Dee
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I thought I was doing well but to my surprise I definitely lost it on the left side. I think the blind contour drawing is a great exercise and I will continue to use it to improve my eye-hand coordination.
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I really learned a lot from my caparison study of two very opposite looking trees. They were both growing in a wooded area ,one by a pond. Because its early spring and no fancy leaves etc. to study , it forced me to really take a good look at the tree itself. I could really see some of the similarities and differences in bark , branch formation, height, just to mention a few thing. The up close "face to face" exercise with the trees was very interesting. I still really need to figure out how to manage drawing and descriptive data in the space I will have in my journal. I'm working on that.
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4/9/21 The porcupine is back in my willow tree. I now call him "Bristles". Today he climbed up to higher branches and he was eating the new yellow/green shoots on the willow branches . Sometimes he looked like he was going to fall but didn't. He grasped the branch he was on with his sharp claw while reaching out and grabbing the young willow shoots. He also used his tail for support. Sometimes "Bristles" would just curl up rest for a while. He was still in the tree at dusk.
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I watched this porcupine in a willow tree as it climbed up to some of the thinner branches and then returned again to the original spot to sleep. I didn't know anything about porcupines but, I read that porcupines often sleep in trees. They are nocturnal and feed on vegetation and some insects. The porcupine stayed in the tree until dusk, in the morning he was gone.
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I like to collect sea shells and beach stones. I am finding it is difficult to use the marks for shading and to create the real shape of the objects. So I need to practice “making the marks”. And I can see that I also need to work on on defining the darkest darks and lightest lights.
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When you have a photo you have more time to draw and you can go back and look at the subject any time. There could be many details that you might have missed in the field if you aren’t trained to pay attention to certain important details right in the beginning. When drawing you can see more color, shape and dimension . There can also be a sense of wonder and awe along the way.
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For years I’ve enjoyed photographing birds and landscape. Nature journaling will be a whole new experience for me. I’m looking forward to drawing and painting in the field and improving my drawing skills. I think nature journaling can be a peaceful meditation that has its rewards as you record the details of the subject matter whether it is an animal, plant, or a vignette, etc. I enjoyed seeing the different journaling styles presented by class participants. At this point I’m just going to let my journaling style evolve on its own and I might want to include a tangible object now and then , ie. a piece of grass , a pressed leaf or flower or a feather. I am looking forward to what’s ahead in this class.
I thought I was doing well but to my surprise I definitely lost it on the left side. I think the blind contour drawing is a great exercise and I will continue to use it to improve my eye-hand coordination. 
I like to collect sea shells and beach stones. I am finding it is difficult to use the marks for shading and to create the real shape of the objects. So I need to practice “making the marks”. And I can see that I also need to work on on defining the darkest darks and lightest lights. 