Cold Weather Nature Journaling

In the depths of winter, when the polar vortex chases us indoors, we can still keep a nature journal.  I made this colored pencil sketch at breakfast one morning from the photo below.

I have always loved goldenrods, even when they lose their bright yellow blossoms and take on wintry gray and umber hues.  The fluffy texture of the remaining seeds against the crystalline snow often stops me in my tracks when I walk my farm.  Simply beautiful.

What do you find beautiful out in nature this time of year?  A quick photo snapped with your phone can become a sketch in your nature journal, something to remind you of those bitterly cold days at 5 degrees F some sweltering August afternoon.

Tips for using a cell phone for drawing reference:

• Transfer your photo file from the phone to a laptop or other larger viewing screen to help you to better see what you're drawing.
• Try a B&W filter on your photo. Most cell phones have different ways to process a photo, including a grayscale and a black & white filter.  Eliminating the colors and focusing only on values will help you clearly see where the lightest light and darkest dark areas are ,and the shapes of each shadow, highlight, & midtone.  
• Cell phones are good at photographing small things like flowers and insects, etc. Try the Macro function on your cell phone camera to bring really tiny things into view.
• Cell phones show wide angle views in their normal mode. The distance between you and your subject looks farther in a cell phone picture, so you may need to crop the larger image if you're looking at landscapes for instance.

Happy Creating! 

Mixed Media Concertina Sketchbook

My cat, Grover, kindly posed for sketches in my latest accordion-fold sketchbook.

I love to read in the evenings, and have been delving into Jane Stobart's Extraordinary Sketchbooks, where I got the idea to make a collaged sketchbook like architect Karen Butti.

I used a base of 140 pound watercolor paper, and glued on painted papers & old maps with Yes! Paste. 

Below is the cover of the sketchbook, decorated with music sheeting that's been painted with several thin layers of acrylic paint.

 

 The surface of these papers is slick, which would make it difficult to draw on top of them with graphite, charcoal or colored pencils.  I applied clear gesso over both sides of the sketchbook to add a layer of grit without obscuring the designs underneath it.   

My cats were hanging out in the studio when I started sketching, so they fill the first pages.

I love that I can sketch with rich, black charcoal and white pastel pencils.  The painted paper underneath adds another layer of pattern and color.  It feels exciting to have a new sketchbook with a variety of colorful papers

The songbirds hunting seeds in the flower box outside my studio window fit perfectly on the map of Glacier Bay, Alaska.  

Dark-Eyed Juncos scratch on the earth for seeds, so I put black oiler sunflower seeds in my flower beds for them. It's a protected spot, and it brings them closer for me to draw.

Collaging colorful papers onto a plain sketchbook adds a playfulness and imperfection that invites doodling.  If you're feeling anxiety facing the blank page, maybe a collaged page would help you push past that feeling and make drawings.

The beauty of drawing in a sketchbook is that your artwork doesn't have to be "pretty" or "perfect."  Truly in this world, there is no such thing as perfect, so try looking at drawing as an exploration, a voyage of discovery. Every drawing teaches you something.

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner: Collage & Hearts

Another week, another planner design.  

Collage is a great way to get back into creating.  You don't need to find perfection, just gather some papers that feel sparkly to you, and piece some of them together loosely.

Remember, you're not going for precision.  Try for 50% chaos and 50% control, as my friend Ryan McCormick says.

 I like to use the tiny leftovers from card-making that would normally end up in the trash.  They get a new life as art, and I get interesting shapes.

Happy Creating!

Working in a Series: Valentines

I was grocery shopping the other day and spotted a display of beautiful commercial pop-up greeting cards that popped out into a box, like a diorama with layers of art and figures.  They folded shut to fit in an envelope to be mailed easily.  

Inspiration struck!  

At home, I watched YouTube videos on making your own pop up box cards, and I set to work, first sketching out ideas for designs to try.

I chose an envelope size of 5" x 7" and sized the cards so they would fold up and fit in that space.  The front and back of the box =5" x 5"

The sides = 5" x 1.75"

That leaves a tab of 5" x 0.5" to glue down to close the box.

I cut a stack of 5" x 14" pieces of watercolor paper, then measured and creased the folds.

Now I had a pile of paper blanks to try out those ideas from my sketchbook.

I also took walks to generate ideas.  I was struck by the beauty of the bare winter tree limbs against the bold blue sky, and the backdrop of white snow covering the ground.  Those walks inspired this tree & heart design.

As a lover of collage, I rifled through my basket of collage materials, and found artwork from a date calendar to make into a heart-themed diorama.

I found old music sheeting printed with hand-made heart stamps. They fit perfectly with some fluffy feathers of similar colors.

And I put together some of the leftovers to make simpler cards like this one.

Working in a series is a great way to get your creativity flowing.  You can try a variety of ideas, and if one doesn't work, you don't have to keep it. Having many iterations of a theme gives you lots of ways to succeed.

The process of trying out a variety of ideas, color schemes and materials can inspire new ideas.  You may decide to repeat some of your favorite cards.  

