Nature Journal Update

Over the last few weeks, I've been getting out on hikes and finding spots to sit and sketch wintry scenes like the one above of a young sycamore tree against an evergreen down by a snowy lake.

Have you ever noticed how your fastest drawings are often the ones you like the best?

On hikes in the park with David, my body warms up while moving. When we stop for a break, I find something small or simple to sketch.  Soon enough, it's time to get back to hiking, but the little breaks give me just enough time to make a quick drawing.  I love these quick ones as they show the energy of discovery.

When it's truly cold, I sit inside by the birdfeeder and make quick sketches of the visitors. I hurriedly drew the chickadee at the top right from observing a live bird.  Frustrated when the chickadee flew away, I looked up a photo online and made a watercolor sketch at the bottom left from that reference.

Most recently, I found a tiny mud coccoon inside a hollowed out acorn -- probably the work of a mud dauber wasp in the warmer months.  I made several drawings of the cozy little bug home.

I took a photo of the coccoon acorn with some of the other empty nut hulls in the shelter where we took our mid-hike snack break.

What are you finding to draw in your nature journal? Do you prefer drawing big-picture landscapes or smaller details?  Plants? Animals? What's your favorite thing in nature to draw these days?

I hope you take some time to sketch your favorite things!

Happy Creating!

Figure Drawing with Model Selena

 We finished our Osher semester with model Selena and a focus on Dance and Movement.  We began with 6 x 2-minute gesture poses, grouping them together on our paper in 3's to represent 3 dancers in motion.

Selena gave us graceful, dancerly poses.

Next, we challenged ourselves with a 2-minute, continuous gesture. Selena moved slowly but constantly from one pose to another, and used a long, flowy piece of tulle to help express her movement.  

It was hard to try to complete one full gesture drawing of Selena in any pose, but we watched mindfully as we drew, and relied on our memory to complete each gesture.

Though the end drawing looks scribbly and imperfect, the process of drawing this continuous gesture sharpened our skills and exercised our visual memory.

We wrapped up our gestures with a 5-minute upside-down pose.

After a break, we moved on to the long drawing, beginning with a 4-minute sketch to determine how we wanted to lay out our final drawing.

I was glad I took the time to lay out my drawing, as I realized exactly where I wanted Selena's body to land on the page to give her space to look up, creating the composition I wanted.

Many thanks to model Selena for her beautiful poses and inspiration!