes!  And how I hiked down the hill to meet David for a paddle on the lake below.  The beauty of a September afternoon is recorded for me to visit whenever I wish.

I hope you take some time to record what is going on in nature around you today.  

Happy creating!

Autumn Colors in Gouache

Our Grandmother Sugar Maple has already started her autumn color show. I sat outside with my nature journal and gouache paints to capture her beauty while her colors were still fresh.

I started with a simple pencil sketch, then painted in the bold colors, starting with the reds and oranges, and building up greens and dark shadows, finishing with the sky and background trees and the meadow plants in the foreground.

Gouache allows you to paint light over dark because it can be applied thickly enough to be opaque.  Essentially, any mistakes you make are endlessly changeable, which lends a feeling of freedom any time you embark on a painting.

What's your favorite art supply to use?  Try it out in a nature journal! You can use nearly any art material -- aside from oil paints -- to record your observations.

When you're done, you'll have a record of your time in nature that you can return to again and again, virtually saving the beauty of an autumn morning for those dark winter evenings when you long for color.

Whatever the season you find yourself in, there is always something fascinating going on in nature. I hope you'll make a record of it today! 

The Meadow in Gouache

One sunny afternoon, I set up my paints in a meadow to explore: 

• the contrast of bright Queen Anne's Lace against woodland shadows, 
• the textures of wildflowers & meadow grasses, and 
• the contrast of bare hickory branches against the blue September sky.

 

I made a simple pencil sketch, then painted the sky, the trees, and the meadow plants with gouache.  

Using this tan mixed media paper saved me from painting the tan grasses in the meadow.  I love using midtone paper, because it shows the highlights well.  Look at how the white Queen Anne's Lace blossoms shine brilliantly against the tan mixed media paper.

Before painting, I walked a path around and through this meadow several times.  As I walked, I noticed scenes and subjects that caught my eye.

You can use this trick any time you're out walking, even if you don't have your art supplies.  Simply walk along and notice what you are drawn to. Say "I like ..."

Are you fascinated by the puffy clouds in the sky, the autumn leaves, the dry grasses, or the way a spider web beads with dew?  

I've noticed that I like high contrast scenes, like the sun setting behind trees, when the light shines through the green leaves.

You could use your phone to take photos, and to record descriptions of what you like.

Sometimes I speak descriptions into my phone's notepad as I walk. I can later print them out and add them to my nature journal.

I hope you'll take some time in nature to create, or just to notice what you are drawn to.

Happy nature journaling!

Kale by Sunset Light

One recent evening, after a day of talking with lots of people, I was "peopled out." Needing a reset, I sat at my art worktable and gazed out the window to my vegetable garden.  

A curly kale plant caught the late day light, and I reached for my gouache paints to express the beauty of the sun glowing through the kale leaves.

I made a very rough pencil sketch of leaf positions, and started painting.

Gouache dries so quickly, I could paint the main leaves, then add details over top, like veins & highlights.

The colors I used were: Cadmium Yellow Pale, Hansa Yellow, Phthalo Blue, Pyrrol Red, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Yellow Ochre, & Zinc White.

I painted on Saunders Waterford watercolor paper (cream, NOT surface, 140#) from St. Cuthberts Mill

I find the high contrast light to dark areas please my artist's eye. Little details like this are good to know about yourself.  What are your favorite things to paint or draw?  Do you have favorite lighting or colors?  

Next time you're waiting in line or taking a walk, look around and see what catches your eye.  Practicing seeing like this sets you up to be ready to sketch or paint because you know what you enjoy.

I hope you find time this week for some creative self care.  Give yourself the gift of time tucked away to yourself, playing with your art supplies.  

Happy Creating!

Nature Journaling with Gouache

Another canoe trip on Raccoon Lake with my nature journal yielded pages of rough pencil and ink sketches of a Great Blue Heron perched above us in a hemlock tree.

Back at home, I added gouache, painting from memory, to fill in the scene.

A half-submerged log near the shore caught my eye as we paddled by and I only had time for a very rough sketch of its shape.  The log had wildflowers growing out of the spongy, decaying wood.

