Locust Buzz
Turns out I wasn’t the only one drawn in by the burst of blossoms in a nearby locust grove. Once I got up close to sketch, I could hear the drone of hundreds of bees buzzing in the profusion of flowers draping the trees.
These were especially large bumble bees—and I’ll have to go back to make a more accurate identification. Though they were flying about as I sketched, they were too focused on the task at hand to bother with me. Bees are an important pollinator of locusts and beekeepers often plant them to boost honey production.
Under the Eaves
At my sister’s 1830s rambling country farmhouse last weekend, I found several nests of robins and phoebes tucked under the eaves of porches and overhangs. I walked under this one numerous times before noticing its messy threads spilling from the beams above the front porch doorway!
I sketched very quickly in ink, which lent itself to the loose tangle of grasses, but didn’t work as well for figuring out the perspective of the multi-angled beams, roof, and siding. The paint and text helped pull it together — but in the end, the surprise of discovering the birds gaping from their tangled perch is the best part.
Coffee Break
“The problem with painting and eating is patience.” …As you can see, I didn’t wait for the coffee.
I don’t often draw food, but its fun, especially when I’ve baked something for company or a special occasion. Then a journal page like this serves as a nice reminder. As is typically the case when painting food, time is limited. This leads to loose and imperfect results on the page, but assures eating after a reasonable wait. I sketched directly in pen, then added watercolor, and finally wrote the text after eating the scone.
Map My Ride
I’ve been cycling a lot lately and wanted to map some of my routes and record mileage for various rides. I love making maps—but this one made me realize how many decisions go into making them and how many possibilities there are for variation. Deciding what to include and what to leave out; what color scheme to use; how to design elements like a legend, compass rose, and border; what kind of lines for roads; and how to mark special places is part of the fun.
I toyed with painting each segment of this map in bright colors, but decided to put the color into the cycling routes themselves, since that’s what I wanted to emphasize. I chose my handlebars for the compass rose—though I considered alternative designs with bike wheels. The crow is there in part for interest and in part because there is a steep escarpment (that I don’t ride up) where the crow is flying that attracts soaring hawks, crows, and vultures. This map is too small to add scenery details, though I’m inspired to try a larger map that includes some of the countryside vistas that make these rides so nice.
Migration!
Spring songbird migration is in full swing! Over the weekend, a warm front moved in, bringing flocks of warblers to our yard. The birds spent the better part of two days flitting and feasting in our birch tree, and we spent the better part of a morning and evening craning our necks to watch them. We identified six different species—most of which we had never seen in our yard before and may never see here again.
(The term “fall out” refers to the phenomenon of a frontal system temporarily stalling bird migration. In some places, thousands of birds fall out to rest and feed until air currents are more favorable.)
Ancient Apple in Spring
“Moss thickened every bough and the wood of the limbs looked rotten, but the trees were wild with blossom and a green fire of small new leaves flickered even on the deadest branches.” From The Apple Trees at Olema, Robert Hass, 1941
Ancient, gnarled, and abandoned, two old apples still stand in a neighboring field. I go there in springtime to see them come to life. Solid. Defiant. They send out blossoms and leaves against all odds. Capturing this moment is such a pleasure. I drew directly in pen and then added washes of watercolor, keeping the feel of the sketch to keep it fresh and light.
Star Magnolia
April showers bring…May showers, or so it seems. We’ve had many days with only a glimpse of sun. But magnolia blossoms are so fleeting that I was determined to try to capture a few blooms before they lay scattered across the lawn. Yet each time I grabbed my sketchbook, sun quickly gave way to clouds. I finally managed a very quick sketch against blue skies, before it turned gray again. I added watercolor and text later inside, using an old fashioned dip pen with waterproof black ink.
Paper Subtlety
I recently made a 5×7” accordion fold journal with high quality watercolor paper (Arches, 140lb, CP) and started it off with continuing studies of nests and eggs. Wow—what a difference paper makes! I loved the subtle effects that can be achieved with this paper, especially for nest materials and delicate egg markings (the white puffin egg was too delicate to scan well; click on it for a larger view). The downside, unfortunately, is that it’s hard for me to imagine doing a quick journal sketch or scrawling notes on a page – the paper just seems, well… too nice. So in the end, this small journal may become more of an “art book” than a “sketchbook.” I won’t know until I turn the page…stay tuned.
Oology
With so many shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns, bird eggs make for fascinating painting—and study. Here, I experimented with different techniques for eggs, shadows, and patterns, starting at the bottom left and working my way up the page. The hard outer shell of an egg takes almost 20 hours to complete—layers of calcium and color slowly building. Thankfully, it doesn’t take that long to paint an egg, but it is also a slow process of building up layers of watercolor.
Blackbird Nest
“Traveler, there is no path; paths are made by walking.” – Antonio Machado
This page kicks off a new journal and seems right for a first post.
Red-winged blackbird nest, 2014; click to view larger
The red-winged blackbird nest was a great find at a local nature center. I started by studying the nest to figure out how it’s put together, where the lightest strands cross in front, and what materials went into making it. Then I did a really loose drawing in ink using Micron 02 and 005 pens. After that, I started to weave more detailed strands in ink and built volume by laying in washes of color. I extended the nest grass right onto the inside cover and added the quote to convey a sense of the journey and the unknown that this journal will capture.
Materials: watercolor and ink; Stillman & Birn, Zeta, 8.5×11” journal
Drawn In 