Nature Journal: An Afternoon Walk

A recent walk on a lakeside trail reacquainted me with what's in bloom right now.  The parking lot at the state park office featured a garden bursting with native wildflowers -- from Queen of the Prairie to bergamot, blazing star and goatsbeard.  Along the trail, American Bellflower stood out in its beauty.

It's a tall, leggy plant, but if you look closely, its individual flowers are elegant...

...even fairy-like.  I found this individual blossom irresistable to draw!

The evening was lovely, and I took a two mile stroll with my nature journal, sat on a bench by the lake, and drank in the peace of the scene.

I find that sketching & writing descriptions of nature connects me in a deeper way than simply sitting.  It relaxes me like meditation. Back home, drawing from photos I took along my walk reminds me of the beauty of the experience and cements it in my memory.

I hope you get the time to relax in a favorite place with your nature journal or sketchbook. I'll be teaching a Nature Journaling class at the Raccoon Creek State Park on Saturday, August 1st from 10am to 1 pm.  You can register by visiting the park's website here:

https://eventsreg.dcnr.pa.gov/register/create/52622653639305

 

Happy Creating!

Nature Journal Update

One of the most important aspects of nature journaling for me is sitting quietly in nature and noticing what's going on around me.  Slowly, the details filter into my awareness.  Then I sketch them on the journal page.

This page is from a quiet Friday afternoon when I sat in an empty camp and watched the animals while I sketched the scene in front of me.

I sat on a picnic table under a porch roof and noticed the flycatcher hunting from its perch on a fallen branch. Then I noticed so many darned houseflies swarming the area and heard a groundhog digging under the building behind me.

The breeze stirred in the trees, a Wood Thrush sang from the woods, other birds like the Ovenbird joined in.  I sketched scenes from the hike I had just taken -- the fawn that had burst from the woods and crossed the trail in front of me; the green inchworm dangling over the trail from a gossamer thread.

While at the park, I spoke with Ranger Karter, who said that in an earlier job he had led a nature journaling program for kids.  He would ask them to write lists of 

1) what they heard, 

2) what they smelled, 

3) what they saw, and 

4) what they felt.  

That's a great way to immerse yourself in nature and slow down!

Nature journaling is a wonderful form of self care.  It helps us to slow down and disconnect from the frenzied world of everyday life.  It gives us time to reflect and be still in the moment.  Sketching in nature, no matter how simple your sketch is, connects you with whatever you're sketching -- a peaceful tree, a curious bird, a beautiful flower.  It brings these aspects deep into our minds and spirits -- luxurious gifts to ourselves.

Here are some of the things I saw on my hike.  I hope you make a sketch or two from them, or better yet, go outside and make sketches from what you see there!

Happy Creating!

Nature Treasures and a Nature Journaling Class!

My studio is chock-full of twigs, feathers, acorns and other natural treasures picked up on walks.  Eventually, these bits get dusty & crumbly, so I return everything to the wild.  

When I collect drawings of these treasures, I get to keep them tucked away in my nature journal in their fresh, dust-free state.

I also get the experience of slowing down, immersing myself in nature, and drawing in my nature journal.

I made this sketch on a recent hike in Raccoon Creek State Park.  It's lovely to open my nature journal and bring back memories of that day and of making discoveries in the woods.

Would you like some inspiration and instruction on nature journaling?

I hope you'll join me for an in-person Nature Journaling class at the Raccoon Creek State Park Wildflower Reserve on Sunday, April 12th, 2026, from 1-4 PM. Cost is $15.

You can register here:

https://events.dcnr.pa.gov/event/nature-journaling-3974

Early Spring Nature Journaling

I recently loaded up a knapsack with some colored pencils and my nature journal and hiked to a local waterfall to sketch.  

There's nothing like sitting outside and drawing the beauty of nature.

  I enjoy drawing from reference photos, but prefer observing the details in nature in person as I sketch.  I can react to the parts of the scene that really inspire me.

