First attempt ever at watercolor. Bull elk, Catalooche NC

1. I have always been a person who likes to be outside at parks and enjoying each time of year.  Recently I started putting native plants in my garden and I take pictures but I love the idea of having a chronicle of what I see in the garden at different times of the year on paper.  I feel more of a connection to things that I write about or attempt to draw.  I have made attempts on my own to have a nature journal  but I really need some good tips on drawing and how to do quick sketches.  I also more recently have started a part-time job as a naturalist and am able to be outside a lot and would love to be able to have a record of what I see. 2.  I like the style of Shayna's journal.  I like the way she has a picture and kind of writes around it. It helps to seem like the space is more filled, used, and seems like  it flows really well.

I love being out in nature and I often take photos. My limited experience with art involves mainly drawing portraits. Since I enjoy gardening and my home is nestled in trees I would love to be able to journal what I see in my environment. I've learned from all of these journals, however, I found  that DJ McNeil's journal appealed to me because of his use of geometric shapes. I believe by using shapes it would help me learn to draw more quickly.  I also like what he said about drawing only what he sees. It would make my drawings more factual. Holly's watercolor art was amazing. I mainly use graphite in the work I've done and I would like to experiment with another medium. I plan to use the recommended moleskin journal, but I think a smaller Canson Mix Media spiral bound tablet, or something similar, would provide more space to draw and write notes. Lisa

I have kept a written journal for years and I like to draw. I started keeping a nature journal for our yard this year and I would like to add drawings to the photos and weather info. I would like to get the kids, grandkids and  house guests to add their nature observations and sketches too! I love the attentiveness and space that spending time drawing something achieves - it feels respectful to the subject and a way to get to know it better. We do see a fair bit of wildlife in our region and even in the yard, like this skunk, and making a drawing seems to bring me back to the moment of the sighting in a deeper way than taking a photo. I am very interested in seeing other journals and approaches to journalling. I loved the example given of a series of sketches to capture a behaviour. That would have been great to do with my skunk, I hope I will get another opportunity! I liked the different approaches to setting up a page.  Using field sketches to capture essential identification characteristics is something I would love to do to help learn more and I liked the note that we can create our own field guides to build our local nature.

1. I used to draw a lot. I was never really all that good, but I really enjoyed it. Life has a way of getting in the way of things, and before you know it years go by. I've been wanting to start drawing again for a long time. I've also been wanting to get outside more and just enjoy the world. When I saw this course I thought this might get me moving forward on actualizing both of those goals. 2. All of the journalers were inspiring in their own way. One takeaway I got from many of them is the concept of the importance of note taking. I'm definitely going to make an effort to take as many notes as possible in my sketch book.

1. When I was a boy I spent much of my time in tromping through fields, woods, and swamps. I guess I longed to take some of that nature back home with me. One lesson I learned as a boy is that by quietly sitting, I saw so much more. As a young adult I started carrying a notebook with me so I could write my thoughts and observations. During back country skiing and snowshoeing I began sketching animal tracks, eventually adding a leaf or small tree for scale and context. My sketching eventually evolved to become an integral part of my notebooks. I didn't use color, just a number 2 pencil. I was a free spirit in those days and eventually filled several notebooks. As my teaching and research career began taking up much more of my time, my notebooks began filling up with data – columns of numbers – without sketches, without commentaries. The notebooks seemed to have lost soul. My goal in this class is to open my notebook with a fresh mindset. 2. I've learned from all the journalers. I like the way Shayna let her sketches lead her thoughts and allowed her sketches to move out of the boxes. Jewel showed confidence in experimenting. William showed how shading can define a subject. Margaret showed drawing can lead to a more accurate understanding of a subject (her series of sketches reminded me of the Louis Agassiz quote "the best way to see is with a pencil"). BJ's shapes and impressions are good tools to help start a drawing. Holly's perseverance – drawing weekly – as well as her use of color impressed me. 3. No new journaling ideas. Although I've filled some notebooks, I'm still a beginner here. Thanks, Barry

I was inspired to enroll in this course, as I’ve always wanted to take the time to create a collage-style nature journal. This course came up while I was “taking” a free mixed media art summit.  I enjoyed the couple of lessons I listened to, but I realized this course is a better fit for my interests.  I love being out in nature and don’t get out as often as I’d like to.  I take nature photographs, but I’d like to explore this medium as a way to slow down and take in the details of plants and birds that I love. I enjoyed Jewel’s journal as she allowed herself to experiment as she developed her journaling skills. I like the idea of combining drawings or watercolors with text describing the setting or just musing on thoughts while journaling. And Margaret’s pencil drawings of the hummingbird and noticing the details of its flight and wings looks like a process I would like to try. I’m excited to get started and am waiting for my new supplies to arrive Friday!  Happy journaling everyone!

