Tag Archives: nature sketching

Happy Earth Day!

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To be honest, I think every day should be Earth Day. I hope you do, too.

Here’s my latest column on this subject.

From the Cape Cod Chronicle

I get asked all the time about teaching classes on keeping a nature journal so I’m offering an all day workshop at Cotuit Center for the Arts on Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. No experience is necessary, just a desire to go out in nature and take some notes or write some poetry or draw a picture–whatever you want. We will discuss all sorts of different ways to go about this because there is no ONE way–there’s YOUR way. This will be fun class and will be held rain or shine. Click on the Cotuit Center for the Arts link above for more information and to register. This is the perfect time of year to begin your nature journal.

May on Cape Cod

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Ah, May….It came in like winter and is heading out almost like spring. Must be Cape Cod. This sure has been a rough spring weather-wise but those warm, lovely days? Can’t be beat and maybe we think that because they’ve been so rare.

Beach walks have been brisk right up through this week. Winds have been steady and some days so much sand has been blowing that it’s been difficult to walk without getting sand blasted. Some days, however, have been just perfect. Terns are here, piping plovers and willets are nesting and ospreys are calling overhead. Doesn’t get much better than that. This weekend marks the beginning of the summer season here so solitary walks will be more difficult to pull off over the next few months.

You may have noticed lots of fluffy white flowered shrubs along the beach and even along the median strips on the highways here. These are the famous beach plums blossoming. Jam makers note these locations for future plum picking.

Many people confuse the beach plums with the fat orange and red rose hips of the Rosa rugosa, commonly called the beach rose. These are just coming into flower and by late summer the hips will be all over. They are also edible thought not as sought after as their purple plum cousins.

Earlier this month I participated in Mass Audubon’s Birdathon. My youngest grandson came along for the full 24 hours of birding and proved himself to be a wonderful bird spotter. The Birdathon is one of Mass Audubon’s biggest fundraisers and our team aimed to raise a certain amount of money. If you’d like to contribute, donations are being accepted up to June 1.

About 6 weeks ago I decided to join a #100dayproject in which you pledge to do something for 100 days and post it to Instagram or Facebook or whatever. I decided to sketch something in nature every day for 100 days. Although I regularly sketch, I don’t think I’ve ever worried about doing it daily. I’m on day 53 as of today and have been faithful to the challenge. It’s been a blast. And, my little sketchbook is a diary of sorts of spring waking up on the Cape. If you are interested in keeping a nature sketchbook, I’ll be offering an online class this summer. You can email me at capecodartandnature at gmail dot com for more info (I can’t add email links here for some reason.)

Cape Cod Spring Sketchbook

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Wow! It’s been awhile since I wrote a blog post. I’m busy on Facebook and Instagram (just search for Cape Cod Art and Nature) these days but would like to get back to posting here as well.

It’s been an interesting spring so far. Spring, you say? What spring? It’s been a non spring, actually! One of my recent columns talks about this and you can read it here.

I’ve joined a #100dayproject challenge this year and have been updating my sketchbook daily. I’ve always kept a sketchbook journal but it hasn’t really been daily, except in small spurts. I try to draw on location out in the field but to be honest, it’s been too cold to paint out there. I add the color with watercolor in my studio. On rainy days I’ve used things like shells and feathers from my collections.

On one rainy and blustery day I sat in a beach parking lot and drew these flirting laughing gulls.
Lichens are always interesting and challenging to draw. I often add notes, thoughts, questions to my pages. I also list the birds I see or hear. I’ll be offering an online nature journal class that will start in the next few weeks. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to get outside and observe. If you would like to be added to my email list please let me know at capecodartandnature@gmail.com For some reason wordpress doesn’t allow email links in posts so I apologize for the extra step. Just copy and paste in your email bar.

I’m heading off to a writer’s conference this weekend. And yes, I finished my middle grade novel for kids. I’m hoping to find an agent. More on the book soon. Until then, enjoy what could be spring weather this weekend!

Nature sketching on Cape Cod to welcome in summer

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I love to sketch, I love nature and I love traveling around Cape Cod so on this sunny day in late June I packed my lunch and my sketching materials and headed to the lower Cape, hopefully beating the summer crowds.

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I then headed to one of my favorite places for sketching flowers, etc., Fort Hill in Eastham.

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It was picture perfect there, with fields full of flowers like these sweet peas…

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I got out my trusty pen and little red Moleskine notebook and began to sketch. Almost all my field sketches are done in ink. I add the color later at home. This allows me to stand while I draw and to move along from subject to subject easily and quickly.

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Later, I add the watercolor washes like these…

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Sometimes, though, I find a spot where it is perfect to just hang out a bit and paint, like this one in the beech woods by the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, where I also went today. This spot is a favorite of mine going back to childhood and I have to say it still has the same magic for me today.

   

  I highly recommend getting out to do a little sketching and writing or even just daydreaming. It helps to capture a moment, an observation and refines our observation skills, something we can always improve upon. Never mind about talent or experience. Just begin where you are.

Happy summer!