After an hour sitting on a rock on a chilly afternoon, I decided to snap a photo and finish the last details in my studio.

When I got back to my studio, I noticed my sketch needed more contrast.

Sometimes it's hard to discern the areas that are darker or brighter when you're looking at a color photo.  

I converted my reference photo to black-and-white to make the values more obvious.

I added a bit more contrast between the water and the rocks around it.

I noticed I had made the waterfall too broad, so I narrowed it down a bit and added more bright values with a white Posca paint pen.

Here's the final page spread in my nature journal.

The beauty of drawing outdoors is that you get to be still and calm in nature, hearing the thundering of a waterfall or the music of songbirds as you create.  

Time stills as you observe the beauty of nature around you.  

When you're done, you have a sketch that will remind you of your experience every time you flip to that page.

I hope you find a quiet spot in nature where you can relax and sketch.

Happy Creating!

Nature Journal Update: Colored Pencil Drawings

Here's a flip-through of some recent nature journal pages, from hikes in the woods (above) to sitting at the breakfast table (below).

What we draw we connect with. How could I be anxious when I am connecting with my sweet, snoozing cat?

Nature journals are great for recording discoveries -- like the page above remarking on my discovery of a place on Hawk's Hill that reminds me of a favorite place I used to sketch years ago.

I hope you take the time to make some sketches and written observations in your nature journal!

Happy Creating!

Sun Prints

This fall when I was out hiking, I collected leaves from trees, ferns and weeds. Back at home, I pressed them in books to flatten them.  I tried to collect a variety of shapes and types of leaves to use in sun prints, also called cyanotypes.

Below is the two-part mixture product I used to make my sun prints.  

The process takes a bit of preparation, requiring you to add distilled water to the powder in each bottle, then wait 24 hours for the mixture to activate.  After 24 hours, you mix equal parts of Part A and Part B, stir it up and paint it onto whatever you want to use for printing.  

In this photo, you can see examples of paper cyanotypes I made.

After trying paper sun prints, I bought some 100% cotton napkins and painted them with the cyanotype mixture.  

You have to let the mixture dry before printing, and you have to do all of this in dim light, away from the sun.  I set up a painting station and drying rack in my pantry and kept the napkins in the dark while they dried.

Finally, I was ready to make sun prints!  

I laid out a napkin on a drawing board, arranged the pressed leaves, and put a piece of glass over the top to keep the leaves from being blown away by the wind.

After 20 minutes in afternoon sunshine, this is what the napkin looked like.

The cyanotype mixture changes color from yellowish green to bronze in the sun.

The final step is to rinse the print in cold water, which will set the print so it is no longer sensitive to light.

You can see the yellow-green mixture washing out from the areas that were covered by leaves.

You rinse until the water runs clear, then hang up your print to dry.

Here are two of the four napkins I printed.  As time passed, and the afternoon sun moved closer to the horizon, I had to expose the napkins longer, up to 30 minutes.  But I could always tell when the napkin turned bronze in the sun that the print was done.

You have to be careful when laundering your cyanotype fabrics not to use bleach or detergents with phosphate.  Also leaving them to soak too long can wash out the blue dye.  Hand washing is recommended.

But that's worth it for the thrill of creating things for your home that reflect the beauty of nature!

Happy Creating!

Sketching Fall Leaves in Watercolor!

Fall has arrived and the colors are reaching their peak in my neighborhood.  I gather up brilliant leaves on every walk.  

Here are yesterday's leaves.

I picked out three sassafras leaves that drew my eye, and made pencil sketches of each, then laid in a wash of azo yellow and let it dry. This technique, called glazing, creates glowing, rich colors when you paint other layers of color over top.  

After the yellow wash dried, I drew in the leaf veins with a white wax crayon to create a resist and keep the veins yellow.  I brushed in layers of oranges made from azo yellow mixed with either alizarin crimson or pyrrol red.  I added table salt to some of the wet washes and let it all dry.

