Once in a Lifetime Sighting
Have you ever had a wildlife sighting that is likely to be the only one you’ll ever have of that species? For me, these have typically been extraordinary moments: a California condor soaring below me while hiking the steep cliffs to Angels Landing at Arches National Park; walking past a field of Tule elk in the dark at a campground in the Redwoods in California; coming upon bobcat kittens playing in the road by our house. And last week, I discovered a wood turtle larger than my hand eating a mushroom in our yard. That may not seem extraordinary, but I’ve never seen one—and for good reason. They are declining across their range—by as much as 50 percent over the last 100 years– and are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN). These encounters are always memorable, whether or not you sketch them, but I’m so glad I did.
Tips and Techniques– Keep your eyes open! I spied this turtle while in the car heading out our driveway for the store. I wasn’t sure I’d have time to get my sketchbook, so I snapped a few photos. Good thing: it soon made its way back across the driveway for the wooded stream that borders our property. Painting this took lots of patience and was one of the most complicated things I’ve ever drawn. While the drawing is largely covered in the end, it served as a valuable roadmap. Click on the image below to see my process from drawing to adding layers of paint. (Materials: Micron 005 pen and watercolor in Handbook Co. 140lb Watercolor Journal)
Farmers Market Bouquets
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my Farmers Market quest, and these two bouquets are some of my more recent discoveries. I used them as subjects for the final session of my Fun Farmers Market class, which wrapped up last week. There are many ways to paint a bouquet, but because I wanted to convey a bit of fun, we worked loosely for the ink sketch and then tried to keep the watercolor flowing, especially in the early stages of painting. The white on black label added a casual farmers market element to finish the piece.
(Materials: Top: Micron 005 pen and watercolor in Handbook Co. 140lb Watercolor Journal; bottom done on New York Central Art Supply 100% cotton, 140lb HP watercolor paper)
Vinalhaven Sketchbook 2025
Ah…the rocky coast of Maine…and the island of Vinalhaven, specifically! Visiting once a year for a week hardly feels like enough. But I’ll take it, and I’m happy to share some of the magic with you through my vacation sketches.
Beloved by many, the Lane’s Island Preserve is simply one of the most beautiful places on the island. A large meadow and bayberry thickets ring a tidal cove and lead to an extensive rocky shoreline. With a bit of scrambling over granite boulders and rockweed, you can reach numerous tidepools, which I love to sketch. Unfortunately, the tide was coming in, so I didn’t have time to draw them. Instead, I kept my feet on dry ground and admired a thicket of bull thistles (Cirsium vulgare) that attracted numerous bees and a common yellowthroat.
Spruce forest gives way to panoramic views of islands and ocean, and fascinating bedrock geology at the Tip Toe Mountain Preserve, managed by the Vinalhaven Land Trust. While poking along the shore, the remains of a gull’s breakfast caught my eye (and nose), which led to a closer inspection and sketch of what amounts to a gull’s dirty dishes.
Vinalhaven’s Lower Mill River Preserve is a hidden gem of spruce woods with granite boulders and fern meadows that lead to shallow bays and quiet saltwater coves. There are some beautiful old spruce and birch trees here, which I was determined to sketch, despite the mosquitoes, which greeted me quickly and kept me company the entire time.
Hummingbirds frequented the feeder outside our windows all day long! How could I not include them with our bird list from the week?
From the Garden
Sending you zinnias this week: bold, colorful, and deserving of a page all their own. I painted them as a demo for my Fun Farmers Market class at Winslow Art Center and it’s been great fun to see the artwork that class participants have created in response. What I especially love about art is that even when working on the same subject no two people create quite the same piece. The marks made are as unique as fingerprints or voice, as personal and expressive as touch or song.
Tips & Techniques- I love adding wildlife to my flower paintings. Bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, dragonflies, caterpillars, or birds add a lively element and are part of the story of what’s going on in the garden. If they’re not there, I don’t make them up, but when they are it’s nice to have a record of it. (Materials: Micron 005 pen and watercolor in Handbook Co. 140lb Watercolor Journal)
Farmers Market Quest
I’ve been visiting farm stands and farmers markets for several weeks, looking for fresh subjects for my Farmers Market sketchbook series. I accidentally discovered The King Farm near South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, when we made a wrong turn and pulled into the parking lot to get our bearings. A large tent revealed a bonanza of produce, baked goods, and two long tables with containers of mix and match flowers. Last week, I found buckets of colorful flowers from Damsel Garden at the Kinderhook Farmers Market. I love the riot of colors and textures and the abundance of it all.
Tips & Techniques- You can’t go wrong! Pick up some farm fresh produce and start sketching. Vegetables and fruits are forgiving and complacent subjects– not only will they stay put, no one will know if your carrots or peas don’t look exactly like the ones in front of you. Vegetables, fruits, and flowers give you full artistic license to create a composition that suits you and you can walk away and come back to your drawing or painting as your times allows. The only thing you need to ensure is that no one eats your subject before you are finished. Materials: Damsel Garden Flowers on Stillman & Birn Zeta Sketchbook; Mixed Vegetables on Handbook Co. Watercolor Journal)
In the Garden- July
I have hopelessly neglected my garden this year in favor of other activities, and it is now a rather messy tangle. Delighted that last year’s morning glories reseeded themselves, I didn’t have the heart to cull them and now they are climbing not only the arbor but also most of the flowers. Still, from a distance, and with a bit of artistic license, it’s a colorful and lively scene, and not altogether too bad.
