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 see how it performs for drawing, light washes, and handwriting. Ellington Pens asked if I would like to try their Alpine Rose fountain pen and I’m glad I agreed. The EF nib was not scratchy, and the ink flowed smoothly and dried quickly, which meant I didn’t smudge it. It also rewet beautifully when I added water to create a light wash. The pen has a nice weight to it and feels good in hand. I especially liked it for writing, which you don’t see here, but it will also be handy and versatile whenever I can carry only a pen and water brush.
If you or someone you know enjoys fountain pens, or if you want to down the rabbit hole of inks, journals, pen care videos, and company history, you can find it all here: https://www.ellingtonpens.com/.
Artwork (done in my journal from Italy with cream paper):
1. Milkweed
2. Rosa sinensis foliosa copied from an engraving done by Cornelus Bloemaert in 1633, from the book The Eye of the Lynx: Galileo, his friends, and the beginnings of modern natural history by David Freedberg (2002). I could write an entire blog post just about doing this piece. It was fascinating to try to replicate the line work and figure out how the engraver did it.
3. Quick pen test sketches
4. Amanita mushroom- It’s always good to practice sketching light subjects in ink.
Cold Day, Warm Light
Though no longer cloaked in their brilliant red of June, poppy seedheads have their own naked beauty in November. I was so pleased to sketch these, backlit by the afternoon sun, at the Botanical and Nature Sketching Retreat at the Ashokan Center a few weeks ago. I didn’t have time to paint them there, but thanks to Faye of Flowers by Faye I got to take them home. Now, the seedheads sit on my windowsill where, even as the weather turns cold, they continue to bring warmth to the room and remind me of that inspiring weekend.
Tips & Techniques– Do you ever have sketchbook pages that are left undone? This one took me several weeks to finish, but my general advice is not to leave them for so long. It’s too easy to lose inspiration, or to simply move on to the next thing. As a general practice, I try to finish every page I start within about a week. This keeps me engaged and interested, ensures that I get to the satisfying final stages of each painting, and keeps me sketching from week to week.
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 teaching, seeing your artwork, and getting to know you. It’s truly a pleasure.
And now, I’m off to run a Turkey Trot, celebrate with a donut, and later join family for a fine meal together. Enjoy the day!
The Last of the Zinnias
The leaves are mostly fallen, and November has turned cold. Still, I haven’t found time to fully put the garden to bed. I’ve left some coneflowers for the birds to pick over and the zinnias are mostly standing upright and brown. I love their curling leaves and stray petals, now dried and drooping or sticking out every which way. They gave me one last chance for a sketch before meeting the compost pile. Cold as it was, it was good to be outside, remembering summer, and savoring this last moment in the garden.
Tips and Techniques– I used a Micron 005 sepia pen for this sketch in my Handbook Journal. I managed to draw some of these outside before my hands got too cold and it started raining, so I brought a few inside to finish. I decided not to add paint—the lines seemed like enough to convey what’s left of the flowers and the chill of the day. Take another (or a final) look at the flowers in your own garden and see if some of the shapes or curling leaves might inspire you, too.
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 clouds
make 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 you approach it, it’s an inspiring sight.
Tips & Techniques– Some subjects just really can’t be captured, and this may be one of them. It took me a week to figure out how to approach it and, even now, I wish it were more painterly and ethereal. Still, I wanted to record it in my sketchbook and I’m glad it’s here to remind me of that night. (Painted in a Handbook Journal with 140lb watercolor paper with Indanthrone blue and yellow ochre.)
Autumn ART IN ACTION Festival, four days of free art demos, work-alongs, and talks is coming up at Winslow Art Center, November 20-23. It’s a great way to learn and sample a variety of instructors. I’ll be offering Virtual Italy! on Saturday 11/22 at 3:15pm PT/6:15pm ET. Check it out!
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 outside in the company of other artists is golden.
These types of multiday workshops offer so much: the joy of making art with people who share your passion; the opportunity to be immersed in sketching and painting; and extended time to focus and learn in a supportive atmosphere. Plus, great food and inspiring settings.
Next year, I’ll be leading just two longer in-person workshops. I invite you to join me and experience the golden gift of time doing something you love.
June 3-8, 2026: SKETCHING THE NATURE OF PLACE at Sofia in Monsaraz, Portugal
Discover Portugal with me as we delve into ways to capture landscapes, plants, and wildlife, as well as food and culture. You’ll come away with a journal that reflects this unique setting and your experiences, as well as new ideas and techniques to use at home or on your next trip. If you’d like to come along, please don’t delay signing up. We’d like to confirm the class in the coming weeks and need to have seven or eight registered to do so.
