Katherine

@Tom Hi, Tom, thanks for your thoughts!

Inspired by the journal survey video, I was trying to think about birds' shapes, about how to fill the page, and about how to verbally note the experience in addition to images. Because I wasn't in the field, I borrowed my text from the Cornell Lab overview of the yellow warbler, in addition to writing in my ideas about drawing vs. photographs (for me it's in the timing of detail: drawing invites contemplation of details in the moment, whereas a looking at a photograph, not necessarily taking a photograph, invites contemplation of detail after the encounter has ended). Thinking about shapes actually really did make the drawing easier, but I really struggled with finding a full-page style that I liked. When I first started this course I was all about learning more about drawing anatomy, but now I'm excited to think about developing a visual thinking style that includes both text and image. I definitely don't think I would have paid attention to the moss on the twig if I weren't trying to draw the photograph, and I also don't think I would have noticed how the head of the warbler isn't mottled with other colors. I think it'll definitely make a difference when journaling, but I'm unsure how I'll react to missing detail when confronted with moving and living beings who can remove themselves from the portrait sitting at any moment.