Monthly Archives: January 2022

back to nature sketching

It has been a while since I walked through my local Gardens to do nature sketching.

I collected all those lovely shells at the Gold Coast and was given a box of lovely nature objects, as well as finding dead insects. So many things to draw, but all stay at home.

This weekend I was handed the opportunity to get out and about with TWO online Nature Sketching Journal Clubs. First Melbourne with AmyDiana and then on Sunday Brisbane with Bethan Burton. They both followed a similar format of a tutorial and guidance and then we went out “in the field”, whether that was your houseplants, back yard, for me Fitzroy Gardens. There were people from around Australia and the world !

Thirty or forty minutes out, sketching or writing or whatever you were comfortable with. For me, it is sketching. It felt So good to be out. Then back to talk about our experience and what we noticed about our environment and ourselves.

Part of nature journalling is curiosity. I often wonder things in my head, but in these sessions I tend to write them on the page and actually follow them up by researching online. I have been in Melbourne for seven years and have always wondered about the markings on the magpies. I have been drawing them for years (see them here ) and did notice the difference between Sydney and Melbourne.

And now I know because I looked it up! basically

The two most easily distinguished magpies are the black-backed magpie & the white-backed magpie (in which there are nine subspecies)
The Black-backed Magpie
New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory, Western Australia
The White-backed Magpie Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia.

Males: Males have a pure white on the back of their neck with no grey.
Females: Females have grey and speckled feathers on the back of their neck

On Sunday I joined the Brisbane Online group. In a similar format, this time the discussion was about Zooming In and Zooming Out. Zooming as in close-in and long shot, not what we call zoom now.(for meetings)

I chose a Moreton Bay Fig. I would usually draw the tree trunk (as I just love them) and then focus (zoom) in on some detail, maybe some lichen or fold in the tree. This time I chose to Zoom Out and show the tree in context, with other trees around it.

Once again. Once again, a lot of writing down the questions in my head. I was curious about the vines that dropdown. It seems that the Lord Howe form of Moreton Bay fig has a habit of dropping ariel roots from its branches. The type in the Fitzroy Gardens does not have the vines. I lived in Brisbane for many years and remember the New Farms Park Moreton Bay Figs – amazing.

I am looking forward to catching up with another online session. In-person would be amazing. One day…

recent sketches

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I was looking through my sketchbook, deciding what to write about and show this week.

I am choosing pages that document a bit of my life. I don’t sketch everything, although it may seem as though I do. Sometimes I make a deliberate decision and other times it is just grabbing an opportunity. That is why I carry my sketchbook and watercolour pencil wrap with me everywhere.

I was very pleased and proud of myself to begin swimming again, I had to document that! I have been swimming almost everyday, but decided not to draw my swimming togs everyday. These sketches were semi-planned. I knew what I wanted to draw. YOu may have noticed that my sketching style is often the “unfinished look”. This often means I do not sketch a complete object. You all know that these are swimming togs, and I don’t have to have the full object on the page. It also meant that I did not have to add lots of solid colour for the blue of the togs or the black of the swimming caps. I can let them fade away at the edges. If I focus in on an area, I can also include more detail, which I enjoy.

I also went into the city for my Booster shot. It was at the doctor’s surgery so there were not a lot of people waiting. This was in my 15-minute wait after the shot. I did not know how long the people would stay sitting until their names were called. I just grabbed a bright coloured pencil and sketched them. Once again, documenting a moment with a passing opportunity. I would have added more detail if they had stayed longer.

This sketch below was more thought out. I attended by Zoom (we are all working from home) farewell afternoon tea for a lovely colleague who is retiring. It was BYO coffee and cake. I could have drunk from my normal cup and eaten something ordinary. I knew that I wanted to use and draw this lovely plate and cup set which I recently bought. I also bought a beautiful sweet treat that looked lovely on the plate. (I don’t eat sweets, so I did not eat it. ). The afternoon tea was very special. I drew this in the evening. Once again, I have the unfinished look, but you get the idea. I call this a drawing and not a sketch, as it is more studied. I make up my own rules on this!

I hope that this has provided a little insight into what I sketch, how I sketch and why.

All using Faber Castell watercolour pencils. Let me know if you have any questions

Why do you sketch what you sketch? is there a theme?

beach find sketches

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I recently spent four days at the Gold Coast, Queensland with friends. This involved daily walks along the sand. There are long stretches of beach, although most were closed to swimming due to the rough surf conditions.

Different stretches of the beach had different accumulations of shells and seaweed and other interesting things. Palm Beach was great, but close to Coolangatta and Greenmount, the beaches were empty of shells. The changing underlying sandbanks and rips make a big difference to the waves, and what they bring in.

As a child, on rare beach visits, I would be looking for the perfect shell. However, now I am so happy to discover interesting fragments. As a sketcher, their variety, shapes, and character are fun to draw with my watercolour pencils. They are also a tease as to the amazing whole shells that maybe be so close to shore, before being broken up in the ocean.

I collected about a dozen fragments, some sponges, and a small crabclaw.

The crabclaw NEEDED to be drawn straight away as it was SO smelly. It was 3cm x 3cm and I sketches it from different angles with my Lamy Safari Jy ink pen. I then put the crabclaw under my magnifying glass and had great fun looking at the detail and colour.

With all of these drawings from natural objects, my aim is to capture the character, not to create a still life. I try and show the impression of detail, without going into scientific detail.

I love the way that watercolour pencils allow me to build up the cours and then also add hard lines for detail.