Clare
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I felt a little nervous about drawing from the photo, jumping right in as it were. The most challenging part was just putting pencil to paper. Once I got the pencil moving, making short strokes that formed shapes, I could feel things relaxing a bit. The more I relaxed and looked at the photo, the more I was able to notice little details. There were little holes in the leaves from bugs. The warbler's feathers were tufted and soft looking near its legs, whereas the feathers on its back were sharp, layered precisely on top of one another. When I first looked at the photo, all I saw was yellow, but as I drew and looked more, I noticed little fine colorations such as the brown streaks on its breast, black layers in its folded up wings. I also was able to notice how large its eye was compared to the size of its head! Drawing the details makes such a huge difference because it can help with identifying whatever it is you are drawing.
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1. What inspired you to begin nature journaling? Curiosity is my primary inspiration to begin nature journaling. Whether I'm hiking in the mountains, birding in the woods, or just staring out my kitchen window, I find myself wondering about the things I see and hear. Sometimes I know what I'm observing, but most of the time I have to look it up. I like that nature journaling will provide a way to not only record my thoughts, questions, ideas, but also act as a visual aid to what I am experiencing. I find myself bird watching and become so enamored by the colors of their plumage or the light reflecting off the pond. Nature journaling seems like a great way to capture these moments, much more deeper than if I took a photograph on my phone. I've always wanted to take drawing and painting courses, so this will be a great way to explore a new skill. I've been keeping journals since I was a kid, and as I grew up I drew less and wrote more. I'd like to return back to drawing! 2. ...which ideas or approaches do you want to try? In Shayna's journal, I loved her use of boxes after she finished her drawing--I loved the look of the plants popping out of her boxes! Utilizing a close-up in a separate box/circle is another thing I liked about Shayna's journal. What a great way to capture detail. I liked how William used one page for his illustration and the opposite page with his notes. Having the spaces separated this way is neat. I'll probably dabble in both having notes next to my sketches and on separate pages to see what I like best. Lastly, I loved the look of Holly's journal. I don't think a drawing a day is feasible for me at this time, but I do like the look of having the floating date next to the drawing. I will definitely be incorporating date/time/weather/location into my journal entries, and I may try to add them in artfully as Holly has done with her dates.
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