I began nature journalling when I started teaching almost thirty years ago.  I wanted to record my experiences of the natural world, not only with words, but visually, because my words sprang from my observations of beauty and fascination in the natural world. Still at it...Still trying to improve. Never an artist, but want to be better, and have gotten better, but still far from producing a page that truly reflects my experience. Looking forward to seeing that happen. I love the idea of connecting observation, and the drawing, with the thought, which is the writing. That is the heart of the journal for me. Then the journal conveys the story of the soul's connection to place. The journal, for me, should become the story of that connection, and many of the journalists shared their stories, both about process, but also, they shared so much more.   I write inspiring quotes in my journal too, as well as my reflections on them...Again, it is a visual and written record of the story that is inside me as the inside connects with the outside.  

I was inspired to start this course because I am dog sitting right now and have lots of free time by myself. I thought that it might be a good way to keep busy in a positive, mindful way. I've also been interested in plants recently, specifically ones native to my area, and I thought that this would be a good way to connect and learn more about them. I was surprised by the amount of variety in style and purpose of all these journals. I liked Margaret an D.J.'s focus on figure for moving animals, just using pencil to take a quick snapshot of their shape. I liked Jewel, William, and Liz's more painterly approach for landscapes and still objects, capturing all the color and texture of the scene. Similarly, I liked Shayna's macro zooms for getting more detail. Overall, I like that all of these journals document not only the ecology outside, but create experiences for the journalers, and document their evolving art and thoughts. I want to use my journal to take time to be mindful, spend more time outside (I'm in Washington state and vitamin D is precious here), learn some more about my local environment, and improve my art skills.

1. I was intrigued by this course because I often see beautiful bits of nature that I would like to remember and share with others. A camera just doesn't do the subject justice.  (How about an on-line course oin nature photography?) Using watercolors and sketching in the field -- actually sketching in general -- will be new skills. Maybe developing these new techniques will help capture the joy I find in these observations, and my excitement can be contagious. I wish everyone could slow down more often and grow their own sense of wonder (Rachel Carson had it right!)

I am incredibly inspired by everyone's stories!! I have never been a drawer/sketcher, and have wanted to try for many years, usually just watercolors during holidays with my children.  I love the idea of a record of nature when travelling, not just photo memories but things that take more time and effort.  Various groups in Michigan are working on bird habitat and the disappearance of species, and I really want to record our native species of flora and fauna before it is gone.

I was inspired by students at Ambleside schools who begin keeping a nature journal in Kindergarten and continue with roughly once a week entries through the eighth grade.  They use a dry brush watercolor technique to record images of both flora and fauna and each entry includes date and weather data. It’s fascinating to see the progression of both observational, color mixing, and brush stroke skills developed over time. Not only are these entries artful but they also catalogue a growing wealth of knowledge about the natural world.  I want to grow in those same ways. I am also inspired by the journalers in the video and am looking forward to utilizing Shayna’s zoom feature as well as Margaret’s artful date style.

What inspired me?  I have spent a number of years turning my large backyard into a park-like setting - trees, shrubs, some flowers, a vegetable garden, and a variety of seating areas from which to enjoy my work.  A variety of animals pass through my yard - birds, insects, fox, raccoon, skunk - even though I am in the middle of a large metropolitan area.  Now I have time to really explore what's there!  My partner is an artist and has inspired me to try drawing - something I have been afraid of doing.  I have put my fears aside and I'm ready to really explore what's in my own backyard. What do I want to try?  What I learned from everyone is that their nature journal is their resource - yes, they might share it with others, but really it is there for their own use.  For me that is very freeing - I am not going to worry about the quality of my drawings or my writing, my journal is a place for me to explore and learn, I can't make mistakes.  I want to try pencil, ink and watercolor drawings; quick gesture drawings and more refined ones; writing factual information as well as stories, thoughts, questions.  I want to follow-up my journal work, by looking up more information on the plants and animals that I see.

I enjoy being outside and noticing what kind of day it will be every morning. I love the change of seasons as one blends into the next here in Pennsylvania. It's almost a relief to have new scenery. I love to write and observe nature. I am a very tentative artist and first have to overcome my fear of failure and lack of confidence that my drawings will not reflect what I observe. I am excited to have some new art supplies and a  journal to begin my learning. Thank you in advance, Liz, for taking us through this process step by step. Chris

I took a Travel Journaling class a couple years ago & really enjoyed it...but gee, it's easy for me to get over committed with other things that all involve my left brain and sometimes I wonder if I have a right brain left!  This class will encourage me to plan time to observe, make notes, and sketch.  We planted a butterfly garden with Florida native plants and my husband built an incredible pergola with a solar shade.  Now that it's finally cooling off a bit, I want to sit under the pergola and draw plants, insects & butterflies. One journaler observed basic bird shapes & pointed out the circles & ovals in the birds.  Another person included swatches of color on the side of the page.  Several noted that it doesn't need to be perfect!  I also liked the speaker who used her field guide for a more in depth study of her natural world including ferns.  That's a great way to continue learning.

