This morning we were reading The Christmas Book by Enid Blyton, a beautiful, living book, that details the customs and traditions of Christmas, tells the story of the birth of Christ, and tucks in a wee bit of nature study too.
We read the chapter about Holly, and picked some from our garden to study.
Week 49! I cannot quite believe I have only three pages left to complete in my Calendar of Firsts.
Unfortunately I have not been able to carve out time to make another video, and as we head toward Christmas, I see that becoming even less likely. I am hoping to create a video showing a flip though my journal after Christmas.
Lots of rain here this week. (Forgive me, I am English and our main preoccupation is weather.) Mornings are either warm and damp, or cold and dry, the latter being much more preferable! The feeders have been very busy, and we have had wee flocks of Starlings. I found this bird such a challenge to paint, and whilst I am not entirely happy with my sketch, I did get to observe this bird such a lot whilst working in my journal. Which is largely the point of nature journaling, is it not.
I have also noticed lots of moss over the last few weeks, so I added a quick sketch of the rather unimaginatively named ‘Ordinary moss’.
What’s happening in the natural world where you live?
This week’s sketching took a festive turn as I decided to sketch our Christmas tree.
Norman Firs are probably the most popular Real Christmas Tree in the UK. It has gorgeous deep green foliage, with the underside a striking blue, and is very much the traditional ‘Christmas tree’ shape we have come to expect. Christmas tree day is such a special day in my home, I wanted to capture a little of that in my nature journal.
The weather here has been either heavy rain, or crisp, frozen, sunshiny days, with glorious sunrises & sunsets. The birds have been filling up at the feeders in my garden; Sparrows, Blue tits, Great Tits, Coal tits, Starlings, Blackbirds, and our wee Robin. I have an huge Holly tree in the garden and the Blackbirds are going a grand job of eating all its berries.
What’s happening in the natural world where you live?
An early watercolour sketch. My perspective for the chimneys was way out, and I could not at all represent the sky. So frustrating!
I get a lot of feedback from readers via emails, comments on the blog, and via the Facebook group about how inspired they are to keep nature journals, not only for their children, but also for themselves. This makes me so very happy!
Another early sketch. Coloured pencils are easier than that awful watercolour!
I really do believe that keeping a nature journal enriches our lives in so many different ways. For me personally keeping a nature journal brings me so much closer to the natural world around me; I notice things in both a macro and micro sense. I am much more aware of the seasonal changes, of changes in the sky, both day and night. I see the tiny details of whatever I happen to be sketching, details that would have ordinarily passed me by. Details that I do not see when I photograph a subject, or look at it just for pleasure. Nature study brings me closer to my Creator, and for that, I am forever thankful.
But coloured pencils take f-o-r-e-v-e-r !
I also, unfortunately, sometimes receive messages or comments from people who feel that they cannot keep a nature journal because they “cannot draw”, or their drawings are “not good enough”
Working more quickly with pencils
This makes me feel so sad, and so frustrated! There seems to be a myth that people can either draw or they cannot. This is so wrong! Would we tell a child who was struggling to read, “well, some people are born readers, others aren’t” No! We would teach them the rules, insist they practice by reading many, many books. It is the same with drawing.
Teaching myself dry brush watercolour by copying the paintings of Edith Holden from The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady
I am not saying that some people don’t have a natural talent, but they still have to work at it, spending many many hours, months, and years perfecting their work, learning new skills.
Learning that dry brush can take quite a while too…
Nature study is so much more than creating beautiful images. It really is in the journey, not the end product (though of course, we all enjoy the satisfaction of producing a lovely end piece!) But as we learn to draw (and of course, the only way to learn to draw is to actually draw!) we can still be learning about our subject, even if our finished piece is not what we would like, or bears no resemblance to what we have been sketching!
Finding my own style
As we sketch, we observe each and every little detail. This is in fact the key to sketching success; learning to see. Sketching what you actually see, not what you think you see.
Loose & splashy!
I have also been told that my work is too ‘arty’ for a nature journal. There are not enough notes, or that my work isn’t precise enough. I think that we must create our journals for ourselves. Comparison really is the thief of joy. I do not have the skill to paint photo realistic work. Nor do I have the time! But I have come to a place of peace, knowing that the journal pages I create each bring me closer to a subject I want to learn about and a Creator whom I love.
Some pages I am pleased with, such as this page of trees:
Experimenting with light & shade
Others not so much! But I learn a lot from these ‘mistakes’.
Oh dear!
We must keep trying. We must be prepared to invest time and be prepared to fail.
Recent landscapes:
The good..the bad…and the ugly!
Let’s stop comparing our work, encourage one another in our endeavours, and keep learning.
Always learning
“It is only what we have truly seen that we can truly reproduce; hence, observation is enormously trained by art-teaching.”
This week I have sketched a Magnolia branch from my garden. We have two Magnolia trees, and this one always loses it’s leaves first. It is full of buds and literally only a couple of leaves are left, whilst the other tree is still full of golden leaves. I also sketched the sliver of waning moon from Friday morning. Everything was covered in frost; the air was cold and still. Jupiter was lined up so beautifully with the moon.
Weather-wise, we have had heaps and heaps of rain, along with a few perfect, late autumn, golden, frosty days.
What’s happening in the natural world where you live?
This week I have sketched a Hawthorn branch, bare of its leaves, and a fungus growing in moss. We still have some spectacular autumn colours, but they are just starting to give way to the more somber shades of winter.
Today is Stir up Sunday, so we shall be making our Christmas pudding and cake.
I am delighted that many of you are planning to join me in the 2017 Calendar of Firsts along! Have you purchased your calendar yet?
This week I have sketched a beautiful leaf from the garden, and a wee Robin Redbreast who has visited us for a while now (this Robin has a couple of white feathers in the wing.). The colours of the autumnal landscape are just so spectacular right now, heightened by frosty mornings and sun-shiny days.
This week I have sketched a Ladybird and a sprig of Honesty. We have had some really glorious, sun-shiny days, and the autumnal colours of the landscape are breathtaking. I found this wee fellow in my kitchen, and of course had to sketch it.
This week I sketched some Holly from the tree in the garden. The berries are bright red at the top of the tree, and less ripe further down. I am hoping the birds will leave me a couple of berry-bearing branches for decorating the house at Christmas!
I also painted a strawberry leaf; I love watching the changes in colours on the strawberry leaves as we move through autumn.
You can see me painting the Holly in this week’s video:
This is just a short video to share how I work. I would love to hear how you create.
Do come over to the private FaceBook group for families working with their children to encourage one another in our journaling pursuits. It would be lovely to see you there.
On Monday, our evening walk was tinged with sadness. My youngest daughter found a Kingfisher, dead amongst the reeds in the pond. We were all so very, very sad.
Isn’t he such a beauty.
The evening light was perfect; golden rays warming the earth. We all retuned home feeling very subdued. Of course we brought him home to observe and sketch, before we buried him in our garden.
