International Nature Journaling Week – day 3-6

We’re approaching the last two days of the International Nature Journaling Week. The days have gone by so fast, but I managed to fit in a nature sketch almost each day, next to my other painting duties.

I had a lot of fun sketching my favorite fungi that I remember from foraging – I learnt it as a child from my parents and still go out sometimes, although I find the search and sketching phase more interesting than the cooking phase…so for this spread I decided to paint the mushrooms I remember as the ones that tasted best. I also noted a bit about the habitats they can be found in.

Since the mushrooms that we see growing are only the part that’s needed for reproduction, and the mycelium spreads in the ground, mushrooms often appear in rings above the ground. Maybe you know this term, we used to call these “witch rings”. But then I come from an area that prides itself for having a lot witches, ghosts and fairies running around in its forests, so maybe it’s just a local thing.

I also revisited the landscape that I pass a few days a week for the landscape topic, but admittedly more from a painterly perspective than from a nature journaler’s one. I’m often torn between sketching and taking notes, and also simply wanting to paint the scene and record a more emotional, subjective view, especially with landscapes. So often the time of the day is the only “scientific data” I record for these sketches. But I added a few fun notes on the garden sketch about the different veggies that I grow.

Today’s theme is skies, and for this I have prepared a video for you. Bethan set up a page for today’s topic, and you can find my video, and more good tips and resources for painting skies there:

Nature Journaling Week – Day 6 – Theme: Skies (video)

If you haven’t read it yet, I also put together a post about creating small weather sketches. It’s a great way to start a sketching session!

Here’s also a quick accompanying series of cloud sketches that I did the other day while watching a thunderstorm unfold. These were just really quick watercolor sketches that I did a few minutes apart – the sky changed dramatically. I made a small note on the side about how the rain approached, the last sketch on the right is a few hours later when the sun came back through. You definitely don’t have to spend hours on your cloud sketches.

I really hope you’ve all liked this week and the activities so far. I definitely enjoyed this event massively – I sketched regularly, and noticed again how good it is for my curiosity. Yes, I still have to bring this to the forefront of my mind from time to time!

I’m just excited when I can combine nature and art and I need to remember that more often. I’m glad so many fellow nature nerds have come together to sketch this week, presenters and participants alike. Let’s give a huge thank you to Bethan, who organized this event with so many great resources and with so much dedication and energy!

Enjoy your weekend with the last two days of nature journaling activities, and definitely let me know what you sketched in your journals, and what caught your curiosity. I’d love to hear from you. And if you have questions about cloud sketching (or any other subject), just ask!