Blog Archives

Watercolor Nature Journal Tutorial, Part 1, Materials

10/26/2020

I've had so many people ask about my process for nature journaling that I thought it would be a great idea to do some tutorials in my blog. I love journaling and keeping track of all the animals, birds and plants that I see in my backyard and beyond. It's a wonderful way to learn about and honor the natural world. Since I started journaling I find that I notice more of what is going on in nature. I think it has made me realize how precious and beautiful our earth is and how much we need to pay attention to the natural world and protect it.

I tend to do most of my journaling in the spring and summer because I get so busy in the fall with portrait commissions and holiday ornaments. In the winter I'm hiding indoors, but a lucky glance out the window may reveal owls or foxes or even deer. Someday I’ll challenge myself to journal at least once a week for the whole year!

For this first post, I’ll tell you about the materials I use. It doesn’t really take much to create a nature journal. A stack of copy paper folded into a book and a #2 pencil can work in a pinch, but here are my favorite materials.

I usually use 5.5x8" Strathmore Visual Journals with 140# watercolor paper. I love the hard cover and spiral binding which lays flat when working. I like the texture and weight of this paper, too. A big plus for me is that it is cruelty free. Not all artists supplies are, so I'm careful to choose the cruelty free options. You can, of course use any brand or size of book, just be sure it is filled with watercolor paper. You can use 90#, but I find the #140 is much sturdier and doesn't buckle at all when I add washes.

I use a mechanical pencil with an HB lead for sketching in my pages. I like the light, thin lines it makes. I start with a pencil drawing before adding the ink and paint so I want to be able to cleanly erase my lines. I have a soft white eraser and a kneaded eraser for that.

For the pen work, I use a combination of Micron 05 pens or Ultra Fine Point black Sharpies. The most important thing to remember about your pens is that they are waterproof. You will be putting watercolor washes over the ink lines so you'll have ink bleeding all over your page if the pens are not waterproof. If all you have are non waterproof pens, you could reverse the process and add the ink lines after the watercolor washes have been applied and have dried.

When it comes to the watercolors themselves, once again I go for the cruelty free option. My favorites are Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors in tubes which I squeeze out into a palette with a cover. I also have a set of Kuretake pan watercolors that I love for the bright colors - great for cardinals and flowers!

Although I have about 10,000 watercolor brushes (lol, you really can never have enough art supplies!) I tend to use a #6 and a #8 synthetic round brush. I can easily do just what I need using just those two sizes. There are lots of other options and sizes, so use what is best for you.

There are a few other materials I keep on hand when I'm journaling. Paper towels for blotting brushes and cleaning brushes and your palette. I use a plain white plate as a palette to mix colors. I buy them in dinner and dessert sizes at the Dollar Store. They work great! I also have a roll of drywall tape. I use it for adding text. You'll see how in another post.

I like to decorate the front (and back!) of my journals. Washi tape works great to cover the rough edges of the cover. Stickers of any kind would work. Use your imagination and make your journal your own!

I hope this got your creative juices flowing. Gather your materials and in a future post I'll tell you about my step by step process to create a journal page.

Thanks for reading!!!

A Christmas Fable - Published!

10/16/2020

A CHRISTMAS FABLE has been published and is available on Amazon. It will be available on Barnes & Noble's website soon, and I will have a limited amount of signed copies. You can comment here or send me an email at [email protected] for information or to reserve a signed copy.

This project was a labor of love by the author's, daughter and granddaughter. I was delighted and honored to be a part of this book. Joan Carter always loved to read and write. She wrote A Christmas Fable later in her life and read it to her family on Christmas Eve. After she died her daughter and her granddaughter, Debbie Ryan, decided to have the story published in her honor. When Debbie was trying to find an illustrator, a dear mutual friend introduced us, and the rest is history, as they say. I loved the story and Debbie was looking for an artist with a love for nature and a style like mine. We clicked and the book became a reality for Debbie and her family. A wonderful way to honor her grandmother.

I learned so much doing this project. The illustrations had to adhere to very specific requirements for printing. I had to keep to a very strict size keeping in mind such printing terms such as bleeds and gutters. I had to be sure not to get any important figures too close to the edges or to the middle, and I had to plan a quiet area for the text. I truly loved working on these illustrations, but as an animal artist one of the biggest challenges was the people. The first few pages of woodland animals only were a breeze (well, sort of!), but eventually I had to sit down and do people. One of the things I did was to rely on family photos for poses and scale, etc. I was even able to add a tribute to my beloved dad by using him as the model for St. Nicholas. He would have loved that.

Here's a look at my process for creating each illustration. Debbie gave me a page by page break down of the text and some suggestions for what the illustration should show. I started with a quick sketch based on Debbie's information which I refined and changed as I worked. I drew many of the figures separately so I could move them around the page and change the relative sizes. When I was happy with my initial sketch, I transferred it to carefully sized watercolor paper. After making any last minute changes I took a deep breath and started to ink in the lines. Once that was done, I used making fluid to cover the figures so I could be bold and quick when adding the background washes of forest or desert and sky. After letting all of that dry, I peeled off the masking fluid and painting in the characters. The whole project took many months.

