Get Sketching!
It’s that time of year when I’m eager to put pen to paper, but cold, gray days dampen my enthusiasm for going outside. It’s the perfect time for my annual pilgrimage to the Pember Museum of Natural History in Granville, NY. Open just a few hours on Saturdays, I arrive and get to work quickly. There are so many choices amidst the wealth of specimens, but I’m always drawn first to the nests and eggs. From there, I branch out to birds and insects. I focus intently, keep my pen moving, and build a page while the clock ticks down. Closing time comes too soon, but I can’t complain. The museum has worked its magic once again.
Tips & Techniques- If you are looking for motivation or inspiration to sketch on location and need some help to get going, look no further than The Artist’s Guide to Sketching by James Gurney and Thomas Kinkade. Originally published in 1982, and now expanded and remastered, the book feels both timely and timeless. I received an advanced copy, dove in, and came out eager to try new materials and subjects. The Artist Guide to Sketching is part how to sketch and part call to sketch. There are plenty of tips for choosing materials and tackling challenges, as well as techniques for drawing people, capturing motion, studying nature, creating mood, and exploring with your sketchbook.
What I especially appreciated was the guide’s affirmation for those of us who already love to sketch but sometimes feel like it is an underappreciated art rather than fundamental to artmaking for beginners and masters alike. Find out more here.
Coming up! If you want to learn more about sketching bird eggs, nests, and feathers, check out my upcoming online class The Art of the Bird, starting April 1st at Winslow Art Center.
Drawn In 
Good morning Jean. Looks as if YOU worked magic in creating this really lovely page. l love the composition. Although it is 14 degrees this morning, I expect you will be getting out to sketch soon as there are signs that Spring is coming.
It’s 12 degrees here this morning but a huge flock of grackles has descended on our yard– a welcome sign indeed. I’m headed to a butterfly house to sketch today– seeking warmth and greenery while winter takes its time.
Oh Jean! Do you offer an Artist in Residence program?!!!!
Fabulous pages! You honor the specimens and that wonderful museum. The pressure to sketch quickly comes through in your art; the energy is exciting. And how right you are … Art never gets old. Really appreciate the reference recommendation too. Hope your grey and cold days unfold into sunny and warm sketching treasures soon. Thank you for the continual inspiration.
Hi Barb– It is interesting how time pressure can show through as good energy on a page. I like that, generally, though sometimes I just want to have lots and lots of time to work on something. How about you?
I’m with you, Jean; having “lots and lots of time to work on something” is my secret wish! If only …………………..
That’s a beautiful page of sketches and the book looks brilliant
Thanks Janette!
It sounded familiar and sure enough, I started to say exactly the same thing I said in 2016 about the musuem – that the location is “up there” and that I looked it up on a map. Sheesh! Well, I still love these small places, maybe even more as time goes on. The story on the Pember’s website about the museum is a good one. Local people come together and do something really good for the community. And rather than creating something new, they fix something old. I love the Quail – I feel those eyes looking right at me! The Bittern, too. And “It never gets old.” 🙂 Those Cliff swallow eggs are clearly built for not rolling off a cliff! 🙂
This was a welcome introduction to what looks like a fascinating book, thanks! (And, I don’t know how you find the bird’s nests – every year, you seem to find at least one to sketch. Love them!)
I am always on the lookout for nests, plus I take advantage of museum collections, which are great resources.