Dorothy D
Forum Replies Created
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I plan to use a lot of the links used in this class in my Nature Art Journal sessions with my middle school students this year when I return to school.I thought the videos for working with children were helpful and gave me some new ideas for approaches when we are outside. I am going to recommend this class to others I teach with.Thanks.
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My family exposed my brother and me to spending our vacations outdoors on the Great Lakes and Canadian coasts(collecting small rocks, shells,seaweed)and the forests for hiking and exploring. My grandparents loved trees and birds would tell us what the birds were and about their family life. My grandfather hunted and fished but also exposed us to the beauty of the animals and fly fishing calm. I will always remember my quirky high school biology teacher whom I adored when he sent us out to make spore prints from mushrooms which were really cool. Even though I pursued the path of an artist and art teacher, I always have embraced science and nature in my and my students' works.
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Being an artist and working with students also embraces "The Beginner Mind" which is an advantage when I take them outdoors to observe and wonder. Animal behavior and new plants/even the invasive flowering weeds keep my curiosity going.
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I also have had my students gather sticks and dried grasses(checking for poison ivy & ticks!)to make brushes.When we had the 17 yr cicadas last year, that was fun collecting the dried carcasses! I had my students draw along with me for a cicada drawing demo during one art class last year too. For our art journal sessions, we go out with a theme (how do the plants/trees shows "signs of the seasonal changes") or using selected focus on rocks, landscape or observation viewing of birds. We will stop drawing to observe when I point out birds in the sky (hawks, swifts etc.)so they can be more familiar with the bird rather than just look at a photo of them inside.Our school has a dedicated nature "Discovery" room in one of the classrooms that also has housed Chesapeake Bay turtle on loan and supports out Green School initiative.
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Both sides of my family(paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother) were the first Nature mentors for me. My Ukrainian grandmother spent more times outside than in working in her garden and delighting in bird watching which she passed on to me. My grandfather was a Pensylvania outdoorsman who hunted an fished when not running his general store. My brother and I would spend time with our cousins in the backwoods when we visited him. His love for the outdoors and knowledge about the animals;tracks,bird sounds and fish started us off in wanting to know what they were. My parents carried on the tradition of outdoor vacations as well as we would always include hikes and visits to the Canadian forests and the lake or ocean beaches. As for my goals for spending time outdoors with a child/children: I teach a Nature Art journal class with my middle school students and want to enhance that experience for outdoor appreciation moreso. As for my younger students, I do what I can to get them outside to draw.
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Growing up, my brother and I spent all of our waking moments outdoors in the woods,visiting our grandfather's camp in the PA forest where he taught us about the weather,animal tracks, and the forest trees and plants.Family vacations were filled with hiking trails to explore. We took it for granted then, but as a teacher now, I realize how limited the experiences are for my students who prefer video games over the outdoors.Safety is also an issue for students as well.This year I started a Nature Journal Art club for my middle school students to assist with this. I would like to pursue more ways to help my students
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"Dry on dry","wet on dry" and then "wet on wet".I used the sketchbook to do these experiments but the wet on wet caused the 50lb paper to buckle so I would not do this in my sketch book/journal unless it was a very small area. 140 lb watercolor paper( block) is made for that so I would probably not use that technique in a journal because the drawings or blank paper underneath would be affected.Dry on dry would be good for grasses,fur, feathers. Wet on dry would be applicable for most color studies. -
I studied watercolor in art school and use it frequently in my work;however I still keep learning new things every time and also when I take a course like this one. I stalled on this exercise because I really did not want to do it because it was something I had done so many times in beginning classes. I marvel at how precise everyone else made perfect circles etc to put their paint test colors in but I wanted to just "jump right in". So here it is... on to the next step.
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I continue to battle proportions in my viewpoints but feel better at observation details. Short strokes help a lot. Always willing to walk away from the drawing and then come back to refine again and again.
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Still sometimes dealing with proportion of viewpoint. Sketchy lines approach has helped me over the course rather than just aiming for shapes. Still working on the details always...
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I found the chest pattern markings the hardest to focus on as without the dark and light contrast,I kept getting lost in the pattern. I do think this is a good exercise for proportion help.
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I was fine with it but I knew it was a bird image which I was trying not "to see" as I wanted to be more observant. I do this with my middle school students so I was surprised I was that this was not easy as I thought it would be. (This is good for me to review from time to time!) The line markings on the bird took awhile and I do not feel I was as accurate as I could have been. Still, a good review.
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Contour drawing has always been this meditative process for me but it still looks the same as when I was doing it in junior high! I finally went for the pot of geraniums in the middle sketch,but who can tell. It does teach one to slow down,observe and draw what you see not what you think you see.
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I have been doing post sunrise walk along a meadow facing the woods. The Stars of Bethlehem in the tall grasses are starting to open again from their green striped like close umbrella overnights. The spittle bugs are busy already. I looked up their life cycle because I did not know they(the nymphs) have to come up for air in the spittle!
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I sat outside for a short period on a chilly April day trying to sketch in between online classes I had to teach. I almost resented going back inside. I was in the edge of the woods so the Mayapples are already here and the invasive Garlic Mustard plants. As I walked through the woods I looked down and saw these as a top down viewpoint. Of course the Garlic Mustard is taller than the parasol like Mayapples(no "apple" yet) and has already begun to flower with a 4 petal white flower and has ridged leaves versus the Mayapple with the symmetrical lobed leaves.
