Nature Journaling and Field Sketching

I am not very familiar with water colors and I feel like I have a lot to learn about how to use them. I didn't like the colors that much that I used but I don't know how to mix them. You definitely note a lot more detail when you draw from a photo. When you are drawing from nature you miss a lot of detail unless the object you are drawing stays still for a long time which is unusual.

First drawing of a bird.   A little rough, found the proportions hard to recreate.   However not a stick person (:

I found it started looking like a zombie or otherwise frightening bird pretty quickly. It's the eyes. I also got lazy about the plumage and wings, and it probably would have been better to just suggest more. My son, who is six, said "head is same, wings kinda same... body is not same."

I felt apprehensive at first but accepted the challenge of drawing the bird. Getting it to look three dimensional or pop out of the page was difficult. Mine looks flat and you can't tell the curvature of the bird. I also found it difficult to draw the branches to look like they were proportional and adding depth to them was hard too. What I noticed were the beautiful diversity of life on the branch! The lichen and the bluish colors, orange on the branches and different textures all along the branch. I also noticed the black lines on the feathers more detailed as well.

My initial drawing was good, and then I put it down for a day or two, and came back to it later to color it in. I had initially meant to do it with watercolors, but I don't have good paper for that at the moment, so I used a regular sketch book and then I decided to color it with colored pencils. So then, rather than simply coloring in my drawing of the bird, I had to locate all of my colored pencils and make sure all the sets were complete and arrange them correctly by color and number and then sharpen all the ones that weren't sharp... Five hours later... I clearly have a procrastination issue. During that process I decided to use watercolor pencils for a compromise. I think it came out ok, but I will use better paper next time. I take too long to do a drawing to be able to draw something like a bird before it flies away...I think I may consider taking photos of things like birds and other things that might run off while I'm outside wandering around and making drawings of them later, and draw things like plants and rocks that stay put in person.

I wanted to capture the character. Most difficult - to capture the bird's proportions.

For some reason my note didn't accompany my lousy picture. The exercise helped me get past the tyranny of the blank page. Sketching teaches me how to see and commit details to memory. I have zero experience (well, not since kindergarten). Sometimes I kept my eye on the Yellow Warbler while moving my pencil, as if the hand was powered by the eye. Other times I shifted my gaze up to the photo and down to the journal. Is there a right or wrong way?

I had a lot of fun drawing this picture! I hadn't done watercolors for a long time and I never thought I was very good in it to begin with. But all the videos from the previous step of the course gave me motivation to try anyway. Drawing the tree branch was surprizingly easy, I had a lot of fun trying to capture the texture. The bird was harder, I still don't have a full grasp of bird anathomy :) If I wasn't asked to draw the picture, I don't think I would have noticed all the colors of the tree branch. I was surprised that I defaulted to "trees are brown" and didn't even think about it. Noticing the real colors behind things will be really useful from now on!

Getting the shape down at first was challenging, but filling in the details came easier.I noticed way more about the bird now that I had to draw it. I've identified this bird multiple times in real life, but I don't think I could have fully described the bird's appearance until now, after I have drawn it. I hope this is one of the many benefits of nature journaling.

Photos are much faster. Drawings let you see way more detail. I don't think I would have noticed the dark edges on the wing feathers if I didn't draw it. I was looking for details to put in the drawing. Also, once I started, the drawing drew me in. I found getting the proportions within the picture somewhat challenging.

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It's a challenge for me to take the time to observe, sketch, come back and observe again. By drawing, I took more time to see the picture, beyond the beautiful colors. Still waiting for my own watercolors/sketch pad to be delivered, so just pencil for now.

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1) I felt a little apprehensive about it at first, but I loosened up after a little bit.  Actually, it didn't turn out as bad as I thought.  What came easily was some of the basic shapes, especially the curve of the branch the warbler is sitting on.  What was more difficult was the thicker branch toward the bottom of the picture, as well as the bird's stance and trying to make it look accurate. 2) If I weren't asked to draw it, I wouldn't have noticed the bites and marks on of the leaves as well as the way the bird's legs are positioned on the branch.  I think this would make a difference when nature journaling since you would loose some valuable detail in your drawings.

It was easier to copy the image than attempt to draw from the living bird.  I tried drawing the birds coming to the feeder this morning and it was very challenging but the results can be made to work with time and practice.  I am 81 years old and would love still to learn to paint. I was going to register in another class but when I saw this offer I decided for my coming birthday to accept the challenge. Francisco.

I liked  being able to add additional information to images. "Alternate leaves", "Red streaks on yellow", etc.  Pencils work well for me and the idea of color and brushes is daunting, and exciting. 

I felt somewhat comfortable drawing from a photo because it is stationary and does not move. I was able to look at the lines and angles of branch, leaves and the yellow warbler. Drawing the branch was easier because of the lengths of the lines and being able to see where the leaves were attached to the branch in comparison to the whole branch. The most challenging was the birds feathers. The wing is so like the rest of the body. The chest of the bird was particularly difficult to get the right angle of slope down to the feet. I probably would not have noticed the moss and what looks to be some type of lichen on the branch had I not been trying to draw it. I would think the details would be very difficult to do in nature journaling because there are so many details in nature! Overall, I am I am excited to get started!

1.  What came easily was the overall image but what was challenging was the colors within the bird and getting those right.  Defining the wings were challenging too.  2. I noticed all kinds of things when drawing this warbler -- the wing bars, the faint mark behind the eye, the 2-tone black of the beak, the long legs.  I think the advantage of nature journaling is how it generates a sense of wonder and awe.

I have not drawn in a while,  so I was a bit nervous, but once I started it felt good. The hard part for me are the feathers, especially the very fine, fluffy ones on the upper back. You definitely pay more attention to the details when you have to draw something - especially the color combinations in the feathers. I only drew this with pencil, though, so I could only hit the light and dark tones. But I like that drawing forces you to spend a lot of time on the details, this could really help you remember how to identify a species.

I like drawing from a photo because it stays still, but at the same time it lacks the life of a drawing out in nature. Here I can pay attention to details. I liked sketching the beak and feet, something I may not have been able to observe carefully when drawing outside.  I wondered about their shape and functions. I found the lychens to be challenging, especially the large one, because it doesn't have the same definitive shape and shading.

Drawing from a photo is easier than in nature because I have time to compare spaces and angles.  I have a lot of trouble with beaks because I haven't practiced enough. I always see things when drawing that I never saw before.  Nature journaling makes me much more aware of my surroundings, whether it be a bird or a bee, a person or a tree.