jennifer
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Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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Obviously I need to work on my photography skills again - took me longer to get the picture, research to remember how to adjust the lighting, and download it than it did to do the drawing. I am a good drawer, but my biggest problem is getting bogged down in details, and taking waaaaay too long to produce a picture. I am hoping this course helps me to 'loosen up' and create something in the same year I started it. I took a course through the Robert Bateman Foundation in Victoria and one thing that always resonated with me was the instructor talking about 'giving the illusion' of feathers, or fur, or whatever versus drawing every single excruciating detail. I try to keep that in mind. Also, my animal/bird feet are normally appalling but I am quite happy with this guy's feet. Another thing I do is when I want a loose, uneven line such as on a branch, I switch to my left hand and draw. Drawing with my right hand tends to produce smooth, unrealistic looking branches.
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I have to say, I would have liked some instruction here. I opted not to mess up my drawing with watercolour at this stage, as I can't remember what colours to lay on or how to lay them on (i.e, what brushes to use). As a companion to this course, I am reading a book I purchased that was recommended in another Cornell course I took - The Sierra Club Guide to Sketching in Nature. The section on brushes was particularly interesting. I tend to draw very slowly, plus as ranchers the day is continually interrupted so I'm moving ahead on the course while I complete this drawing.
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I meant to add to my already lengthy dissertation; the catalyst for actually signing up for the course came from my uncle. Two days after Christmas Day I watched on the news, as he was shoved into an ambulance after being pulled from his burning apartment. I stood in our living room screaming "That's my uncle!" Three days later he was gone. We were great correspondents, and he had taken a watercolour course through his church so we 'talked shop' a lot in our letters. All my life he was my greatest supporter and cheerleader, and in his last letter to me he said he couldn't wait to see my work in a gallery. And, he insisted I continue my writing. So, to honour my uncle, I signed up for the course and will give it everything I have.
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In different ways I've done nature journals for most of my 63 years. However, after too many tragic losses over the past year, I have decided that if I am going to continue doing so, I'd better do it now. My main reason for taking the course was to retrain myself to get in the habit of drawing and writing daily. Currently we are buried under over two feet of snow with another 18" on the way, so my nature walks are currently sharply curtailed. I will start with the birds currently here, but use photo references for ease and comfort. All the journal styles have some merit, but Shayna's most closely resembles my own. I probably won't box everything in though, just the drawings. I did like her 'magnification' of certain aspects and would definitely incorporate that. I am a great fan of botanicals, and hope that my end product mimics the Country Diary style. Watercolours are my medium. I have a few projects in mind for botanicals this year, going from seeds to flowers. We have a few little 'microhabitats' here where plants uncommon to the area flourish and we guard them with great jealousy and zeal. We are great bird watchers, and have a few families of long-billed curlews on the property. We base our haying around what they are doing at any time so they can continue to raise their young. I've been recording them in a special diary (writing only) for the past two or three years. We are in central BC but I grew up on the coast and spent a great deal of time outdoors.
Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)