The amazing thing about gouache is that you can fix any mistake.  Above is the finished version of my painting.  Below are two steps along the way. I took photos with my phone to help me see the big picture, and each photo showed me something I wanted to fix.

The first one had a brown streak in the reflection that needed to be blended in.

I added some gray paint over top and around the edges to soften them.

After fixing the streak, I took another photo and noticed that the log's reflection was wider than the log itself.

I painted over the log reflection with greens and browns on the left side.  The result is below.

This photo trick magically helped me to see the big picture, and areas that needed work were obvious.

Other ways to take stock of an artwork are to step back 3 feet from it, or to look at its reflection in a hand mirror.

Sometimes, just stepping away from my painting and coming back later helps get my head out of the details so I can see what needs to be done.

When I no longer see things that I want to work on, the painting is done!

I hope you'll try some of these techniques, and that you'll take time for your art this week.

Happy Creating!

First Autumn Leaf Painted in Gouache

I've been taken by the medium gouache, a type of paint that is water-soluble like watercolors, but is opaque, so you can paint light colors over top of darker colors as long as you use a thick consistency.

I love that I can paint in the large shapes and colors, then add details.

Watercolor has long been a favorite medium of mine, but you must paint from light to dark. If there is a bright detail (like the yellow veins on the leaf above), you have to either avoid painting those tiny spaces with darker paint, or use a masking fluid to keep those little bits unpainted.

Gouache lets you paint right over anything you like!

So, this year's first colorful leaf of autumn was painted with gouache.

Every medium has its own magic.  I find that making explorations in art leads me to new discoveries like my new joy in gouache.

I hope you'll make explorations in whatever medium appeals to you.  

Start with what you have at hand, even if that's a pencil on paper.  

The more you create, the more ideas and inspiration build for you.

Happy creating!

Cloud Study

After painting the lake from a canoe (See my post: Nature Journaling from a Canoe), I was taken by the way I could paint fluffy summer clouds decking a brilliant blue sky, and so I made this study using white gouache and phthalo blue watercolor paints.

I sat on my front porch and watched the sky, painting the clouds I saw floating by.  Of course, the clouds were constantly moving and changing, so I let the clouds morph on the paper, too. 

Making studies is a wonderful way to explore a part of the landscape, to practice your painting or drawing skills, and to simply relax.  There's no pressure to make a "pretty" picture, because you  know you're just making a study.  You're not creating a composition, just exploring and playing.

What catches your eye today?  Your cat's ear, a zinnia bloom, a fresh apple in a bowl on the kitchen counter -- make a study of it!  

Studies and sketches are a great way to warm up and get your creativity flowing.

Happy creating!

Nature Journaling from a Canoe

The last lazy days of summer we've been paddling Raccoon Lake in a canoe.  I always bring along my nature journal and a small kit of watercolors, pens & a graphite pencil. 

Here, we stopped for a moment to watch a building storm cloud, and I painted the lake quickly.

We paddled up the tributary of the lake and found sycamore trees with branches leaning over the creek.  I dangled my toes in the water, and could feel the cooling effect of the trees' shade.  The lake water was much warmer than this tributary that feeds it. 

The peaceful backwaters were home to whirligig beetles - smooth, oval, black beetles that spin and zip on the water's surface --  and common sneezeweed with its yellow blooms.

I love the late summer sounds in the forest, and made a list of the bird calls and insects I could hear above me.

This is an ideal time of year to make a nature journal.  I hope you'll grab a sketch book and something you like to draw/write with, then go outdoors and listen, watch, and take notes in whatever way feels appealing to you.

Happy Nature Journaling!

Post Card Art

My best friend, Robin, and I have been writing to each other for over 28 years.  In that time, we've made the weirdest, most creative and inventive stationery from cereal boxes, wallpaper samples, maps, and other everyday ephemera.  We've even made our own paper to write on.

Robin inspires me.  Above is a pair of post cards -- Robin's on the left, and mine on the right.  She sent me her flower card first, and I was so taken by the freshness of her lines, the playfulness of the colors that I tried my own.

We made our cards with watercolor on watercolor paper. Waterproof markers and white paint markers add the finishing touches.

