My last sketchbook tour was a good while ago, so let’s see what I have been up to in since September. Not so much, alas, since I was first down with a common cold in October, and then caught Covid. I’ve recovered, but still have to take things slowly. This also shows in my sketchbook, I didn’t get much done. I’m fine with that – the darker winter months are always a time of reflection and slowing down for me. Surprisingly, up until last week when we had a short cold spell with snow, there were still flowers in bloom in nature and also on my balcony, which allowed for some very unusual botanical sketches in November. Usually by now everything has withered to brown and grey husks – these can be interesting to sketch, too.
Let’s dive into the sketchbook tour.
Here’s a video version of this post:
Back in September, I sat down with a few photos of places we visited earlier this year to practice my architectural sketching a bit. This is not a subject I draw often, but I find it enjoyable, particularly the combination of nature elements like gardens and parks, with historical buildings. The church looks a bit too solid, because I went over some badly painted spots with opaque paint and the sketch immediately lost the glow from the white surface underneath. Maybe a few white highlights would have saved it. Overall I think those sketches need to be much larger for the kind of detail I want to show.
I also had a few photos of raccoons from the nearby wildlife park, and created a study sheet of those. When there’s no time for live sketching, I find working from photos or short videos clips also very helpful to get a feel for the animal and its movements.
What I thought would be the last warm days of summer turned out to be a prolonged golden autumn, and the botanical garden always has interesting plants to sketch. Bonus: small frogs hanging around the scene.
A common view these days, a monoculture forest after heat and drought of the past years have affected the area. This is basically what all forests with spruces and other evergreen trees look like now in Germany, at least the ones we’ve visited in the last few years – those trees can’t tolerate the droughts. Very soon there will be nothing left of the traditional image of fir forests that dominated fairy tales and German folklore (and that made up large parts of my childhood). This is just how it is in a world that’s heating up. In some areas that were affected earlier you can already see how nature grows back and regenerates, but we can’t know for certain what those forests will look like in the future.
Bonus sketch at the bottom of the page: a caterpillar that looks like neon bottle brush (the resulting moth has a muted gray color).
A less controversial topic, here are some bigger landscape sketches from local parks. I can’t remember which ones I did on location (I remember my paint drying very quickly in the sunlight), but I know I started one of these before my Covid infection and finishing it afterwards when I was able to hold a brush again! I really tried to apply the paint very lightly to retain the pencil drawing underneath. Again, I think I would like an even bigger format for these sketches. Hmm.
Sketching flowers outside at the end of October. The marigold sketch took me several days, I was still recovering, and the shepherd’s purse (on the right) has since been covered with snow, thawed and froze solid again during the latest cold spell). I added a small whinchat to the page, the bird of the year 2023, and a loose view from my window with nice reds and purples.
I haven’t drawn birds in a long time, and I love owls. This is a tawny owl sketched from several references, the page is still unfinished.
And this is it. Looking back, not even so bad considering that I was knocked out for a while and I continue to have weird after-effects from the infection.
Somehow I’m really looking forward to the winter months this time, to sketching trees without leaves and birds and winter skies. I hope you enjoyed this sketchbook tour!
Hi Julia,
Thank you for the blog posts and being so regular with it, even while recovering from COVID. Though I have never left comments before, I have always made it a point to read them. Hope you are able to recover completely soon enough to be able to draw to your heart’s content again.
What I love about your blogs is its simplicity. It feels it is coming from somewhere deep within.
I too draw sometimes in sketchbooks I made and since 2017, I have managed to finish a couple of them. I live in Mumbai so my sketches are all of city parks, buildings, parking areas and the like. Keep up the great work!
Best wishes and
Warm Regards,
Mahua
Thank you so much, Mahua, that means a lot to me. 🙂 It is reassuring to know that there are people out there who regularly read and even enjoy what I put out into the world.
I’m sure there are many interesting things to sketch in Mumbai, I’d love to see some of your work.
I too always enjoy your blog posts. Your pages inspire me to try different things in my nature journal. I was sad to learn about the fir forests.