July 20-24, 2026: DRAWN TO NATURE at Madeline Island School of the Arts, Wisconsin
This workshop takes place on beautiful Madeline Island, one of the Apostle Islands located on Lake Superior. The workshop will focus on multiple approaches to sketching and painting nature-related subjects in your sketchbook as we explore the island’s birds and wildlife, gardens, fields, Northern forests, and waterways. Registration is open and all skill levels are welcome.
Mother Lode
After a season marked by a dearth of mushrooms I found a mother lode of amanita growing under a large spruce tree just down the road last week. They were so colorful and numerous I could hardly wait to go back home and retrieve my sketchbook. When I nestled under the branches later in the day to sketch, I was surprised by the driver of a passing car who rolled down his window and called out—“Amazing mushrooms!” This was a first. I’ve had people slow down to see what I’m doing, and once had someone come by to see why I was parked on the road by his property. But never has someone joined in my enthusiasm. How wonderful!
Tips and Techniques– I like to sketch mushrooms from life and right where they are when possible. It’s the best way to really observe all the things that will go into identifying them. It also helps you convey your sense of discovery and lots of subtle details. Take photos for reference or color notes if you’re painting inside later. (Materials: Micron 005 sepia pen, watercolor, 5.5×8.25 Handbook Journal Co 140lb watercolor sketchbook)
Coming up! Drawing the Nature of November online starts Thursday, Nov. 6. Sign up at Winslow Art Center. Learn about 2026 travel workshops here and reserve your spot.
Something Old and New
I bought a leather-bound journal with lovely cream-colored laid paper with deckled edges while in Italy. It’s not suited to watercolors, but it’s good for ink sketches, which I’ve been eager to do more of using sepia ink. Brown inks, including sepia (originally derived from cuttlefish), bistre (made from the residue found in chimney stacks), and iron gall (made from the tannins in oak galls and iron), were frequently used for drawing and light washes during the Renaissance (think Leonardo Da Vinci or Rembrandt drawings). I love the way that brown inks can give a drawing a softer effect and historical tone compared with using black.
I sketched the bitternut leaves and hummingbird nests with a dip pen and Winsor & Newton drawing ink and did the olive leaves with a Micron 005 sepia pen. As you can see, I’ve also tested the ink using a brush and was pleased that the paper didn’t buckle at all. I’m eager to keep going and try some lighter washes and more complex subjects.
Sketching the Nature of Umbria
I had an exceptional week teaching in the Italian countryside in Umbria with Winslow Art Center, and I couldn’t have asked for a more enthusiastic group of participants. There is a quote that I shared with them from Italian painter Cennino Cennini (c.1360 to 1427), “Now then, you of noble mind, who love this profession, come at once to art and accept these precepts: enthusiasm, reverence, obedience, and perseverance.” Obedience aside, it exemplified the way in which they approached the lessons and techniques I shared throughout the week. As you can see, we tackled a number of subjects and came away with sketchbooks filled with an extraordinary experience.
Join me next time! If this type of sketching looks enticing to you, consider joining me for Sketching the Nature of Place at Sofia in Monseraz in Portugal next June or Drawn to Nature at Madeline Island School of the Arts in Wisconsin in July 2026. Both venues offer an exceptional setting to immerse yourself in a week of learning and sketching.
An Auspicious Beginning
I’m heading to the foothills of the Italy’s Apennine mountains this week to teach a watercolor workshop with Winslow Art Center. It’s a privilege and a pleasure to have this opportunity and I can’t wait to be back at Castello di Petroia. This authentic medieval fortress turned boutique hotel is perched on a hilltop between the towns of Perugia and Gubbio, with inspiring views of the surrounding landscape. The castle, birthplace of Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino (b.1422), is surrounded by a 600-acre traditional Umbrian farm with beautiful olive groves, hiking and horse-riding trails, meadows, woods and abundant wildlife. Because I’ll be staying in a place that was most prominent in the 1400s, I wanted to try my hand at Renaissance White Vine illuminated letters, which mark many texts of this period. It makes for an auspicious beginning, don’t you think?
Tips and Techniques– When setting out for new places, take some time to get oriented beforehand. I like to read up on the history, culture, plants and wildlife of where I’m headed. This type of research not only prepares me for the trip, but also informs what I want to sketch beforehand or when I arrive. This illuminated text is in my sketchbook and marks the start of the sketches I’ll do while in Italy.
The Bible of Illuminated Letters by Margaret Morgan was my go-to source for learning about this lettering style. The elaborate vine scrolling is not easy to do and it took me a few tries to get the hang of it. Traditionally, the capital letter would be gilded, but I used Winsor & Newton gold ink, paired with gouache to achieve the flat opaque color that is characteristic of this style. See you in a few weeks– Ciao!
Drawn In 