Maggie

I just got back from vacation at a VRBO in the woods that had a nice variety of birds come to the deck to feed.  I was there every morning when they came for breakfast taking photos with my phone, which weren't very good but good enough to get the postures.  For each type of bird I saw, I sketched from my photos and then found a nice, clear image on line to paint from.  I love sketching but watercolor makes me tense.  I hope to overcome that with more practice...I have a lot more birds left to sketch and paint!

The red fox and kit moved so fast!  Looking back I see I captured some interesting positions that I might never have noticed otherwise.  It's winter here and there aren't many birds on my feeder so I practiced from on-line videos.  My favorite was gesture drawing 2 baby rabbits playing in a field.  I regularly draw domestic rabbits and the familiarity made the gesture drawing easier for me.  Maybe that's a cheat :)  This was a good exercise for me that I can't wait to practice in the field.  It's helping me observe details without getting too caught up in getting them on paper.

Finding this course inspired the idea to nature journal.  I hike everyday and photos that I take are disappointing. They are what the camera sees but not what I see.  I've been sketching rabbits for two years now and it's only been through practice that I've developed a style.  I don't know where nature journaling will take me but just like sketching rabbits, I feel that if I just start, I will develop a style that satisfies me.