Thank you Kim! It’s good to hear you get your own creative ideas from the things I post. Yes, the fir forests are really a sad topic. I hope that a different, more resilient kind of forest will grow after they’re gone.
I look forward to your videos and blog posts so much Julia! I pray you make a speedy and full recovery. Would you mind me asking what paper you use for your sketchbooks? There is such a lovely quality to your art–I find it so inspiring and soothing. Your courage in getting off social media, is also inspiring and convicting! I find myself so torn at times with what art kit to carry with me, and where to put my focus–should I just carry a little, mini kit and focus on quick nature or urban sketches to get in those brush miles and experience, or should I have a kit that allows me to paint with washes and focus on landscapes, which is my first love? I love how combine different aspects in your sketchbook. I don’t have many nature places near me that I can get to regularly. I have a tiny yard in a gated community with manicured lawns and not many surprises or changes (especially since the weather doesn’t vary too much in South Florida). At times I just don’t know what to paint. At least the sky is always different and new–and your skies are fantastic in all your paintings. Thank you for the peaceful pace of your videos and blog and the soothing loveliness of your paintings.
Thank you so much, Betty! I really appreciate you being a part of this small community. 🙂
Currently I use Saunders Waterford Hot Pressed paper, and sometimes Arches or Fabriano Hot Pressed. These are all rather expensive since they’re cotton papers, but I find my sketches turn out better and I try to buy them in large sheets which is a bit cheaper. And for sketchbooks I often use the thinner variety (190gsm).
I definitely know how difficult it can be to choose what to bring and what to focus on – at one time I had four different kits and never knew which one to bring. Maybe you can put together a small-ish palette that will allow you to do small sketches but also landscapes when you feel like it? I only found out what I want to bring by repeatedly going out and sitting down to sketch.
Skies are a fantastic subject, I like to paint them very quickly and loosely after overdoing them for a very long time.
I also think it’s ok to find out that you don’t have the right tools with you and then taking a few good photos and finish at home. I hope you’ll find a mode of sketching that suits you! 🙂
Thank you Julia! Good thoughts. I have always used cold press paper, but have a tiny, passport sized hot press journal that I am really enjoying. I might venture to try more hot press paper!!
Yes, definitely give it a try and see what works for you – this is so different for every artist! I find HP paper better for details, but it can sometimes be a bit harder to get smooth washes.
I enjoy your posts and sketchbooks. I like the variety of subjects your display. I’m going to try to use your sketchbooks ideas in mine.
Thank you Sally, great that you can use some of my ideas. Happy sketching!
Julia,
Thank you for your posts! I am so happy to have them in my email as they provide a positive distraction from my work duties. It is always very interesting to read about the way you consider nature and items you choose to sketch, also about what one should do/not do when working on sketches.
Wish you good health and happy holidays! I don’t know whether you have much snow where you live in Germany, but I believe towns and villages decorated for Christmas must render some tempting scenes to be put on postcards 🙂
Thank you Linda! What I find great about sketchbooks is that they can be a place for experiments – not everything works, but that’s okay too.
Right now we have enough snow in some corners of Germany to make them postcard-worthy, where I live it’s just very frosty and the snow looks like a thin layer of icing sugar. 🙂
I really loved the sketches on this sketchbook. I am inspired !
Thank you Susan! <3
Preciosos trabajos Julia! Recupérate y Felices Fiestas.
<3 Thank you dear Marta and Happy Holidays to you too!
Hello Julia, thank you so much for your blogs and videos. I find them such an encouragement! I have only started my new sketching hobby this year in my first year of retirement and find your comments inspire me to keep trying even though I am such an amateur. I love to sit in my small garden and just sketch and paint some of the flowers and leaves I see. I am still working on trying to get the proportions right and also getting the watercolours to reflect the colours of the subject. I also find your Sketching Fundamentals lessons on Gumroad helpful. I hope you are back to full health and strength soon and wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Jennifer Australia.
Hey Jennifer, thank you for sharing this! How wonderful that you are exploring sketching now that you have the time. Just keep drawing, you will become better over time. I find that the joy of exploring nature helps a lot with motivation and staying active! Stay healthy and Happy Holidays to you too.