Tips and Techniques-When I first started journaling, I didn’t quite understand the concept of editing what I was looking at to create a pleasing or more interesting composition. With time and experience, I’ve come to love the flexibility of picking and choosing elements to include on a page like this and adding big text as a graphic element. Even though I do this type of layout frequently—either in the garden or along the roadside—the pages come out differently each time and are a nice record of what’s growing throughout the year.
Unexpected Detour
Well, I can now say with confidence, never again. Our planned 400-mile cycling tour (see previous post) was a combination of great cycling, good people, sleepless nights, extremely hot temperatures, and unexpected detours when my husband got sick. These pages aren’t beautiful, but they are an honest snapshot. I found it nearly impossible to record much along the way, but I thought I’d share this anyway to give you an idea of the trip and what a simple travel journal can look like. As always, thanks for following along!
Never again?
The first time I cycled 400 miles across New York along the Erie Canal, I swore I’d never do it again. Too hot, too long, too exhausting. It was 2010 and we brought our sons, then 13 and 15, on the highly organized and supported 8-day Cycle the Erie Canal tour. It seemed like a good idea when we signed up, but by the time we started, my older son was in the throes of being a miserable teenager and much of the ride was a slog. In 2012, I agreed to ride again at the prompting of my younger son who made a compelling case for experiencing a sense of accomplishment and adventure. This time, I was more prepared. More Gatorade, more food, more training, and no older son, who spent a happy week with his cousins. In 2014, my husband and I ditched our kids and set off again. The ride seemed far easier and more fun, though I felt ready to replace my pelvis by day 6.
So, here I am, 11 years later, 11 years older, and ready to go. It’s the Erie Canal’s Bicentennial and I’m eager to celebrate and revisit the lovely towns along the waterway. Here’s the start of my cycling journal…I’ll post the rest upon my return. And then, (maybe) I’ll never do it again.
Tips and Techniques– When keeping a travel journal, I say: everything goes. Even though some of the things you record may seem mundane (like what you packed or ate or some stupid thing you encountered), those elements are often the most fun to look back on. I have kept a small journal on each of my cycling trips and they recall the triumphs and trials of each ride in ways that photos can’t. On this trip, I plan to focus on small details, quirky moments, a bit of humor, and food—which will be just what I need to make it to Albany. My other tip is to start a travel journal before you set off. It gives you a chance to test any new materials and decide on what is essential to bring. (Materials: Pentallic 5.5″ square watercolor sketchbook, Micron pen, watercolor, and Econoline deep yellow marker)
Farmers Market: Apricots!
Ah summer! Farmers markets and farm stands are abundant now with beautiful fresh vegetables, fruits, and flowers. People stroll relaxed and chatty, stop for coffee or a bakery treat, pet dogs, smell the flowers, compliment the growers and makers. What a pleasure. I’m ever grateful to have a small but robust weekly farmers market and several lovely farm stands nearby. The apricots are just in, and this piece pays tribute to the bounty and my good fortune.
Tips & Techniques- So many decisions go into making a piece of art. You must make choices about subject, composition, and color, as well as materials, lettering style, and final finishing touches. A sketchbook gives you the freedom to experiment with all of those choices. It lets you practice, build skills, and let go of feeling like the result has to be perfect. I certainly tried a lot of things on this page, but the thing I most wanted to try was making the small white on black sign for the apricot bars. I did it using a Micron 005 pen to work around the letters with hatches and scribbles and then added a layer of purple watercolor to fill the space and simulate the chalkboard type of signs you often see at the farmers markets. (Materials: Fabriano CP140lb paper, Micron 005 and 02, watercolors: Nickel Azo Yellow, Pyrrol Scarlet, and Ultramarine Blue for the apricots and Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, and Quin Gold for the bars)
Join me for Fun Farmer’s Market: Creative Layouts and Lettering online starting this Thursday, July 10 and add some fun to your sketchbook this summer combining creative layouts and lettering with colorful farm fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
June
It’s been a while since I took my sketchbook for a walk. That’s mainly because I’ve been cycling more than walking lately in preparation for a bike tour in July. In a few weeks I’ll be cycling 400 miles from Buffalo to Albany, New York, with the Cycle the Erie Canal ride. It’s an eight-day tour that attracts 650 cyclists from all over the country each year. I’m excited, but also nervous about riding 50-60 miles a day. Hence, the training. But even at cycling speed I’ve enjoyed noticing what’s blooming— vetch and birdsfoot trefoil in roadsides ditches, daisies and clover in grassy margins and upland fields, and black-eyed Susan and coreopsis just starting to open. Day lilies and milkweed will soon take over the show. For now, enjoy June.
Tips & Techniques- Travel light for a walking sketch. I take only my sketchbook and a pen when sketching along the roadside. Work quickly and loosely, zeroing in on a bloom or two of each plant and walk on until you find something else to add. Let the composition evolve, filling the page until it feels complete. I paint and add text back at home where it’s safer and cooler. For color, make notes, snap a photo, or pick a bloom for reference. The end result may be a little bit of a jumble, but it also will be a nice record of the season and your walk. Materials: Handbook Watercolor Sketchbook with 140lb paper, Micron 005 pen, watercolors.
Drawn In 