Odds and Ends
It’s been much too hot and humid to be outside, let alone sketch outdoors. So, I pulled out some things that I have wanted to paint but haven’t made time for. The seaweed floats are from a trip to California several months ago where I picked them up dry from the beach and stowed them home. I had read that you can rewet seaweed and lo and behold, it’s true! I put them in a tray of water and they went from blackened dried up bits of algae to beautiful floating fronds. The bird specimen and numbers are things I saw in Italy that were low priorities at the time, but that I find fascinating, nonetheless. And were it not so hot, I would be sketching in my garden or out along the roadside. Most of the flowers look better here in my sketchbook than outside where they are drooping from torrential rains. Wishing you all cooler weather ahead and satisfying indoor projects in the meantime.
Tips and Techniques- I set out knowing that this would be an odd collection. But as the page evolved, I saw that I might tie these disparate items together with text to explain my rationale and a wash of yellow ochre. In the end, I find it strangely satisfying, mainly because I like each of these unusual elements. So my tip is not to overlook adding odds and ends to your sketchbook. They don’t have to be pretty or important or meaningful– your sketchbook is a perfect place to record things that strike your fancy.
Drawn In 
I love how their randomness ties the items together. I think you are the only person who could bring home a piece of dead seaweed as a souvenir then bring it back to life so beautifully!
Your comment makes me happy! I read a book called Pressed Plants and it had a section on algae. The book included instructions from the 1800s about sending dried seaweed through the mail so that the receiver could refloat it and then press it. I’m going to try it again in a few weeks when I go to the ocean. I was surprised by how quickly it came back to life from a completely dried state.
this takes me back to watching ruffs forage on a pebble beach in Finland! Travel memories are so often random, but somehow fit together at the same time. Your page captures that so well. I always look forward to the work you share – thank you!
Thanks for sharing your experience, Caroline– Ruffs are really interesting and sort of crazy with all that fancy showoff plumage. You’re right about travel memories. I like recording some of the simple things rather than always waiting for the big view. Those sketches often bring me right back to the place and experience.
beautiful sketch