Art at the Beach, Part 2

The beauty of a travel journal is that you can quickly capture the scenes and mood of a place to lock it into your memory.

On our recent Florida beach trip, the gorgeous turquoise and cobalt blue of the Atlantic Ocean caught my eye and inspired this quick watercolor sketch of a fishing boat motoring down the beach.

A friendly beach-goer wearing an Army sunhat sat for me to sketch him in my journal.

A first sketch - like this one of the dune - may not look "pretty" or perfect.  It's helping you to see the scene before you and figure out how to draw it.

Here's the second attempt.

And below is a study of the Sea Oats at the front of the beach dune.

As easy as it is to snap a cell phone picture, research shows that making a sketch instead will help you recall more details about your experience -- the people, the colors, the conversations, your feelings, etc. 

Each of these sketches were made at the beach, in the moment, and each one carries with it memories of those moments. 

All you need to lock in memories like this is a small journal -- mine is 6" x 8" -- and a drawing implement -- a pencil, a marker or even a ballpoint pen. Keep these items handy for a quiet visit to a coffee shop, while you're talking on the phone, or to take with you on a short "art date" by yourself. 

Happy Sketching & Memory Making!

A Stormy Start to a New Journal

Starting a new nature journal can feel like starting a journey of infinite possibilities, but also can feel like a perfect, blank book that you don't want to make the first mistake in.  Thursday afternoon, David and I went out on a hike and I took a brand new nature journal with me. About 2 miles in, we found ourselves slogging through a summer rain shower.  By the time we made it back to the Adirondack shelters in the park, we were soaked to the bone, and my brand new nature journal was no longer crisp and fresh, but soggy-edged and mud-splashed.  Somehow, this felt like the best of both worlds -- still open to infinite possibilities, but also not so precious that I couldn't make mistakes.  A great start.

Nature Journal Update: Summer Thunderclouds

A summery afternoon built cumulonimbus clouds that didn't travel very far very fast, but rumbled and dropped curtains of indigo.  Tired at the end of a busy day, I sat on the front porch and sketched, blissfully.

Figure Drawing Update: Osher Figure Drawing Class, week one

I have begun teaching a new semester of figure drawing on Zoom with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.  Here are some of my drawings from the first week of class with model Kathryn:

Abstract Five-Line Drawings:
The beauty of the 5-lined drawing is that you only get 5 lines to describe the whole figure, so you are forced to stop and look carefully, an important first step in any drawing.

5-Minute Gestures:

Forest Bathing with Mayapples

Out hiking yesterday towards sunset, the gray day cleared, and we stopped for a water break.  I took a moment to sit at the edge of a colony of Mayapples and sketch. The sun shone through the greening trees, the Wood Thrush warbled musically, and a sense of calm and gratitude washed over me. 

This is the beauty of forest bathing -- simply sitting out in nature for its healing benefits.  Like meditation, when I sit with my nature journal on the forest floor and open my senses, I am immersed in the present moment and the beauty of the place.  All thoughts of troubles and the outer world fall away, and I can be still and peaceful.

It's a wonderful form of self care.  Try simply sitting in a natural environment, focused only on what you see, smell, feel and hear. Turn off that phone!  Adding a sketchbook and a pen gives you a way to focus on one element at a time, and create a record of your experience to thumb through later and double your benefits.  

Forsythia Blooms & Inspiration

Though the human world seems to have ground to a halt right now, nature bursts with new life out here in the country around my home. Everyday some new flower spills fresh color into the landscape, and I want to capture it all in my nature journals.

I have been watching videos from John Muir Laws' website on keeping a nature journal, organizing journal pages, and using watercolor pencils to best effect. Inspiring!  Check them out for free here: https://johnmuirlaws.com/blog/

I have taken to carrying a journal with me on hikes with David, or even down the driveway to put a letter in the box. Here is a collection of recent findings in no particular order.

First Daffodils of Spring!

I saw daffodils blooming in the city several weeks ago, but out my way in the country, they've just started to open their sunny blossoms.  It's worth the wait!  These blooms cheer me and make me want to start planting my garden. And their fragrance never grows old.

Figure Drawing Update

I had the good fortune to draw a new model who brought remarkable strength and flexibility to her poses.

One-minute gesture pose.

Nature Journal: Signs of Spring

I got the opportunity to get out for a hike to Doak Field in Raccoon Creek State Park today while the weather was warm and mostly sunny.  The songs of Cardinals, Rufous-Sided Towhees and Song Sparrows brightened the world.  Down in the lowlands, Skunk Cabbage spikes have risen from the mud.  Spring is coming!

Thrifted Art Supplies

On Valentine's Day, hubby and I went out to our favorite Goodwill Thrift Store, and in addition to finding a half-price scarlet sweater, I also turned up a box of brightly-colored chalks for $3.  I felt so excited about finding those vivid colors when I needed them the most -- in the depths of February!

As soon as we returned home (after dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant), I busted into the box, and tried out my new chalks on some newsprint.  Luscious violet and magenta mingled with oceanic blue-green and cerulean.  Twenty-four of the most eye-popping colors were mine to play with.

In the morning, the sun rising through a clear sky inspired me to grab a piece of black mat board to capture the scene on.  Art is the most fun when we allow ourselves to play.

Quick Nature Sketches

In the evening of a quiet day at home, I spotted three White Tailed Deer close to my kitchen door, feeding on the grasses of the meadow.  They snapped to attention, ears perked at any suspicious sound, but mostly, they ate hungrily.  I found myself wishing I could sketch their elegant forms faster, but grateful for the opportunity to observe them so close by.

More Inktober Sketches

October has finally turned fall-ish with cerulean skies decked with feathery mare's tail clouds.  Crisp air, chilly nights and brilliant sunlight makes the colors seem that much brighter.

Catching up!

Here are a few odds and ends from my recent journal entries.

The pines at the Wildflower Reserve one September afternoon.

Urban sketching journal -- an architectural detail on a building on the South Side of Pittsburgh.