Tiny Signs of Spring
I began this page in late March when the first daffodils began to poke from the ground and a few green buds appeared on the lilacs. I thought I’d capture spring’s tiny, tentative first steps: woodcocks calling, the phoebe’s return, flowering red maple. I hope you’ve noticed these things too and can make time to get outside to watch the great unfolding of the new season. Tips and Techniques-I find doing a composite page that evolves a little bit each week really helpful in early spring. It motivates me to get outside… Read More
Lured in
Enticed by folds of foliage and dark pools, I get lost in painting pitcher plants. All those reds blending into greens and purples. Tiny hairs leading downward into open mouths. It’s not hard to see how these plants work their magic. Once lured in, leaving is difficult—and for some, impossible. Tips and Techniques– When you are working with a complicated subject, take time to study it closely and record enough information in the drawing stage before you start painting. This is especially important if you will be painting it later. I spent… Read More
At last!
Finally, it’s warm enough for me to make my way through the woods to the muddy edge of a creek where the skunk cabbage thrives and sketch. For weeks, I’ve gone out scouting good locations, watching the maroon spears push up through frozen earth, watching the ground give up its ice as the spathes open. I’ve been waiting for a day when work, wind or fading daylight wouldn’t keep me indoors with an empty sketchbook…and here it is. You might think forty degrees is awfully cold for sketching outdoors, but with a… Read More
Ink: Dry and Wet
I recently bought two bottles of Diamine ink—one ochre and one chocolate brown—to use in my fountain pen. I was hoping to find a warm, sepia-toned color reminiscent of the inks used by Renaissance drawing masters. Both inks flow beautifully, and when wetted they can be pulled into light washes. Unfortunately, neither color was quite right. The chocolate brown was too cold and dark, while the ochre shifted toward an orange rust when wet. That led me to start mixing the two, carefully noting and testing different ratios in search of something… Read More
Silver Lining
The silver lining of the past week’s snow and cold is the flock of juncos that are hanging out on our back porch every day. We put up an extra bird feeder there to help them through the freezing weather and heavy snow. Unfortunately, my perch for sketching by our back porch door has proven rather drafty— the birds are surviving the chill far better than I am. Sketched in pencil in a Handbook Journal Co. sketchbook with 140lb cold press watercolor paper, Micron 005 black pen for the text, and watercolors-… Read More
Winter’s Cache
Last week’s snowfall coated nearby fields and hedgerows and, lucky for me, left little clumps of snow atop of bird nests that were formerly hidden. I waded into the shrubby field adjacent to our house to have a look around. It didn’t take long before I found several nests amidst the waist-high goldenrod, thorny vines, shrubs, and pioneer white pines. This one had been repurposed by mice as a larder of bittersweet and rose hips. Though not an unusual practice, it was a rather colorful surprise and quite worth the cold feet… Read More
On My Desk
Feathery milkweed pods sit on my desk this week next to a stack of field guides, a large tome on the beginnings of modern natural history, and flyers for holiday strolls. Rounding out the desktop: pens, ink cartridges, notes with art class ideas, receipts, and the usual assortment of brushes, pens, and paints. Outside my window: gray, cold December. Tis the season for messy desks, indoor confinement, and more project ideas than time. Amidst the clutter, I’ve been putting a new fountain pen with an extra fine nib through the paces to… Read More
Grateful
Sending you good wishes, a bit of November beauty, and gratitude on this Thanksgiving holiday! I’m grateful to you for taking time in your life for art and for your kind “likes” and comments on my posts. It’s a strange thing to send my sketchbook pages out into the world each week and not really know where they go. I’m grateful to those of you who I’ve met in person or online who thank me for being on the receiving end. I’m also grateful for the wonderful artists who take my classes— I love… Read More
Inspired by the Moon
In just 15 words, Japanese poet Matsuo Basho, who lived in the 1600s, correctly explained a beautiful night sky phenomenon that I recently saw: the lunar halo. “The moon glows the same:it is only the cloudsmake it seem to change.” For those who prefer science to poetry, a bright halo around the moon is caused by light refracted through ice crystals suspended in cirrus clouds located at altitudes of 20,000 to 40,000 feet. Seeing one is more common in winter when the moon is full or nearly so. But no matter how… Read More
Golden Hour
Last weekend I had the pleasure of teaching a four-day botanical and nature sketching retreat at The Ashokan Center in the Catskill Mountains. Hosted by Draw Botanical, it was a joy to work alongside the amazingly accomplished Wendy Hollender, Lara Call Gastinger, Giacomina Ferrillo, Vern Fannin, and nearly 70 participants. I started this page during a session I led on “Sketching on the Go.” It was late afternoon and the setting sun’s still warm light cast its last glow over fields and woods. But really, anytime I get an hour to sketch… Read More
Drawn In 