In the Field- November
The neighboring field is thick with goldenrod, thorny wild roses, tangles of bittersweet, and tall grass. Most of it hasn’t been cut back in more than five years. A small grove of white pines gains ground each season, as do a few oak, cherry, and walnut trees along the edges. The slow transformation from old field to woods is well begun. I don’t usually roam into the field until the goldenrods have been matted by snow, but when I spied this nest, I waded in. In addition to this sketch, I brought home a good number of dried leaves and sticky seeds in my socks and boots. A worthwhile exchange, don’t you think?
SAVE THE DATE: Painting Natural History Collections, Friday, December 17, 10am PST, 1pm EST, Winslow Art Center via Zoom, FREE- Register Now!
Drawn In 
Wow, Jean. This might be my all time favorite!
Thanks Jan– It was a good find!
Yes, absolutely beautiful Jean!
Thanks for sharing what you do, it always brightens my day.
Linda
Thank you Linda!
This is just absolutely beautiful – all those lovely soft colours!
Thanks Angela- I liked having the pop of orange-reds in the mix of all that tawny grass and goldenrod.
Beautiful and inspiring work! Thank you
The intricacies of bird nests always leave me speechless! I never tire of really looking at them. You have captured that magic!
Thanks Cindy- I love “untangling” what the bird has created.
Thanks Yulia!
Having disappeared for more than forty years (or I failed to notice!), suddenly native bittersweet is rampant along our hedgerows and in the woods; such a marvelous return. On the other hand, wild rose (multiflora) is invading every pasture, hill and hollow on the farm.
All of the bittersweet here is invasive. So, while it gives a nice pop of color, it strangles everything in it’s way. The multiflora rose is tough, too. Good luck with that one.
Looking forward to the zoom
Me too! Thanks!
Your sketches and paintings always reaffirm why I love nature so much.
I especially think your backgrounds are always so lovely… Simple but enhancing the subject matter!
Thank you so much!
Gorgeous. And loved the Art of the Bird classes, thank you so much. Keeping an eye out for registration of the above. A very early start for Australia, but worth it! Sandi
Thank you Sandi– That’s very nice to hear. Sorry the class time doesn’t work better for you. The recording will be available if you can’t do it live.
Love this nest nestled in the tree. Glad you got out there Jean. We woke to 6 inches of snow!
SIX!! Yikes. We drove the MA Pike through snowy Berkshires yesterday afternoon and I was happy to arrive home with just a dusting.
I too am anxious for your Zoom nature painting date. I’m interested in how you begin to set up your page. I so often begin with what “strikes my eye” as appealing. I don’t often arrange a page but weave shapes about to make an eye appealing page. Oh yes, some times, my lack of planning fails but…I just carry on! Can’t wait to see your demo.
I do the same thing Bernadette– many times just following my instincts with what I like in a collection. But I will talk about ways to set up a page during the upcoming session. Registration is now open.
Hi Jean,
Beautiful!
I am looking forward to your ‘painting natural history collections’ at Winslow Art Center.
You are so generous witbyour time.
Winslow just posted the session so you can sign up. I’m looking forward to it.
Birds are master craftsmen, aren’t they? Enjoyed as always, Jean.
They certainly are Dave!
What a beautiful palette….
I appreciated the pop of orange-red in the mix of subtlety.
New to your site, it was recommended by a friend. Wow! So glad she told me about it, I love your work!
Thanks Linda! Welcome. Hope you’ll feel free to ask a question or leave a comment any time.