Hi! 1. So I’ve always like to draw, took art in high school but didn’t do much with it while I was raising kids. So, about the past twenty years or so I’ve been dabbling in watercolor, my favorite medium. Growing up on a farm, I’ve always been a nature lover, with a particular interest in birds. Makes sense to put the two together, and here I am. Could have used this course several months ago as I got back a few weeks ago from a wilderness trip to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota. I did pack in a journal with some carefully selected ink/ watercolor pens, but as most of my time was spent paddling, I didn’t get to sketch /paint a whole lot. So I took notes and pictures and left space to add some drawings later. 2. I particularly love the last journaler. How I’d love to do a sketch every day! But my main issue is discipline. I have lots of paintings in my head that are still there. Part of the problem is that I am detail oriented and so I am really fussy about what I do. So my main hope with this course (and I was trying for this in the BW) is to learn to let go of that and be able to simplify things. I can always add detail later if I want, yes? I think doing a month of sketches on one page is a great idea. I am thinking that I will get a block of Arches watercolor paper and try for the same thing. I was also thinking it could be taken a step further and placed in a frame, changing it every month. You could also follow the same subject through the seasons, a certain tree, your garden, the options are only limited by what is around you. I’m really excited! Now if I can do and not just think.. 3. I know some will find this weird or disgusting, but after finding a dead bird I had thought it would be interesting to document the decay in a photo a day - which could be done as a drawing instead, if one had the discipline to do so. There are other less gruesome subjects that could be followed daily though, a mushroom or a flower for instance. Happy journaling!

Hi Artists- Glad to have discovered this course and this community.  I’m inspired (into ACTION) by the musings and dabbling of others, the celebration of PROCESS and the absolutely true adage that there is no wrong way to delve into something that beckons involvement.  I signed up for this course, also bought an incredible book someone recommended (“The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling”) AND it all is happening during “Inktober2019” (check it out!) so it’s going to be a very draw-y month for me. I really enjoyed listening to the artists in the videos who shared their journals and thought process, and also all these comments from the community. NO shortage of inspiration, affirmation and very comforting to have the connection(s). THANKS! - Tom in Wauwatosa, WI

We are homeschoolers, and my son’s homeschooling last year incorporated nature journaling. I really enjoyed doing that with him, and as a birder, I decided I wanted to do more of it— but as someone who has never felt naturally artistic, it remained feeling a little intimidating to me. I also do a lot of nature photography, and I like the idea of trying a method of documenting my ramblings that involves a slower pace and allows for integrating the images and my thoughts together more in the moment. I definitely like integrating the images and the text. I don’t know how proficient I’ll become at the drawing aspect of this, but at the very least I hope to be able to focus on getting down important field marks, background environment, or zoomed in details in different drawings. My biggest challenge will be choosing ONE thing to focus on at a time. I see watercolors mentioned a lot, and I’d love to give them a try. I have a lot of different media at my disposal, and hopefully over time I’ll discover which are the most practical for me to carry in my field back and get my observations down in my journal!

I am new to nature journaling; I have journaled daily most of my adult life.  I am looking forward to the observation of the natural world and working to capture that on paper.  I love the combination of words and drawings on one page along with spaces for facts and questions - the idea that it doesn't have to be complete at one time appeals to me which is a bit counter to my perfectionist tendencies.  I see the course as an opportunity to be free, to experiment and allow the process to unfold.  I also want to work on my drawing and painting abilities.

I wanted a way to slow down and interact more thoughtfully with the natural world around me.  I want to try being less concerned with capturing an entire "picture" and more focussed on seeing the shapes, and details that will help with identification, but also with using the process as a way to more thoroughly understand what I'm seeing.  I'm inspired by other's journals to try adding in verbal description and thoughts to my visual journals.

Over the past nine years, I have become disabled and have limited mobility.  My career was in IT, and I still spend many hours a day on computer-related volunteer activities.  To balance that, I have always done photography and, more recently, painting on my iPad in the ProCreate app.  When I saw this course advertised, I decided to take it in order to add another artistic endeavor to my repertoire, one that doesn't require that I walk great distances.  I found that photography greatly enhanced my observation skills and feel that creating a nature journal will bring those skills to another level.

I am very excited to begin the journal at the cottage this weekend (Thanksgiving in Canada) and already looking at my garden a little differently. I do spend time in the city as well and I am thinking that I might start a separate Urban Journal. Best to everybody.

I like the idea of learning about nature through sketching and writing together. The process requires you to slow down in order to think about and observe your surroundings. I expect to use a combination of the approaches.

Sketching and drawing is something I have not done in many years.  Life got very busy and things that I used to do and enjoy, I did not  have time to do.  I have always enjoyed watching birds, particularly shore birds.  I am using this course to help me get back to one of the things that I enjoy. I have done journals on the job before and realize the importance of doing them.  I want to start a journal so I can do my sketching and record the details so they can be used later for my drawings.