Dan
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One thing I want to practice is slowing down. Doing spot sits instead of just walking or running or working on a field drawing and then moving on. The spot sit can definitely help me see deeper and see more interesting details that I would miss otherwise. For instance, I did a spot sit at a harbor near my house and it wasn't until the very end, 15 minutes into the sit, that I noticed some type of insect or bug dancing around on the surface of the water in front of me. There were three or four of them and they were making great ripples on the water. They looked as though they were skating.
In terms of themes, I want to make sure that I don't draw conclusions. I can hopefully do this by noting in my journal when I'm making an observation and when I'm inferring something, that way I can check my inferrence later or i can come up with alternative inferrences to my initial one. Fun to ask follow up questions too. -
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It was not so easy to see where and how to apply the chiaroscuro technique. The blending the shadows was difficult, although the cast shadow and the highlight were the easiest to find and to apply. I'm feeling more comfortable putting marks down on the page and these lessons have given me confidence in drawing new objects like onions, succulents and chili peppers that I have not drawn before. I want to work on chiaroscuro and shading in the upcoming lessons as well as applying those techniques to watercolor paintings and paintings with color in general.
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I'm looking forward to seeing your sketches from the Sierra Foothills Paige. I first got into nature journaling through a field drawing class I took near Downieville (up rt.49). I live in San Diego now, but my heart is still in the forests of the Sierra. Best of luck to you in documenting the fall season in your journal. -Dan
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Great to hear that you are doing this course for peace and fun. That's excellent. I hope the nature journaling in this course brings you moments of happiness and joy. :) Best wishes, Dan
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I like that picture James. Thanks for your comments and sketch suggestions. I also like to kayak and be out on the water (I live in San Diego). There's a great blue heron nest near my house so I will probably be doing some assignments for this class on the bay with the pine trees and the herons. all the best, Dan
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Thanks for these book suggestions Ellen. They sound great. I'll have to check them out. All the best, Dan
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I'm looking forward to seeing your drawings from the forests of Colombia! Glad you're doing the class.
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Hello, I'm Dan. I am going to briefly answer all three questions: 1. What inspired you to begin nature journaling? Not sure, I've been nature journaling for fifteen years. I really don't remember what inspired me to start. 2. Now that you’ve heard from several other journalers about their processes, and had a peek at their journals, which ideas or approaches do you want to try? I want to use watercolor and text on each page. I like the technique of having the drawings burst out of the frames that they are in, so I will probably use that. Liz's comments about asking a question while she sketches and then having it answered is interesting. I will try to ask questions while I sketch. 3. Do you have a different journaling idea, not mentioned here, that you’d like to share? No, not off the top of my head. Happy fall to all!
One thing I want to practice is slowing down. Doing spot sits instead of just walking or running or working on a field drawing and then moving on. The spot sit can definitely help me see deeper and see more interesting details that I would miss otherwise. For instance, I did a spot sit at a harbor near my house and it wasn't until the very end, 15 minutes into the sit, that I noticed some type of insect or bug dancing around on the surface of the water in front of me. There were three or four of them and they were making great ripples on the water. They looked as though they were skating.
In terms of themes, I want to make sure that I don't draw conclusions. I can hopefully do this by noting in my journal when I'm making an observation and when I'm inferring something, that way I can check my inferrence later or i can come up with alternative inferrences to my initial one. Fun to ask follow up questions too. 
Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)