My best friend is a master at writing post cards.  In one 4" x 6" card, she can speak of the rich details of her daily life, news of her family, and the power of mortality to focus her on the bright joy of living.

Robin's post card inspiration got me playing with more ideas.

I have always been thrilled by upcycling interesting looking papers into cards and letters.  When I recently read that the U.S. Postal Service had upped the maximum size of a post card to 6" x 9", I grabbed a political ad from the trash, cut it to size, and slapped two coats of white gesso on one side.

I glued a scrap of 140# watercolor paper to the back of the political ad with Yes! paste, and added some black and white washi tape around the edges to keep them from getting caught in the Postal Service machinery.

When the gesso had dried, I painted and stamped the surface with India ink and a blue water based ink. I wished I had prepared a bunch of cards to create a series with, because when I got started, I didn't want to stop!

Post cards are a wonderful art warm-up, because they're small and invite playfulness & experimentation, especially if you use upcycled materials.

I hope you'll try your hand at making and sending postcards!

Finishing Touches on my Travel Journal

Back at home, I wanted to tell the story of our journey with my travel journal.  I had left several blank pages at the start of the book.  I started with a title page.

I pulled several pages out of a worn & unraveling 1951 Rand McNally World Atlas, and glued them into my journal alongside a timeline of our travels. 

I love the colors in these old maps.

They match the historic and elegant Transatlantic Crossing.

Somehow, studying paper maps feels easier on my eyes than googling.

And, I can see the relationship of the area we traveled to the rest of the UK and Europe.

I like poring over the maps and noticing how the landscape becomes mountainous in Wales, or to study the coastline, thinking of the hiking trail I've read about. 

And it's always delightful to imagine future travels.

Watercolor Classes at Sea

Among the lovely offerings during a transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2 is an array of speakers and classes.

I took advantage of 3 sessions with a skilled artist and teacher, George Burch. 

In each class, he walked us through basic information on watercolor paints, brushes, papers and techniques.  

In our final class, he set up this still life for us to paint.

One thing I like about still life painting is that you can choose whatever portion of the scene you'd like to paint.  I chose to paint the whole scene, but you could always leave out the wine glass or select just the fruit.

Why not give it a try? You can paint from this photo or set up your own still life!

Happy Creating!

Storm Cloud Painting

Whale and dolphin watching gave us the opportunity to take lots of photos of the ever-changing sea and sky.

Outside on decks, the winds typically were 40 knots or more, so painting in the moment wasn't practical.

Inspired by this photo, I made a monochromatic painting in my journal of the scene.

One important part of creating a landscape with the ocean in it is to make sure the horizon is level and straight.  I used painter's tape to tape off the horizon, and painted the stormy sky wet-in-wet.

I used Payne's Grey and French Ultramarine. Limiting the color palette feels freeing to me, as my focus turns to following the values and shapes I see.

 

This photo would be a great source for a series of paintings -- 

a monochromatic painting of the scene, 

a study of just the clouds, 

a study of just the horizon, 

a texture study of the ocean surface, 

& a variety of compositions selected from within this photo.

What would you like to create from this photo?

I hope you'll take the opportunity to paint, draw or collage with this image and share your art in the comments below.

Happy Creating!

Whale and Dolphin Watching from the Queen Mary 2

As we neared Newfoundland, the visibility cleared and the seas calmed so that the water was free of whitecaps. We had seen dolphins over the past few days, but had heard that whales had also been spotted.

We climbed to the 11th deck, and watched from the outdoor observation area just below the bridge. I scanned the calm sea for the white spray of whales blowing and dolphins leaping out of the water.

We had the thrill of seeing both Humpback Whales and Dolphins soaring out of the water near the ship.

I felt a sense of kinship to the animals, and gratitude for them sharing a glimpse of themselves "flying" free in their ocean home.

My eyes were riveted to these rare scenes as they happened, so I didn't sketch at all until afterwards.  The dolphins were easier to sketch from memory, but the whales had bumps and fins that I was unfamiliar with, so I referred to the photos above.

I hope you will try your hand at creating from these photos!