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!

Many Thanks to our Osher Models!

Our Osher Figure Drawing classes have wrapped up, and I feel tremendous gratitude to the models, like Robin (above), who inspired, challenged, strengthened, and uplifted us with their work.  

I see our models -- like Selena (below) -- as co-creators in the art studio. They express their creativity through their poses, bringing us inspiration and ideas.

Our models' work tells stories, and we artists participate in the stories by illustrating what we see.  Here, model Emily (below) in her flower crown, looks to me like a goddess of Spring.

And model Rikki lies on a beach in the sunshine in my mind's eye.

Many thanks to our amazing models!  I feel grateful to have gotten the opportunity to create with them. 

Botanical Weekly Planner Page

Each week in my planner is a new opportunity to experiment with my art. I try to let myself be free and let the art flow intuitively. 

Surprisingly, I feel more experimental than I do in my sketchbooks. 

One of the things I loved about our Watercolor Leaves and Florals class at CCBC was that we used the photos of wildflowers in field guides as references and created our own versions of real flowers.  

It gave us something to start with, yet we had none of the pressure to create anything realistic.

I created a "new" flower as I was making this page.  It's the yellow one. I was thinking of Queen Anne's Lace as I painted it.  

I can see now how much the drive for perfect realism puts a damper on my creativity.  Accepting that my painting isn't going to be photo-realistic releases my creative impulses and makes the process more fun and playful.

When I started painting landscapes, I wanted to capture every pine needle and flower in the scene.  Of course, that's impossible.  Learning to be playfully abstract in my watercolor paintings is far more fun for me than trying to recreate reality on the page.

Would you like to take a day in nature to play with your watercolors?  I hope you'll join me for my upcoming Nature in Watercolor Workshop for Beginners at Raccoon Creek State Park.  Read more about it in this post:

https://betsyblissart.blogspot.com/2026/05/osher-nature-in-watercolors-worshop-for.html 

I hope you'll join me!

Osher Nature in Watercolors Worshop for Beginners

There's still space left in my upcoming Nature in Watercolors Workshop for Beginners on May 26th!  If you are curious about watercolors and would like to learn more, I hope you'll join me.  Even if you're not currently a member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at CMU, you can take the class!

Osher at CMU offers curious participants a chance to try out one class for free, and if they like the experience and want to try more classes, they can become a prospective member, pay $95, and take as many additional classes in that semester as they like.

Here's a link to more information about Osher at CMU: https://www.cmu.edu/osher/

Here's Osher at CMU membership information:  

https://www.cmu.edu/osher/membership/index.html

And here's a link to the summer 2026 catalog of classes: https://www.cmu.edu/osher/publications/weekly-essentials/2026/summer/registration-is-open.html

Nature in Watercolor Workshop for Beginners

Are you curious about painting with watercolors, but you don’t know where to start? Would you like to spend a day with your Osher friends in nature being creative? Join us at Raccoon Creek State Park for this day-long workshop. We will play with our art supplies to become friendly with them, then we’ll test them out in the beauty of nature. 

Please note: This workshop will be held rain or shine. The address to plug into your GPS is Raccoon Creek State Park Recreation Hall, 195 Cabin Rd #15050, Georgetown, PA 15043. Mobility Requirements: Hiking 1/2 mile on uneven terrain with art supplies will be part of this full day of activities. Bring your watercolor supplies and a brown bag lunch for a day of watercolor painting adventures.

Friday, May 29, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

$25 Materials fee.

Cost: Requires membership in Osher at CMU.  Membership information here:

 https://www.cmu.edu/osher/membership/index.html

Dues & fees information here:

 https://www.cmu.edu/osher/membership/dues-and-fees.html

Still have questions? Drop me a comment below.

I hope you'll join me on May 29th!

Osher Figure Drawing with Model Amelia

We kicked off our Osher at CMU Spring Figure Drawing class with model Amelia.

The variety, creativity and strength in Amelia's poses inspired us to draw quickly to capture as much as we could before the timer sounded and we moved on. 

Something magical happens when a model engages their creativity and works as a co-creator in a drawing session.  Everyone is uplifted.  It's a rare experience, and one we, the artists, are grateful for.  It leaves me feeling sparkly.

Here are some of my 2- and 3-minute gesture drawings.

We did a series of 5-line drawings, allowing ourselves only 5 lines to express the entire pose.  I always find that assignment challenging, but it pushes me to explore new ideas.  I like my abstracted 5-line drawings the best.

We took a break, and then moved on to 20-minute poses.

My sincere thanks to model Amelia for her hard work and creativity!

Drawing in the Museum

Last Friday we wrapped up the Osher class Drawing in the Museum.  We had a lot of fun!

Here's a look at some of my sketches.

The Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History allow artists to bring in only a sketchbook and pencils.  Turns out, having a limited list of supplies simplifies the drawing process and helps me to kick my creativity into gear.  The art and artifacts in the museums are fascinating, and you can imagine yourself as an early adventurer sketching a Native American mask (above) or a Goliath Beetle (below).

Next time you plan a visit to a museum, or even a new park or cultural spot, make it an adventure and record what you see with a pencil and a sketchbook!

An urn in the Hall of Architecture.

Details on a statue.

A detail of a lion capturing a horse in the Hall of Architecture.

I hope you'll take yourself on an art date, and bring your sketchbook along.

Happy Creating!

With Gratitude to Our Osher Figure Drawing Models

In the late fall, I teach a figure drawing class for Osher at CMU.  Class recently concluded, and I have been reflecting on the inspiration my models bring to us. 

Every model brought a unique collection of gesture & long poses, each pose telling a story. 

One model shared with me that she was inspired by the full moon that had risen the night before, and as she held a standing, stretching pose, she pictured holding the moon in her arms. 

Her imagination crafted an elegant pose, and the artists could feel her creative energy uplifting us as we drew.

Our Osher models are performance artists, like dancers, yet their dance is stilled motion. 

I admire how our models are co-creators in our drawings.  Their imagination and hard work inspires our sketches and long drawings. 

Many thanks to all our models.  Their work is the foundation of our work.

My figure drawing class met weekly for 5 weeks.  I began class with a slide show for inspiration, and we moved on to gesture drawings to warm up.  Our model held a long pose of about an hour, and we drew with charcoal or pastels.  We finished each class with an art show, admiring the artists' works.

If you're interested in learning more about Osher at CMU, and how you can register for classes, you can learn more here: https://www.cmu.edu/osher/about/index.html

Happy Creating!