I chose two bushes that grow in my yard. I was interested in them because it is now late October and  they are very different. The Mock Orange shows no sign of fall, really. Still green and strong with dark berries. The Burning Bush has turned a gorgeous magenta/red color and has begun to shed its leaves and has bright pink/orange berries. I enjoyed forcing myself to look closer and notice the similarities and differences beyond their obvious colors.

I liked this exercise.  It really helped me concentrate on the details.  Amazing how things look so similar from a distance and then when looking closely how different they really are.

This spring I planted Salvia Victoria Blue and Salvia Red Hot Sally. Although both are salvia the do not look much alike. I did my comparison between the two and found even more differences than I noticed through casual observation. I'm still unsure how they can both be called Salvia other than that they both seem to be in the mint family. I don't have a system yet for recording drawing, writing and numerical data so they are organized for comparison.

I choose two "mates", that stand in the park for as long I remember. They are: a Gingko biloba tree and a Hibiscus bush, with light pink flowers. But... I wasn't sure about the name of the flowers (!). Then I checked: hibiscus. It's autumn and the flowers are blossoming, in a beautiful pink and green composition; I could see fully blossomed flowers and about-to-blossom ones. I had never looked at these flowers with such a detail. I was marveled by the delicate petals and the five dark pink dots, every flower has. I am curious to search for more scientific information, about hibiscus. I had searched for Gingko biloba, in the past. Yet, comparing it's leafs with the hibiscus petals was an interesting exercise. Also, it allowed me to look closer at the colors of the leafs, texture and how smooth they are. Balancing drawing and writing is something I'm still learning; I don't think I have found my style yet, although I usually prefer to draw in one page and write on the adjacent one, if possible. In this exercise, I draw and wrote notes on the same page. I haven't used colors yet, as I's like to know more, before I use them.

I focused on two plants in my back yard...but in drawing them and making my observations, I was taken back on a journey to my high school biology class. I needed to research, and then added to my comparison study, the reproductive parts of a plant.  It was a wonderful journey.  

I learned to look closer. I've always had those flowers around but never noticed the inner of the flower nor how the color blends smoothly. I would always try to draw, write and notice numerical data because it clarifies so much about the flower.

I liked doing the comparison study.   It made me really look at each flower and each leaf.  I am searching for my style and decided to try the boxes and I like them. 

Making comparisons allowed me to hone in on observations I may have overlooked.

First, it's October and still in the 100's, so my garden is hot and tired, much like I am.  I found two flowers to compare and my dogs encouraged me to clip them and finish the work inside.  I didn't have a plan, but words formed around my image in a cluster, much the same as the flowers grew.  It was fun to look closely and see the similarities and differences.  Shape and color stood out the most.  Most plants good for Arizona have tiny leaves, so I'm guessing this vine has grown so well because it has shade.

I chose 2 flowers to compare. It's fall now, but I was surprised to find there were flowers out still. I did enjoy doing a comparison study, because I think I noticed details that I wouldn't have otherwise, and it allowed me to think about the purpose of flowers. That is, to attract pollinators so the plants can produce seeds. The first frost is probably coming soon, so these late bloomers will need to make seeds soon if they want to have offspring next spring. I don't know too much about plants, so perhaps there is a strategy here that I'm not aware of. Anyway, I would have liked to do a comparison study with some kind of animals, but unfortunately they move too much and I think I wouldn't notice a whole lot unless I spent hours observing. I think this exercise will equip me for the next observations going forward. They certainly reminded me how to think like a scientist!

Enjoyed doing this. The exercise of posing questions from what you are looking at was good and will be really helpful away from home. Even sitting in my backyard, comparing herbs that I use in cooking was enlightening.

1. I went outside and picked 2 branches with different leaves from my backyard. It was cold and my son wanted to stay inside, so the compromise was that we would stay in, but that I would draw while he played. I learned going back and forth between my 2 examples. Whenever I noticed a detail on one, I would check for a similar element on the other, and so on. I ended up observing much more than what I anticipated. I also picked a maple branch with leaves that were pretty much dead. I was surprised by my own choice... and how much beauty I found in something that was past its prime.  2 - I realize that drawing first and writing around the drawing flows better for me. I might just keep a page for writing and another for my drawings and light notes.

Just spending time in my backyard, comparing flowering annuals. Trying to get better at drawing what I see.

I have done three comparisons - in my garden, two flowering plants which are difficult for me to identify until they flower - scarlet lynchnis and four o'clocks; kayaking up Little River in Washington County, Maine, two finely divided leafy submersed plants which I later identified as water marigold and large purple bladderwort; and walking through Moosehorn Wildlife Refuge in Washington County, Maine, two ferns, interrupted fern and Christmas fern.  The exercise has been very helpful for me in looking closely at the parts of plants and learning the proper vocabulary for describing them as well as thinking about form and function.

Observation! Becoming better at observing was one of the main reasons I wanted to take this course. I find identifying plants in nature so difficult - I hope this will help. To that end, I compared twig cuttings of two different species of mesquite in my yard.  And I absolutely noticed so much more than I would have, using the comparison method! My written comparisons are on another page, and I have already added more questions and possible answers as they pop into my head. I hope when I start using a different notebook, my pages will become more pleasing to the eye, overall. I am trying to cram too much on one page, I think. It was a lot of effort, drawing all those leaflets!  By the time I was done with the overall sketch of each, I was nearly out of steam to do proper secondary drawings.  

1. It's not quite spring here so I couldn't find anything in flower. Mine is a small shrub comparison. This exercise made me really curious about why there is so much difference in the leaf type of two plants in the same environment. 2. I like the mix of multiple drawings, notes and measures. I appreciate the idea of having the full subject rough sketch to go alongside the more focused sketches. Adding the questions, not just the observations and data is really powerful to me.

Enjoyed this exercise, found I noticed more details about each plant.

Really an intimate way to intersect art and discovery. This slow introspection allowed me to see the wonder and beauty of something I was quite fearful of prior to the study. As Hurricane Laura was not far from my area, I ventured inside and retrieved a matchbox with specimens from my yard. Originally meant for my grandchildren, I found myself the student! I have a greater appreciation for this noisy summer cicada.

1.I tried a Venn diagram with the butterfly bush and hydrangea, and saw many similarities and differences, like how butterfly bush has a bit of red on it. 2. I did a lot of small drawings to give a visual, then lots of observations. 

I compared butterfly bush and black-eyed susan in my garden. Either my sketchbook is too small or I tried to cram too much information in--I suspect this would be a problem with a larger notebook because there is so much to compare. I may try and think more ahead of time about whether I making a general comparison to identify something or if there is something I specifically want to compare. I didn't leave enough room to write down questions.

I compared two plants in my garden that I see every day but was looking at their details for the first time.

I compared two flowering plants in Parc Micaud, Besançon (FR). This comparative exercise is so useful for probing into questions of form. I would have liked to have a magnifying glass at hand to learn more; it was quite difficult to see some of the finer details with the naked eye but I had the feeling there was much more to learn!