Debbie and I were so thrilled to have this book ready for the holiday season. It would make a lovely Christmas gift for a special child in your life. It's available now on Amazon and will be available at other retailers including Barnes & Noble very soon. Debbie and I have a limited number of signed copies. If you would like a signed copy, please comment here or send me an email at: [email protected]. THANK YOU.

Amazon

Watercolor Nature Journal

10/11/2020

One of my favorite things to do as an artist is to spend the warm days of spring, summer and fall working in my summer studio (our screened porch) watching the birds and animals in the backyard and recording them in my journal. I use pens and watercolor to make the entries. Almost anything I see can be a journal entry…simple things like a hummingbird at the feeder or exciting things like the visit of a fox or owl. I also record events from walks and visits to other areas. Beavers, Great Blue Herons, Loons have all made it into the pages of my journal. I'd like to share a few of my favorite pages. In future blog posts, I'll share more including tutorials on how I create a journal page.

Barred Owl, February 22, 2020

Although I have the intention to journal all year, most of my pages are created in the warm months when I'm outside and able to easily see what's going on. Every once in awhile I am lucky enough to glance out a window in the winter and see special visitors like fox or deer, and Barred Owls.

Baby Red Squirrels, May 8, 2020

In the spring, my journal pages are full of babies. I was walking down the driveway with Sketch and saw three tiny baby reds on a big pine tree. I grabbed my camera and watched them scamper up and down for the longest time. I even saw them going in and out of a hole in the tree - their nest , I assume. I kept my eye on them for days after. I last saw them in the backyard trees, and I hope at least one of the occasional adult red squirrel I see in the yard is one of these little cuties all grown up.

Turkey Dust Bath, May 28, 2020

I always have wild turkeys wandering through the yard. I saw this hen turkey doing something unusual. At first I was concerned that she might be sick or injured, but I soon realized that she was taking a dust bath – something I’d never seen before. She ruffled her feathers, stretched out her legs, preened and her movements created a lot of dust. At the end, she stood up and shook herself creating a round cloud of dust with two skinny legs sticking out of the bottom. So funny!

Red-bellied Woodpecker, June 15, 2020

I don’t usually feed the birds in the summer, but I had a few suet cakes left over so I decided to use them up by hanging a suet feeder on the old dog run. (Squirrel-proof I thought, but that’s another journal page). The feeder was a huge hit. To my delight a steady stream of woodpecker, catbird, chickadee and blue jay families came to the suet. This juvenile red-bellied woodpecker was a daily visitor. I still see him and his family at the feeders.

Baby Raccoons, June 24, 2020

I was thrilled to look out the porch window and see two itty bitty baby raccoons climbing a tree right outside Sketch’s fence. I grabbed my camera and headed out to see what was going on. The babies were nervous so I kept my distance. I didn’t see mom, but the little ones did not appear to be in distress. I took some photos and went back to the porch. I watched them for a few minutes, but they quickly disappeared. I went out trying to figure out where they went, but they were gone! Maybe back to a den in the trees that I couldn’t find? It was an exciting afternoon and I couldn’t wait to record them in my journal.

Bunsen, Hobbes and Sketch - my studio help

Hello Again!

10/10/2020

It's been awhile since I posted here, but I've updated this page and plan to add lots of new and what I hope will be interesting content. 2020 has been a strange year so far, and I’ve seen a few changes in my art career. Despite that, I’ve had some exciting things happen, and I‘d like to share with you. As I have for the last few years, I’ve spent the warm weather in my summer studio – the screen porch – watching the birds and animals in the backyard and working on my nature journals. I haven’t been able to teach any classes since March, so I’m missing that a lot. I plan to share some tutorials on how I do my journal pages, the materials I use, and the things that inspire me to journal. In the autumn I get super busy with ornaments and portrait commission. I’ll share some of my ornaments in progress and completed. Last, but not least, I was lucky to be asked to illustrate a children’s book. I had an amazing time doing this project and I will share the book and my process in future blog posts. It will be available at the end of October so watch for updates!

Author

I am a fine artist specializing in animal art. I draw and paint whatever captures my eye, but animals will always be my favorite subject. I strive to capture a realistic, but artistic and expressive likeness of my subjects. I have a special fondness for horses and dogs, especially yellow lab mixes! Living in New Hampshire has given access to many beautiful and special wild creatures. Birds nesting in my backyard (including hawks!) and wild animals such as moose, deer, loons, and owls seen on vacation trips to the great north woods and White Mountains are a constant source of wonder and inspiration to me.

Commissions and custom orders are always welcome!

​​Nature Blog