Watercolor Nature Journal: Black-Eyed Susans

Preparing for a class like Nature Journaling means visiting the park to see what's going on there -- what flowers are blooming, which birds dwell there, and what new nature developments have arisen since I last visited.

The wildflower garden at the Raccoon Creek State Park Wildflower Reserve is lush with native blooms this summer.  Volunteers tend this colorful garden.

The day I visited, sun splashed down through the nearby trees, and filled the garden with light.

I delighted in the way this Rudbeckia bloom contrasts with the dark forest behind it, and decided to add this scene to my concertina sketchbook.  A simple pencil sketch, then layers of Azo yellow and Yellow Ochre in the Black-Eyed-Susan petals, followed by layers of lighter and darker greens in the background brought this sketch together. It's more of an impression than a finished painting, and I like the looseness that approach creates.

I hope you'll paint your version of this scene from the photo above.  Or better yet, take your nature journal outside and see what's happening in nature near you!

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!

Sketching at Nature Camp

When I was in high school and college, I worked at an educational summer camp called Nature Camp.  I recently visited this favorite place to teach watercolor workshops.  

I had a wonderful time catching up with old friends and sitting beside the creek that runs through camp, soaking in the peace of nature while sketching.

Here's a 1-minute video of one of my favorite spots in camp.

And here's a demonstration painting of a piece of birch bark that I made during one of the workshops.  I started with a pencil sketch (HB), then lightened up my pencil marks and began with a wash of yellow ochre mixed with burnt sienna.  I touched in a charcoal gray mixture of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue. Then I let it all dry.

I finished the sketch with some details: a shadow made from ultramarine and burnt umber, the horizontal marks (lenticels) and the darkened edges. 

Here's a photo of the bark if you'd like to make a sketch or painting of it yourself.

Happy Creating!

Watercolor Nature Journal: Violets

I love Johnny Jump-Up Violets and the way they create a carpet of violet and green in the lawn in early spring.  I've always wanted to take a photo that captures the parade of blossoms, and finally managed it this spring.

Of course I wanted to paint the scene in my new concertina watercolor journal.  I started with a pencil sketch. Then I painted in the various violets -- the closer ones I painted in detail, and as the violets grew farther away, I painted them as flower shapes, and finally as blobs.

When the flowers were dry, I painted around the many violets in shades of green, and created a shadow color by mixing permanent blue violet with Hooker's green.

I created the concertina sketchbook by cutting a 6" x 20" strip from a sheet of 300 pound Stonehenge watercolor paper, then scoring the paper every 5" with a bone folding tool and folding in a zig-zag folding pattern.

Blick sells sheets of 300# Stonehenge Aqua watercolor paper for $12.  The sheets are 22" x 30" so you can make 3 of these accordion-fold journals for $12.  That's reasonable for journals, and the paper is absolutely lovely to work on.

You can paint on both sides of watercolor paper, so when I fill up one side, I'll flip it and paint on the other side, creating a folded record of my spring in nature.

You may recognize the cover of this sketchbook from an earlier post about painting phlox.

I love this little watercolor sketchbook!  It's pocket-sized, and the 300 pound paper is a dream to work on. 

 

Nature Journal: Signs of Spring!

Spring is beginning to dawn. 

Birds are singing abundantly, spring peeper frogs are chirping in wild ponds, and the very first blooms are opening. What a relief!

I have a little pond off our front porch that I made years ago out of a mortar pan. Every summer, I put a goldfish in the pond to eat algae and mosquito larvae.

Last fall, as the first cold snap approached, I was catching the goldfish to put into deeper water for the winter, and was surprised when a frog kicked against my hand in the bitterly cold water. 

 I figured the frog knew what it was doing, and I left it there, but thought about him all winter long, especially when the temperatures bottomed out at -10 degrees F.  I read that frogs can survive being frozen for a short time. Was he still alive?

From the little sketch above, you may guess the answer to that question!

I was scooping dead leaves out of the mortar pan pond the other day, and that frog surprised me again!  

It inspired me to make art.

A friend gave us some very old photo printer paper designed to go to an outdated system.  It's shiny and smooth like old photographs.  I used a fountain pen to make some sketches, but it kept getting clogged by the shiny finish material on the paper.  Colored pencil worked well, and watercolor worked surprisingly well!

Sometimes when you have upcycled materials, it frees up your creativity.  Often the materials were headed for the trash can, and you are saving them.  They may have properties you're unaware of, so it's natural that you'd experiment with them.  You can take on an attitude of "I'm just testing this stuff out."  No pressure. 

That's a magical attitude to have, and you'll find it releases you to make free art.

Keep an eye out for materials that could be used for art in a thrift shop, yard sale or other second-hand source.  Look for "trash" that could become art. 

Happy Creating!

Nature Journal Sketches from Vacation

Leaving the arctic cold at home and flying to Florida's warmth brought opportunities to see fresh foliage and wildlife.  

I snapped lots of photos while there.  Back at home, I have enjoyed recording the experience in my nature journal.

It's been uplifting to see the bright colors and vibrancy in these Florida scenes. 

Sketching from our vacation photos gives us opportunities to relive a favorite experience and to practice making art. I hope you'll dig out some favorite photos of warmer times and make some art with them.

Happy Creating!

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!

Fall Leaf Study

Fall leaves are terrific subjects for sketches in your nature journal.  They're fascinating, but limited in size so you can spend some time in the details without feeling lost.

Here's one I drew on a recent hike in the park.  I'm always picking up nature treasures like acorns and leaves. Halfway through our walk, we stopped at a spot with a convenient picnic table where I sat and sketched.

