Nature Journaling and Field Sketching

I am really enjoying doing gesture drawing. For me, it takes the pressure off my perfectionism, and puts me in a state where I'm concentrating so hard that I'm really in the moment. And sometimes there are "happy accidents," when with just a few strokes of the pencil I somehow accidentally capture the essence of my subject.

Yes, observing the many shapes and movements of the subject.

Their shape and movements.

I found most helpful to sketch in snap shot like style, meaning that I sketch a body part, for instance like the leg, or head, or body. Since the bird I was sketching was moving rather quickly, it was easier to just get a little sections of the bird and then try to get the whole body.This way I was able to notice more detail in the quick sketch of the legs and how they were joined the position of the head, and the long beak attachment to the head. I definitely have a ways to go but it’s a good beginning.

Gesture drawing does help in getting the observation down on paper and with motion implied in the quick sketch. You obtain a sense of motion that helps make the observation become more life like. The roadrunner was in stride, head pointing forward in its chase. I had trouble getting the tail represented to make the proportions right. 

Capturing gestural drawings with creatures in motion is super hard for me. Like others have mentioned, I hardly can get a wing or leg or tail sketched before the foxes or birds move. Often, because I feel so slow, I find that I keep a brief memory image and draw from that for a few seconds before trying to capture a new pose. Need lots more practice!

Gesture drawing is sort of hard for me because many times I can not finish even the outline. Half a wing, a tail, even a line. But I have been working on it for several weeks and I'm imporving. I notice things like the bushiness of the fox's tail and the slant of eyes. I think I'm trying to work on too large a subject - I should work on just the wing, or just the eyes and ears. Or just the outline of the animal with nothing else. The movement make it the hardest thing so far.

Really appreciated Liz reminding us a few times over the course of these gesture drawing videos to be kind to ourselves when it comes to the outcomes of our drawings. And that the enjoyment is in the process!

Yes, this is helping. It also helps me break things down into basic shapes and see how they move and overlap.

I watched a heron intimidate another to leave his territory. I noticed the basic shapes of the birds to capture their movement. Their legs and feet seemed to inform the sketches more than their wings, which I thought would be the other way around. Maybe if I'd been more accurate in portraying the wings, they would indicate more.

I had never drawn an animal before, therefore I had to stop the video to capture their gestures. I will try to draw it again like the ducks, fast and not really precise, practicing what I might see outdoors while sitting quietly! ....and just dreaming of seeing such a delightful play as the Arctic Fox.

Found it very difficult to maintain a pace fast enough to capture even some of the duck's movements. Fun, but much more practice needed. Noticed the cyclical behavior.

I need about a million years to practice gesture drawing. I have no experience drawing live animals, and i'm pretty dedicated to pretty lines. sigh.  This one was a real challenge.  Will keep at it, though.

Gesture drawing helps in noticing various behaviors of different animals. It's fun to watch them while drawing.

I noticed the movements of the birds because often it made them easier or harder to draw. For example, the house sparrows would hop from the feeder to the ground (out of view) but the pigeon would slowly strut around. The wing bars on the Goldfinch really popped out to me in  away it hadn't before I drew it. I was surprised to see a squirrel show up!

I think I am noticing more of the mannerisms and interaction with gesture drawing.  I used to always draw from photographs, I would never have tried to draw something moving.  I like having the ability to draw something on the spot, even if the drawings aren't perfect.

Easier to draw birds that are more relaxed than the twitchy birds, as I have more than a fraction of a second to make some sketches. The chickadees are too quick for me at this point, but the woodpeckers are more cooperative.

Gesture drawing is quite difficult — I like the challenge, though! I drew a stink bug climbing on top of my feeder and the foxes from the video. I zoomed in on my favorite sketch from the stink bug drawing here.

Gesture drawing really helps one feel the movement and the spirit of the subject! For that reason, I think gesture drawings are important to do before a prolonged drawing.