It never gets old
When bird nests are carefully preserved, they can last a long time. The ones you see here were constructed and collected at least 100 years ago. They eventually found their way into the ornithology collection of the New York State Museum in Albany, where they were carefully wrapped with cotton batting, boxed, and stored in metal cabinets. I was thrilled to get a peek inside recently and be allowed to take out several nests to photograph and sketch. I’ll use the photos in upcoming classes and projects, but seeing the real thing… Read More
Vacation Sketching
I’m back from a week on the island of Vinalhaven, which lies 15 miles off the coast of Rockland, Maine. While I’m incredibly grateful for the time away, I’m also longing for more. My week was full of exploring tidal coves, hiking through moss carpeted spruce forests, swimming in the island’s former granite quarries, sinking into new books, and sketching. I could have easily kept going and, as the week wound down, I realized too late that I didn’t schedule quite enough time for painting. Alas, it’s all good. I’m happily thinking… Read More
What lies ahead
A map and a blank page—what better way to start a vacation? Tips and Techniques– Making a map often requires careful drawing, so you may find it helpful to do it in advance of your travels. You can add elements as you go right on the map or make sketches in the margins surrounding it. You can also decide how much of the place to include—you may want to zoom in on a particular area or tackle something larger. I’m thinking about including a series of maps for this trip but we’ll… Read More
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…. Read More
A Most Intriguing Package
I received a wonderful surprise in the mail last week. Sent to me by a former class participant, the well-wrapped container held two mahogany seed pods—one closed and one open. The mahogany tree has evolved to create a serious package for its next generation—the pods are hard as rock, thick walled, and tightly sealed. When the time is right for them to release their winged seeds into the wind, the pods split open in five segments. Pods that fail to open simply fall to the ground – which is why it is… Read More
Not quite finished
Every time I thought I was finished with this journal page, something else begged to be included. First, an additional flower, then another flower pod, another leaf, and finally two seed heads. But while I was adding the seedheads, several ebony jewelwings appeared and I thought, okay, yes, you can be part of this too. So here it is, a week of poppies come and gone and a week of painting in the garden. It’s time to turn the page. Tips & Techniques– While it is important to plan your composition and… Read More
Glorious Globes
I discovered allium growing in a wild garden a few years ago and I’ve been enthralled by it ever since. This is the third year of blooms for the bulbs I planted in our garden and love the bright purple globes popping up amidst the green foliage of poppies, daisies, and other perennials that will bloom next. I hope you enjoy its unfolding as much as I have. Tips and Techniques– When you have fussy, small florets like allium or lilacs, you can paint a few of the small blooms and use… Read More
Fiddlehead
I spent the entire afternoon yesterday hiking and sketching ephemeral wildflowers and ferns at Bartholomew’s Cobble, a nature preserve in Sheffield, Mass. What a treat! Bloodroot sprang from rocky limestone ledges, and Dutchman’s breeches, hepatica, and red and white trillium carpeted parts of the forest floor. My wildflower sketches remain unfinished, so I have only these fiddleheads unfurling by the banks of the Housatonic River to share. How I wish you could go there in person to see them for yourself. New class coming up: Watercolor for Beginners, June 6 and 13–… Read More
Tender Greens
There’s a fleeting moment each spring when shoots emerge and recently barren ground begins to turn green. In another week these sprouts, these plants marching across my page, will be twice as tall and unfurling fast. If I had to wager, I’d say that Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) wrote her poem, Spring, in mid-April. When “blows the thaw-wind” and “drips the soaking rain,” she celebrates the season’s change in “tips of tender green.” I was pleased to find her words, connecting across time and place, resonating still. Tips and Techniques– Experiment with mixing… Read More
Springing into Yellow
I am sending you a bit of whimsy today as we spring into the return of yellow forsythia and daffodils, goldfinches wearing their summer suits, and—soon—the songs of warblers echoing in woods and fields. I painted this as a demo for my class Painting the Colors of Spring, thinking it would be fun for participants to try perching a bird on an atypical object. I hope you are enjoying spring unfolding wherever you may be. Tips and Techniques– Yellow can be a tricky color to paint since its value range is so… Read More
Drawn In 