I started with a pen sketch.  It was a little wonky and imperfect, but I just kept drawing.

I added layers of colored pencils in canary yellow, goldenrod, burnt sienna, sepia, dark brown, grass green, black and white for the veins.

 

I invite you to take a walk in nature, find a small treasure or two and make some sketches.

Give yourself the gift of time spent admiring the beauty of nature as you sketch.  It's a satisfying way to slow down and absorb the calming effect of nature and your own creativity.

Don't judge your drawing as you make it.  Simply focus on what you see, and let your hand follow your eye as you draw.  

You're not a camera!  Your job is to make a sketch, to explore and experiment, not make a "pretty picture."

Slowing down makes the experience more calming and pleasant.  You'll notice more, too.

Happy Creating!

Bluebird Nature Journal Update: Autumn Colors

Here's a glimpse of my day off to hike the woods and sketch.  I traveled in my EV Bluebird to Raccoon Creek State Park, where I added another entry into my Bluebird Nature Journal.  You can read the backstory to this journal in this post: 

https://betsyblissart.blogspot.com/2024/11/turning-my-art-into-stickers.html

Above is the accordion fold journal, now halfway filled, and below is the scene I painted.

You can see that I intensified the colors a bit in my painting.  Remember that as an artist, you are not a camera! You may omit parts of the scene, simplify it, or even change the colors as you choose. Let your intuition guide you.

I started with a quick pencil sketch, then splashed in the overcast sky and the colorful foliage around the cabin.  When that dried a bit, I painted the little cabin using a mixture of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue.  Touching in a bit of sap green to the roof expressed the moss. 

I used the same blue-brown mixture to paint in the tree trunks.  You can add more burnt sienna to make the mixture more brown, or use more ultramarine to get a steely blue-gray.  It's a very useful combination!

You can create your own journals by cutting a large sheet of paper into long horizontal segments, then folding them to make the page size you like. Large pieces of 140# watercolor paper work well for this. 

I used a 12" x 18" sheet of 140# Canson XL watercolor paper to make the Bluebird Nature Journal, cutting it in half lengthwise to make two elongated strips.  I folded each strip in half, then into quarters and glued two ends of the accordion folded strips together to make it extra long. I made covers out of blue mat board and glued them to each end.

I hope you give this journal-making technique a try and fill it with your creative explorations!

Happy Creating!

Gouache Sketches in My Nature Journal

One of the beautiful possibilities in using a brown craft paper nature journal is that you can paint with gouache, and light tones, like this moth, pop off the page visually. 

I found this tiny moth on a nature walk in the park one quiet afternoon.  You can see from the grass blades in the photo, that it was quite small.  I enjoyed making the tiny large in my nature journal.

 

The moth is called a Confused Euscara (Euscara confusaria), and its wingspan measures about 1.25 inches.  I'm guessing the "confused" part of its name comes from the fact that it looks like a dead leaf.  When I hovered my phone right over top of the little moth to take its portrait, it didn't move a muscle, acting just like a dead leaf!

Wingstem bloomed along the trail, and I snapped a photo, then painted the flowers later in my studio.

Each medium has its own magic.  I hope you find an art supply you enjoy and make some sketches.  See where it leads you!

Happy Creating!

Summer Morning Painting

In an earlier post, I mentioned the trick of taking a walk and finding views to paint. The scene above is one of those spots found on a morning walk.

Planning ahead saves time, and you know just what to carry with you. I brought my pochade box, my Strathmore Visual Journal nature journal, paints, water and brushes. The pochade box allows me to work flat, an important trait for watercolor painting.

I took the photo above to use as a reference in case I didn't finish outdoors.

I also used the photo to help me to see the shadows in the scene more clearly.  Shadows can have nuanced lighter and darker areas.  They can vary from light shadows with dappled spots of light to deep, dark holes. Our eyes are naturally drawn to areas of high contrast, so these are good to incorporate into your paintings to draw the viewer's eye in.

It always amazes me how much I can see in a photo that I didn't see in person.  I encourage you to use a photo to help you see the values in your scene, but paint in person so you get the freshness of the landscape.

Happy Creating!

Nature Journaling: A Morning Hike

Recently, I took a morning walk in the park before the heat of the summer day.  

After about a mile, I found this fascinating tree,

with fungi growing inside several cracks in the trunk.

I perched on a nearby mossy log and started sketching.

I have a special nature journal I keep in my electric car, Bluebird. I've always dreamed of traveling around in my electric car and having art explorations:  I plug in my car, and while she's charging up, I go make art.

You can read about my art & electric car connection in this post: https://betsyblissart.blogspot.com/2024/11/turning-my-art-into-stickers.html

What are your art dreams?  I hope they come true for you!

Happy Creating!

Hike & Sketch with My Nature Journal

What's better on a summer afternoon than a hike in the woods?

A hike with your art supplies!

I love tree trunks, especially where the roots reach into the soil.  That connection point creates the feeling of grounding for me, and also beautiful shadows and shapes.

Taking a break on a recent hike, I painted this woodland scene in my nature journal.  I enjoyed mixing a variety of greens, and simply exploring the woods with my paintbrush.

What do you love to look at?  That would be a great subject to draw or paint in your nature journal.

If you'd like to take a class with me, there's still space in my upcoming Nature Journaling class.

Course dates: Mondays, July 7,14 & 21, 6-9 pm

Community College of Beaver County, Monaca, PA

Cost: $89

All materials are provided. 

You'll receive a sketchbook, colored pencils, pencils, an eraser & a pencil sharpener.

For more information and to register, follow this link:

https://ccbc.coursestorm.com/category/arts

Happy Creating & I hope to see you there!