Christi-June

We just bought our property in October and we are lucky to have a Native Plant Identification group. Since our land was "properly landscaped" to sell, it seems there are mostly invasive plants (including 2 trees) and almost all nonnatives. We have a large front yard and sizeable backyard, a long driveway with land behind it that is a new mound septic system that we would like to turn into a wildflower meadow. We also live next to and across from a wooded area. I would like the front yard to have some sitting spaces for birding and nature journaling. I would like to have some paths and  garden areas sectioned off for plants and wildflowers. We get robins, woodpeckers dark-eyed juncos, white throated sparrows, some cardinals and starlings. I would like to attract hummingbirds, tufted titmouse, chickadees and cedar waxwings. I would like to see a greater variety of birds. The previous owners left a birdbath which I believe brings up water from underground but I am unsure how it works.  They also left a pond kit which is not installed and am hoping to install it this spring. We have a window bird feeder but our birds are more interested in seeds I throw on the ground. I have a couple of other feeders I have yet to put out, I need a place to hang them.

I tried to apply all drawing and coloring techniques. I have seen huge improvements and will continue to practice what I have learned and review course content. I have thoroughly enjoyed this course!

Previously I have only used wet on dry. Dry on dry was tricky and I would like to incorporate that and wet on wet in my own journal. I'd like to see more of both in application. 

I can definitely see the drawing skills all coming together as I refine. I still have trouble with angles and proportions. I really like looking at negative space to see if I have things rightm

Not moving my eyes away from the subject was difficult.  I did find if I was able to glance to the paper a bit I did better but I know thst is not the point. I'm wondering how I can improve. Slow down? Practice?  The newt I drew did not attach correctly in the end and ended up headless. The Bird of Paradise flower was very primitive, the othet two were better but not by much.

I mostly notice noises and animals (birds) at my sit spot. My position was alao a bit awkward so I could not successfully sketch as I would have liked. As  far as outside of the box, I did not feel anything particularly interesting in the vegetation perhaps because it was so dense? Only one morning glory that was opened compared to a few others that were closed.

I  have drawn from photos before and though I know it is not ideal, it does help thatthe subject is not moving. I am hoping for tips on sketching a mobile subject. The same day I sketched this I tried to sketch a kingfisher that flew away and tried to fill in the gaps from memory. That was difficult for me. My husband photographed the bird, I may go back and try again. I have tsken a Natural History and Illustration course previously and getting proportions right is still a challenge for me. My goal is to keep a nature journal using watercolors. I am new at watercolors and hope to improve. If I were not asked to draw this bird, I wouldn't have noticed its peculiar slope on the top of its head or position of its claws. This makes a difference when nature journaling because you are studying the subject and learning about its body shape and positoning.

I had never really heard about nature journaling until researching homeschooling methods for my children. (Charlotte Mason). In doing so, I've seen many parent's journals. They study alongside their children. I am also inspired by naturalists of the past such as Beatrix Potter, Maria Sibylla Merian and Edith Holden. My husband, children and I go birding often. He is an amateur photographer and while I love photography, I am not keen on carrying so much equipment or learning how to use all the functions. The idea of a nature journal is more appealing to me. There were several journals that stood out to me and all gave something valuable to think about. I liked the partial boxes and zoom0in elements in Shaya's journal. Margaret showed simple shapes of the hummingbird but a lot of the information can be learned by looking at those sketches. I really liked Holly's journal and her monthly calendar. I think that may be something I'd like to try in the future. I also noted she used smaller brushes for her watercolors to get fine details. I am very interested in learning  more about how to use watercolors so I am keeping that in mind since right now I only have the aqua waterbrush. I really love animals and think of funny things they might be thinking or saying in the moment so lately some of my entries have captions and my journal sometimes has a more comic feel to it. I do want to work more on writing down in words my observations than just a picture.