After the salt completely dried, I brushed it off and added some final marks.  The salt didn't have a big effect on the washes.  I think the paint had begun to dry and wasn't at its best point for this trick.

I love adding the little spots where a bug chewed the leaf, etc.  These create a more realistic appearance.

Autumn leaves are a wonderful subject to draw and paint -- they're small, beautiful and endlessly fascinating. And it's such a human habit to gather natural treasures, especially in the fall harvest season. A walk in nature with some creative time is a lovely way to slow down and practice self care.

I hope you take some time to create with fall leaves!

Happy Creating!

Watercolor Vignettes of July

I finished a page of vignettes from earlier this summer.  You can see the photos I used for reference on this post entitled "Nature Photo Walk": https://betsyblissart.blogspot.com/2025/07/nature-photo-walk.html

Do you ever take walks in nature and find yourself whipping out your phone to snap a photo of a butterfly or beautiful leaf?  As I read through Rosalie Haizlett's Tiny Worlds, I realize that I see nature in detail -- the inchworm dangling from an invisible thread, the goldenrod blooming brilliantly in the sunshine, a single turkey feather dropped on the path.  Details capture my artist's eye.

 It's these small facets in the landscape -- the young cottontail rabbit I saw ahead of me on the grassy trail, the Redstart warbler who surprised me with his quick movements and bright call, the coneflower blooming elegantly in my flower bed-- that bring back that one walk earlier this summer. 

What catches your eye right now outdoors?  I hope you snap a photo of it, and make a sketch of your tiny worlds!

Happy Creating!

Nature Journaling in the August Heat

A hot summer's afternoon was the perfect time to take a short walk and sit on a park bench to sketch.  The very act of sitting in a quiet, shady woods is relaxing and excellent self care. 

I'm practicing simplifying the landscape in my artwork and creating pleasing compositions. 

Sitting for a few minutes on a park bench and mindfully looking is helpful in truly seeing the scene around you.  You can pick out the parts of the landscape you want to focus on.  It helped me to unwind and to compose these two vignettes.

The first scene was right before me -- a broken sapling in a grove of maples.

The second vignette had more contrasts -- late afternoon sunlight streaming through the canopy and deep shadows.

I recommend this technique of sitting still, seemingly doing nothing -- no phone scrolling, no drawing even.  Just noticing nature around you.  Soon, you will begin to see parts of the scene that you want to sketch and paint.  After a little stillness, you might use a viewfinder, a small rectangular frame cut out of cereal box cardboard, to scope through the landscape.  It will help your eye catch on an appealing composition.

Happy Creating!

Summer Nature Journal: Nature Treasures

On walks around my farm, I notice the goings on in nature, and find myself picking up treasures.

Fallen acorns, feathers, & leaves tell the story of what's happening in nature right now, and a sketch of your collected finds makes a lovely & descriptive page.

What's happening right now in your area?

Wouldn't a handful of nature treasures be fun to sketch?

Happy Creating! 

Light in the Forest

Out on a hike with David, the beauty of the afternoon sunlight streaming through the forest caught my eye, and I snapped this photo with my phone.

Back at home, I sketched the tree trunks and the road lightly in pencil, and began painting this 5" x 8" piece.

I used a mixture of phthalo blue & quinachridone gold for the deeper, cooler greens, and Winsor lemon & French ultramarine blue for the lemony yellows.  

The gravel road, the shadows and the tree trunks were painted with varying mixtures of French ultramarine blue & burnt sienna, which makes a beautiful array of colors from blue grays to dark, earthy browns.

I love how, as the artists, we get to choose the details within a scene to paint.  Select your own favorite parts of any landscape scene, and focus your attention on them, allowing the rest to be abstract shapes.

I hope you get to paint, draw or create in some other way this week.

Happy Creating!