Nature Journaling and Field Sketching

1.  I was Ok with drawing from the photo, even though I haven't drawn for a while, so felt a little rusty.  Struggled a little getting the shape and the angle of the body right.  I decided to use water color and see what that looks like. I really like the added effect of color to the page, and it is so much quicker than trying to do this with pencils.  Obviously need to learn how to probably mix and paint so colors don't run into each other.  I like the effect of the added on the page. 2.  I wouldn't have noticed how his little feet curl around the branch or the specific shape of the fat little body.  Noticing the details absolutely will make a difference.  It takes the experience of just seeing something to actually experience it on a more intemate level.  In one of the videos one of the nature journalers said, she developed a relationship with the object she was drawing.  I think really looking at something when I'm drawing it, makes me more intimately familiar with the object, and helps me to develop a relationship with the object.

Okay...so I had to get brave enough to post that. I’m definitely in sketch phase, and I stopped on purpose. I drew the branch first so I could proportion the tail and bird in conjunction with the side branches and curve. I love reading the other responses as I -kinda- noticed lichens, but my full focus was on bird and proportioning. As noted, photos sit still, making it easy to notice the details. The advantage I noted to drawing is that I’m paying more attention to those same details, and out in the field, this will help in bird id, as I can easily gloss over tail length and primary projection and eye line beginning and endings, and with some species (*coughPhiladelphia Vireocough*), this is critical information. As an aside, it would be cool to know how many people are signed up taking the course. I’m very excited about it and am looking forward to sharing and improving!

Here's my first attempt. I'm pretty happy with it. I've got to learn to stop drawing when I'm done... I keep trying to add details, and often mess up an otherwise pretty good picture.

1. Drawing from photos was how I originally got into drawing when I was younger. I would sit for hours looking at books about dinosaurs and draw my favorites. This exercise reminded me of that. The shape of the bird seemed to come more easily to me than the finer details of the feathers, shadows, and legs. 2. Something I began to notice as I got to the wings was that I was counting the feathers trying to get more details on the primaries. I don't sit around counting the feathers on the photos I take, so I found that I was learning something about the bird because I wanted to be more accurate in my drawing.

I agree with Mike - the bird stood still in the photo so it was easier to see the details.  On the other hand, my drawing feels static - I felt no sense of the live animal.  Perhaps I would have felt differently had I been drawing from my own photo. By drawing from a photo, it was easier to see the negative spaces around the bird and get the overall shape from that.  This would be harder to see from a wild bird, I would think.

1 The photo stood still so that I could pay attention to the details.  I noticed more detail about the feather textures, but I don't know how to draw it convincingly. 2 I am surprised at how red the breast stripes are.  This bird has three colors, not one or two. I noticed all the cool lichens, but I don't know how to draw them convincingly.  What details would capture what they are?

I felt anxious.  I tend to judge my drawings rather harshly.  I wasn't concerned about the branches and leaves and enjoyed drawing them quickly, the warbler I fussed over a lot more and worried about how accurate it looked.

I tried not to block out the page and just go for it.  As a result, my branch was not exactly as it should have been, nor the position of the bird on the page, but it didn't really matter. I wouldn't have noticed the bird's nostril or the various lichens and mosses on the branch and not the wing feathers, piled or folded so neatly.  When journaling, this would make a difference as I might want to investigate the mosses and lichens for example.