I liked the tree limb card so much, I made a bunch of them.

And of course, I had a few cards, not pictured here, that I threw away.

Working in a series can be freeing.  I hope you give it a try!

Happy Creating!

Gouache Sketch of a Bridge

Another recent hike went by so fast that I used reference photos taken during the adventure to create this gouache sketch in my nature journal.

This old bridge near the park office called out to be painted.

And it exemplified the day -- sunny and bright with its own enchantment.

I made a pencil sketch and painted over with gouache -- light washes for the background, and thicker mixtures of paint for the trees, clouds and other details.

A lovely way to remember a lovely day's hike!

Happy Creating! 

Mushroom Art

Out on hikes of late, I haven't had time to paint on the spot. Instead, I take photos and create when I get back to my studio.

This little mushroom caught my eye as I hiked by its rotting stump high up on a wooded hilltop.  I used gouache paint to make a nature journal entry from the reference photo.

Gouache paint is opaque when thick, and will cover right over your initial pencil drawing as mine did here.

Gouache's opacity allows you to paint light colors over darker backgrounds.  I find this ability lets me create lots of exciting details. So much so, that I get carried away as I did in the version above, and the background distracts the eye from the focal point.

Too many details!

It's easy to fix this problem.  I painted a thin wash over the background to tone down the highlights, and pop the mushroom forward. 

If you try out gouache, you'll find the trickiest bit is getting the paint thickness just right for your application -- thin washes apply like watercolor, and will cover a larger area, but will be more transparent.  You'll need a thicker consistency of paint to cover dark tones with lighter spots.  

With gouache, you start with the background, laying in general shapes, colors and tones, and then you add the foreground parts and more detailed areas. 

Start with a limited palette of colors -- here, I used ultramarine blue, burnt umber, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, lemon yellow and zinc white. Put a small blob of each color of paint on your palette, and make sure to keep the paint moist by spritzing it with a small spray bottle of water.

You can experiment freely, knowing that you can paint over any mistake.

Happy Creating!

Sketch of a Midden

Sometimes on a hike, I don't have time to sketch as I go.  We were outrunning a windstorm when I spotted this log with remnants of a squirrel's dinner. So, I snapped a quick photo with my phone.

Back in the studio, I sketched the scene with my fountain pen, and added washes of watercolor.

Naturalists call this pile of nut shells a midden.  I've always loved that name and the knowledge that some small creature was eating a meal right on top of this log.  It makes me feel closer to my wild relations when I get insights into their everyday lives like this.

What in nature appeals to you?  What do you love to find out on a hike?  I hope you jot a note and make a sketch in your nature journal.

Happy Creating!

Finding an Old Stone Ruin

 On a recent hike, we found the remains of an old stone building.  It's tiny by modern standards, and we guess it was used by early settlers as a warming shelter when they took breaks from cutting stone from the nearby hillside.

The beauty of this natural building material, and the mystery behind the ruin entranced me, and I enjoyed sketching this corner of the building using the reference photo above.

Don't you love when a sketch in a nature journal makes you curious to learn more?  I ended up reading about the Civilian Conservation Corps in our local state park, an incredible story in this area's history.

Happy Creating!

Bluebird Art

I have dreamed for years of driving an electric vehicle and using the car's recharging time to make art. 

Here's a page from my nature journal with a sketch of the scene out my front windshield during a charge-up.  The afternoon was cold, and we'd just come back from a hike.  My car kept us warm as it charged, and I spent the time blissfully sketching.

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner Page: B & W Collage

A weekly planner is a wonderful place to experiment with new ideas and designs.  There's no pressure to make something impressive.  You're just playing.

And creating with collage is a great way to play.  I recommend collecting a pile of paper scraps and images that you like.  They can have a theme, like these did, or just the theme that you like them.  I selected black and white images on old paper.

Pick out a collage bit that interests you, and try it out in several places.  If you get a tingle of "That's interesting..." glue it down!  Don't wait for "That's perfect!" because perfect never happens (in my experience).

I started with some collage bits, then added a few more, and penned in the days and dates.

Sometimes, your collage choices will tell you something about your inner thoughts.  I was drawn to the  photo of the train in the mountains as I've been reminiscing about our trip to Alaska, especially about our journey on the White Pass Scenic Railroad.

A bit of collage can add adventure to your week!  I hope you give it a try.

Happy Creating!

Gray Day Hike & Sketch

A hike down to Raccoon Lake seemed routine until a flock of Canada Geese soared overhead, bugling.  I snapped a photo to use as a reference, and then sketched the scene with a waterproof black pen.

I touched in a few washes with watercolor, glad that the temperature was in the 40's and the paint didn't freeze on the paper.

Here's the reference photo.  I zoomed in on the birds to see the details in the birds' flying postures.

It's amazing to me how wild animals can make a dull scene instantly alive and beautiful.

I hope you get a chance to sketch in nature.  It's a beautiful way to connect with our wild relations.

Happy Creating!