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I am always using value scales, still life set ups with my students to keep them in practice depicting every day objects. I use pencil,charcoal and graphite with them so I ache for color at the end of the day for me sometimes. I think I need it just to give me another challenge. Still learning....
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I went down to the edge of the woods adjacent to where I live to regroup and decompress during a stint at the computer for teaching online these days(I am an art teacher).It is something I do anyway on a daily basis.I have always looked for nature's clues and changes on a daily observations so this is not an unknown territory for me. A neighbor has placed various weathered benches here and there for us to sit and ponder. Since it was 2pm there was not as much bird activity as I would have liked as I know birds will rest before they start their food hunt later. However after 20 minutes, I could hear the cardinals,chickadees and a lone towhee starting up again. Spring greens are starting to appear on the poplars and oaks around here(photo)and a ground cover myrtle and a few mayapples (early!) are starting to pop up.
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These are charming! You have caught the bird's character.
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Drawing from a photo bird is easier than the real bird for obvious motion reasons.My own pet birds are suspicious of my movements and the art tools I am using if I try drawing them. I think the limits of trying to catch the bird in action and the environment, including weather/lighting might be frustrating but I also think the "catch the moment" approach my give the study more "life". I did not feel pressure to finish it as i knew I could come back to it according to my work schedule so that may also be an option if I photograph something that I want to continue on.Using the water color medium requires patience and moments of timing depending on technique/methods so I am wondering if maybe using watercolor pencils/crayons etc might be more forgiving in that sense? My mother was an art teacher/watercolorist and would frown on copying from photos as she said one would lose the joy of life in the moment. I have felt similar but there are times one is limited with time and materials. I might have not noticed the lichen or the "eaten" leaves in the process which I did not spend much time on especially with the leaf position. Also maybe the rust streaks on the bird may not have been as apparent if I had drawn from life.
It was fun to do and I know I have to literally brush up on my watercolor skills.
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I remember that book--I treasured it and now I am wondering where it is in my stacks of books. Thanks for the memory!
"Dry on dry","wet on dry" and then "wet on wet".I used the sketchbook to do these experiments but the wet on wet caused the 50lb paper to buckle so I would not do this in my sketch book/journal unless it was a very small area. 140 lb watercolor paper( block) is made for that so I would probably not use that technique in a journal because the drawings or blank paper underneath would be affected.Dry on dry would be good for grasses,fur, feathers. Wet on dry would be applicable for most color studies. 
I studied watercolor in art school and use it frequently in my work;however I still keep learning new things every time and also when I take a course like this one. I stalled on this exercise because I really did not want to do it because it was something I had done so many times in beginning classes. I marvel at how precise everyone else made perfect circles etc to put their paint test colors in but I wanted to just "jump right in". So here it is... on to the next step. 
Contour drawing has always been this meditative process for me but it still looks the same as when I was doing it in junior high! I finally went for the pot of geraniums in the middle sketch,but who can tell. It does teach one to slow down,observe and draw what you see not what you think you see. 
I sat outside for a short period on a chilly April day trying to sketch in between online classes I had to teach. I almost resented going back inside. I was in the edge of the woods so the Mayapples are already here and the invasive Garlic Mustard plants. As I walked through the woods I looked down and saw these as a top down viewpoint. Of course the Garlic Mustard is taller than the parasol like Mayapples(no "apple" yet) and has already begun to flower with a 4 petal white flower and has ridged leaves versus the Mayapple with the symmetrical lobed leaves. 
I am always using value scales, still life set ups with my students to keep them in practice depicting every day objects. I use pencil,charcoal and graphite with them so I ache for color at the end of the day for me sometimes. I think I need it just to give me another challenge. Still learning.... 
I went down to the edge of the woods adjacent to where I live to regroup and decompress during a stint at the computer for teaching online these days(I am an art teacher).It is something I do anyway on a daily basis.I have always looked for nature's clues and changes on a daily observations so this is not an unknown territory for me. A neighbor has placed various weathered benches here and there for us to sit and ponder. Since it was 2pm there was not as much bird activity as I would have liked as I know birds will rest before they start their food hunt later. However after 20 minutes, I could hear the cardinals,chickadees and a lone towhee starting up again. Spring greens are starting to appear on the poplars and oaks around here(photo)and a ground cover myrtle and a few mayapples (early!) are starting to pop up. 
Drawing from a photo bird is easier than the real bird for obvious motion reasons.My own pet birds are suspicious of my movements and the art tools I am using if I try drawing them. I think the limits of trying to catch the bird in action and the environment, including weather/lighting might be frustrating but I also think the "catch the moment" approach my give the study more "life". I did not feel pressure to finish it as i knew I could come back to it according to my work schedule so that may also be an option if I photograph something that I want to continue on.Using the water color medium requires patience and moments of timing depending on technique/methods so I am wondering if maybe using watercolor pencils/crayons etc might be more forgiving in that sense? My mother was an art teacher/watercolorist and would frown on copying from photos as she said one would lose the joy of life in the moment. I have felt similar but there are times one is limited with time and materials. I might have not noticed the lichen or the "eaten" leaves in the process which I did not spend much time on especially with the leaf position. Also maybe the rust streaks on the bird may not have been as apparent if I had drawn from life.
It was fun to do and I know I have to literally brush up on my watercolor skills.