Showstoppers
Spring ephemeral wildflowers are putting on a show right now. It won’t last long. These woodland flowers bloom for a week or two in April and early May when the sun reaches the forest floor. Once the trees fully leaf out, the show will be over until next year. Bottom line: see it if you can. Many of these flowers are tiny, delicate beauties; others are stop-you-in-your-tracks gorgeous. I count white and red trillium in the latter category and was thrilled to see both on a wildflower walk yesterday. Tips and Techniques–… Read More
Woke
Odd noises on the back porch woke my husband and I from slumber the other night but, too tired to investigate, we decided not to get up. The next morning, our visitor was all too clear—a swath of destruction lay scattered across the yard and a six-inch paw print marked the back steps. I figured black bears would wait until the snow melted and weather warmed before venturing out. But alas, we are all very much awake. Tips and Techniques– Don’t be afraid to be bold in your sketchbook. Zooming in on… Read More
Out of the Cold
Out of the snow and the mud and still-frozen ground, the skunk cabbage emerges each year. I go in search of its hooded flowers in bottomland woods, where it pushes up from the margins of vernal pools and muddy streamside banks. Sketching it each March is almost like a rite of passage, marking the transition from winter to spring. Despite the snow and cold, the great thaw has begun. We have turned a corner. Tips and Techniques– I had intended to do two sketches of skunk cabbage, one with a brush pen… Read More
Nest Obsessed
I’m not sure what it is that draws me so strongly to bird nests. But over and over, I am fascinated by their beauty, structure, and variety. And the fact that birds make them with their beaks is nothing short of remarkable. I can’t imagine making something so fine – other than on paper. Tips and Techniques– I was able to borrow an educator’s loan kit of nests from the Pember Museum of Natural History to make this page. It contained such a treasure trove that I called two artist friends to… Read More
November’s Nest
I spy the nest in a thicket at the edge of the field. There’s no way to reach it but to wade in. I follow an old deer trail that takes me part way, and then battle brambles, thorns, and waist-high goldenrod stems to reach the prize. Unlike many nests at this time of year, this one is still quite intact. Whoever wove it did a beautiful job. Tips and Techniques– I always do some research about my subjects, especially nests. Like identifying birds, identifying nests requires a process of elimination. At… Read More
Out of Season
Usually, I would bring you beach finds in summer, when freshly found and still holding a hint of sea and salt air. But here they are in November, a collection of small treasures that I pulled out for my latest Drawn to Nature class. I used them to illustrate ways to record discoveries and layout sketchbook pages when out exploring. Like a puzzle whose picture is revealed only when complete, these types of pages are built piece by piece and end up capturing a particular place or moment in time. So, though… Read More
Blue Mussels on a Rainy Day
October in Maine: a gift. As lovely and as simple as blue mussels on a rainy day. As steady as the ocean lapping on shore, loons calling their lonesome cry from the expanse of blue. As surprising as a pair of kingfishers rattling in flight across a cove. As beautiful as flames of crimson and gold maples and burnt sienna salt marsh hay glowing in the sun. Today, I send you the mussels. More gifts to come.
Not the Last Afterall
Whatever happened to posts about birds or flowers or trees? There will be more of those to come, I promise. But first, just a few more mushrooms which, as you will see, were worthy of paint. First, the pear-shaped puffball, whose smoky spores release when gently squeezed. And then the inconspicuous tannish-brown clitocybe. Who would have thought lavender gills would be hiding underneath that unassuming cap? Tips and Techniques– Use your sketchbook to try a variety of artistic approaches. Part of what’s keeping me going on mushrooms week after week is not… Read More
Until Next Year (maybe)
Okay. This is it! The last of the mushrooms for 2022. I don’t think I can paint any more, try to identify any more, read any more. I must clean my desk and turn a new page! But then, who knows, I haven’t gone outside yet today to see if anything new has come up. Tips and Techniques– For this page, I thought it might be fun to try something different and just take a top down view of mushroom caps. This gave me a chance to look at patterns, texture, and… Read More
Mushroom Time
After 48 hours of rain earlier this week: BOOM, it’s mushroom time. I’ve been cataloging mushrooms in our yard for several years (2018, 2020, 2021, 2021) and I am constantly amazed by the number and variety that appear. Most come up under a small grove of oaks along our driveway, but a few show up in the lawn, or in piles of mulch. Mushrooms are the fruiting body of a much larger network of underground thread-like filaments called mycelium. This network is either breaking down and recycling dead stuff, feeding on weakened… Read More
Jean Mackay
Inspire curiosity!
Podcast: The Art of Discovery with Jean Mackay
Drawn In 