Spring Watercolors with The Unexpected Gypsy

The woods canopy is beginning to fill in with every shade of green and gold.  

I love this time of year, when it feels like I can watch the leaves unfurl and expand hourly.  Awash in colors after the grayness of winter, I revel in the yang after the yin.

I recently enjoyed a "Sketch Date" with Wendy Robinson, The Unexpected Gypsy. As a Patreon supporter, I get to join Wendy and other patrons in a monthly live Zoom session.  We chat and sip tea as we create, a delightful group creative session.

Each person picks a project to work on.  Inspired by the beauty of nature outside my studio window, I painted a cherry tree decked in spring foliage.

I began this painting with an India ink Pentel brush pen to lay out the trunk and branches.  

After the ink dried, I sketched in the major shapes with Sakura Koi watercolors and a water brush pen. Details were added with Prismacolor colored pencils and Caran D'Ache Neocolor II watercolor crayons.

Making art with friends is a lovely way to energize your practice.  You can support each other, admire each others' creations and feel inspired by each other.  

Why not get together with a few friends and have a creativity session together?  If you'd like to join The Unexpected Gypsy for her next session, you can find her here:

Wendy's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theunexpectedgypsy/posts

You can also find her on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@theunexpectedgypsy

Happy Spring Creating!

Spring Foliage Sketch

An overcast afternoon couldn't dull the vitality of the new growth springing from the woods near my home.  I bundled up against the 40 degree F air, sat outside on the stoop, and sketched our neighbor's wooded hill.

The dusty yellow olive, bright spring green, and rusty vermilion foliage painted the hilltop canopy, and I rushed to express what I saw in my nature journal.

The midtone brown of the journal paper let the lighter values -- like the white flowering dogwood blossoms and the brighter parts of the sky -- stand out. 

A pleasant hour passed as I delved into the colors in my box, and now I feel the peaceful reverie afterwards. 

Nature Journal Sketchwalk

Spring is dawning in my area, and it feels so good to tuck my nature journal under my arm, grab a small pack of colored pencils and hike.

  

We paused down at a beaver pond, and I sketched last summer's cattails.  

Why do cattail spikes look more appealing to me after the winter has battered them and released some of their fluff? 

I was testing out a 12-pack of Soho brand colored pencils for upcoming classes I will teach.

  

Having only 12 colors to choose from felt freeing.  Fewer supplies means fewer decisions to make, and the end sketch looked vibrant with the purple shadows against the sanguine cattail heads.

I find that having a material that I want to test out creates less stress than expecting to make "beautiful art." I can focus on what the material can do, and let the drawing take care of itself.

Happy Spring and Happy Nature Journaling to you!

Paddleboard Sketching & Nature Journaling Tips

The warmer weather has brought opportunities to pump up my inflatable paddleboard and paddle around the local state park lake.  I tuck my nature journal and a few art supplies into a bag, and float about, stopping to sketch when something catches my eye.

On this particular Sunday morning, a mature Bald Eagle flew over the lake just as we were departing the launch dock.  We followed it to its perch high above us in a lakeside oak tree.

What a magnificent bird!

Paddling up the tributary creek, the trilling song of American Toads filled the air.  

Stealing our way along the quiet backwaters, we noticed the entire bank was loaded with toads -- the males singing, and the females drawing near to listen & choose a mate.  

They didn't seem bothered by the presence of us floating serenely by.  I find I see a lot more wildlife when I travel quietly by water than I would while hiking.  The animals aren't afraid of me, and I can get closer.  

Here's the kit I take with me:

Current kit: Inktense Colored Pencils, Caran D'Ache Neocolor II crayons, Prismacolor colored pencils, sharpener, gum eraser, Pentel India ink brush pen, Faber Castell Pitt pens, Micron pens, Sakura water brush pen, & a mechanical (graphite) pencil.

I'm certain I could simplify this down quite a bit, but these are materials I love.

The only materials you really need to keep a nature journal are a journal and a pencil or pen.  

 Drawing a scene in black & white simplifies your drawing approach and your materials.  

You can always add a splash of watercolor or colored pencil when you return home.

My top three tips for beginning nature journaling are:

1) Begin simply.  

Take a few supplies to a nearby favorite natural place and make a few sketches.

2) Allow yourself time to experiment without expectations or pressure. 

Requiring yourself to make something "good" or "pretty" places a burden on you and kills joy.

3) Play in your journal often!

The more you play with your art supplies in your nature journal, the more you experience, learn, feel inspired, and improve your skills

And the richer your life becomes.

I hope you take the leap into nature journaling this spring.  

A Friendly Goose

Last Friday dawned sunny & warm. David and I took our paddleboards out onto a nearby lake for a picnic and a cruise.   

After watching bright Tiger Swallowtails puddling on a sandbar, and witnessing an entire cliffside strewn with White Trilliums in bloom, we let the breeze push us down the lake towards the picnic area.

A friendly Canada Goose floated right up close to visit with me.

As we floated companionably side-by-side, I pulled out my nature journal & a few colored pencils and made quick sketches.

How incredibly fortunate I was to see a wild creature this close!  I felt frustrated at not being able to express every crisp feather and beak detail as the goose turned this way and that.

But what a gift to visit peacefully with this gorgeous goose!

Now, when I look at my drawings, I re those silent moments, when I had the privilege of looking into the eye of this wild bird.

Nature journals are a way to connect deeply with nature regardless of whether you draw a Canada Goose or an oak tree.  

I find the experience grounding, a form of meditation & reverence.  

Whether my sketch looks ham-fisted & rough, or bright & luminous, I always remember the experience that brought about the journal entry.  

And collecting memories makes a life rich.

I hope you get 15 minutes to sit with your journal outdoors and sketch what draws your attention this week. It's a lovely form of self-care.

A Celebration of Spring & Reused Materials

I found boxes of free music sheeting with a "Free" sign, and gratefully took a stack. I love using cast-off materials for art-making, and find that new-to-me supplies spark my creativity.

The paper's yellowing edges make it appealing & historic looking. The music notes add texture & movement beneath the drawing, and the staff lines create a structure to work upon.

I sat outside on a recent  spring day and made quick sketches of birds at my feeder with an India ink brush pen.  I added Neocolor II watercolor crayons to create a pop of color against the bold, dark ink lines.

Our beloved Grandmother Sugar Maple tree has begun blooming, and her spreading branches fit right onto the page.

Using just Neocolor II watercolor crayons, Prismacolor colored pencils and one Derwent Inktense pencil, I captured a blooming apple tree on our farm.  I touched in a wet brush to the background area to make a unified wash of the Neocolor II Aquarelle crayon marks.

The notes under the Neocolor II crayons express the music of spring.  Right now, American Toads are trilling, songbirds are singing, and the world is rich in color and music.  

Giving new life to some cast-off papers feels like a fitting tribute to spring!

Figure Drawing with Model David

My Osher figure drawing class explored the realm of blind contour drawing with model David. 

We began each pose looking only at David as we drew, not at our papers.  We followed the contours of his expressive gestures with a colorful pastel on newsprint.

After 1 minute, we changed pastel colors, and continued to follow contours inside and outside of David's form, stealing quick glances for the last 2 minutes.

Within each blind contour drawing, we found real, alive lines, no matter how wonky the drawing looked overall.

We moved on to practicing drawing the feet, working from general to specific in a 15 minute study.

With Michelangelo's Statue of David in the news, it seemed fitting for David to inspire us with this 10-minute pose.

We finished with a reclining pose for the final hour.  Below is my quick sketch.

Many thanks to model David for a his creative, thought-provoking poses!