Claire

This refining was difficult for me. If it weren't for the negative space practice I would have been in big trouble. I decided to color it since I couldn't define the light from the dark on such a small scale. I'll keep trying.  I found that the upside down exercise was very helpful and surprisingly accurate. Kind of hard to do in the wild though. So I think it finally helped to get this bird to look like a small marsh wren which I think it might be because of its environment. I looked it up and confirmed that ID by the wide open mouth and its other markings. I'm so glad they sing or we would never find them.

Your page is so beautiful it could be printed in a botany book. I'm jealous.

I'm hoping to be able to simplify my drawing and subject matter like you have done with your comparison study of these two leaves. They are great drawings and look good on your page.

Very nice composition of your page and beautiful drawings.

What a beautiful journal page. I love the way you interwove your comments with your pictures. It isn't messy and looks planned. I have trouble with that.

What beautiful fine drawing. Mine get so messy. I'm hoping to develop the ability to get it right the first time.

The date is January, 26, 2020. I began drawing at 1:45 and finished at 2:25. It is a sunny, cold day with the wind blowing the light snow off the buildings so I stayed inside looking out the door to the balcony to our condo in Breckenridge, CO. I compared two evergreen trees: No. 1 is a Lodge pole pine, No. 2 is a Colorado blue spruce. The foliage is spare on the pine and my summation is that because it was formerly a forest the sunlight was restricted to the trees and so the foliage is always at the top third of the tree. The Spruce is denser and the needles as shorter than the pine, probably no more than an inch long on the longest, and the frond is probably anywhere from 3 inches to 10 with these needles coming out all sides of the frond. The branches start out sloping slightly down but then make a graceful turn upwards with continuous fronds of needles diminishing in length as the branch gets longer. The needles of the Pine are probably about three inches long and seem to stem from the end of a small twig which is attached to the larger branch. These larger branches slope down from the trunk of the tree and then make a graceful curve upward and are very wavy when the wind blows. The trunk of the pine is more warm brown, very rough with little holes in it probably form birds like the Cross Bills we saw pecking on the trees last fall. I think it is also Downy Woodpeckers who might make those holes. The bark of the Blue spruce seems to have small scale like flakes that are closely attached to the trunk. These seem to reflect the light when it falls on them through the dense branches. My drawing of the branches of the blue spruce doesn't give the effect of the denseness of the foliage, because I stopped with the detail and only drew the slope of the branches going out from the tree. Imagine the whole tree going to the ground with the density of the detail I drew in the top half of the picture. There were clumps of snow on occasional branches which held more than the smaller more individual foliage of the Lodge pole pine. This was a fun exercise to do and I will look forward to doing more when there are flower again in Colorado, or when I get home to Denver and my bird feeders.

I love your accomplished drawings; they are amazing

I love your fresh, fluid little watercolor treatment of this location. I can't wait for spring when I can find a sit spot out of doors. Starting in January in Colorado hasn't been productive, yet.

I find your woods very inviting and the little downy is so typical of the beautiful surprise they are to the walker who suddenly hears their taps and finds them.