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…