Paula

@Peggy Super hard, but I LOVED the freedom I felt in the expectation that it really isn't meant to come out looking right!

@Colleen Three months of triple digit heat has gotten me behind, too! Yesterday I took some cuttings and drew them indoors!

I remember becoming frustrated trying to identify a type of mulberry. Who knew the same tree could have so many different shaped leaves????

Observation! Becoming better at observing was one of the main reasons I wanted to take this course. I find identifying plants in nature so difficult - I hope this will help. To that end, I compared twig cuttings of two different species of mesquite in my yard.  And I absolutely noticed so much more than I would have, using the comparison method! My written comparisons are on another page, and I have already added more questions and possible answers as they pop into my head. I hope when I start using a different notebook, my pages will become more pleasing to the eye, overall. I am trying to cram too much on one page, I think. It was a lot of effort, drawing all those leaflets!  By the time I was done with the overall sketch of each, I was nearly out of steam to do proper secondary drawings.  

As I've said in my own posts: EVERY time I sit down to draw, I quickly come to the point where I have to make a conscious choice between frustration and discouragement vs. discovery and curiosity. It is not easy. I have to tell myself "I can do it!" Meaning I can make the choice, not necessarily draw what I set out to draw. You have captured the round nature of your apple, rather than having it look like a flat circle. That is a success! You, too, can succeed in making a positive choice!

Representing Lights and Darks: the Squint Test I continue to have to make conscious choice each time I set out to draw: discouragement and frustration, or discovery and curiosity. It is not easy, but is a valuable skill. Drawing is completely new to me, and I find it more than a little difficult to make accurate representations of shapes and proportions.  I can see where and how they are wrong, but can not replicate them. It is an interesting look into the brain.  Meanwhile, I have now dedicated a full sized new eraser to my drawing box! I am also very slow. It would take several more sessions to "finish" my stick (which is how I did my "Jump Right In" warbler), but sometimes I don't want to spend repeated sessions on one drawing.  If you are slow and outdoors, the light changes faster than you can capture it. However, the squint test really works! Sometimes squinting helps me "find" the shape, as well. I added a scribbly background of a tree trunk, palo verde sapling, brush pile, and bird boxes, which is not actually behind my "value stick" but was to my right. You can do that when drawing, unlike photography! (Photoshop not withstanding.) I hope my skills improve on shapes and proportions. Next up: chiaroscuro.

I had the same feeling. "I have a lot to learn!" I love the soft look you achieved with the pencil strokes.

I am totally  new as well! Each time I sketch, I go from hopeful, to discouraged, to enjoying the process exploration, discovery, and greater understanding of the subject. It's that last leap that is hardest, and I have to make a conscious choice to make it!   I hope I can continue to do so. The wildflowers in my yard are extraordinary. I feel the pressure to sketch each variety (and there are so many!) before they are gone. Beauty can be so transient.

Yes! I am slow, too! I have to allow myself MUCH more time than I think, otherwise I will get frustrated. I find myself wanting to go to my back yard and sketch a single flower as a 10 minute work break, but my skills are not up to that task at the moment. (This is all new for me.)  But if I allow myself enough time, I can cross from hopeful, to discouraged, and back to enjoying the process of "understanding" whatever little wildflower is my target for the moment.

I've had my eye on this course for a while now, and finally asked for it for my birthday. And? Here I am!  I am outdoorsy and a wanna-be naturalist. I love photographing nature (so proud that one of my photos is in use by my local Audubon Society!), but sometimes I feel that photography reduces, rather than enhances my observational skills. Sketching seems to be not only a practical and creative way to improve one's observation and identification skills, but a beautiful way to "honor" the natural world around me that I love so much. I am a bit nervous. I hope that perfectionist-me can find a way to derive richness and meaning from this activity without being perfect. Or even... good. Thank you.