I’m back from my summer break, and I’ve brought new sketchbook outtakes with me. I haven’t shared what I’ve been up to in my sketchbook for a while, so I thought this would be a nice opener.
Over the last weeks I’ve spent time on personal projects like getting better at plein air landscape painting (I’m making slow progress), and trying to find nice secluded hiking trails without many people – currently the infection numbers in Germany are rising again, so we’re very cautious when we go out. Overall, what I’ve enjoyed most were trails along small creeks, winding up and down the hills, and mostly in shadow – it’s very hot here right now.
I’ve been nature journaling a bit on the side, though mostly on the form of recapping my hikes through sketching afterwards. Hiking and sketching at the same time is always a challenge, especially when you don’t want to make other people wait. And I guess my first priority was enjoying nature, getting a break from everything that’s going on, plus getting fit again – we hadn’t been outside on a tour since March, so this was much needed. Very often on these hikes I take only a few notes or make small gestural sketches, then take some reference photos, and finish the rest at home when the memory is still vivid. When you still have plenty of miles ahead of you (or want to pick berries, or put your feet into cold creeks) that’s often the most practical solution – although my partner often brings a book with him just in case I want to sketch for a longer time while we’re outside. I wonder: how do others solve this? Do you go out journaling by yourself, or with other sketchers, or do you have tolerant hiking partners? Let me know in the comments.
Here are some of the nature journal pages that I’ve done during and after my hikes. Sometimes I do a landscape painting instead of journaling, I will share more about that soon. I hope you’ll enjoy this sketchbook tour!
Here’s a video of this sketchbook tour:
If you can’t see the video above, watch it here: Nature Journal Sketchbook Tour (July 2020)
I still like the landscape format for my nature journal a lot, so I made another one in A5 size. Although it’s not as flexible as the portrait format, I enjoy the possibility to do panoramic views from time to time. Maybe this coincides with my recent interest in landscape painting?
As you can see, I don’t always add color to every part of every sketch, like in the butterfly or some of the plant parts. It’s fine to leave things unfinished if you have made the statement that you wanted: I know what the other half of the butterfly looks like, and I know that the beetle sits on a white composite flower. Leaving things out brings focus to your subject.
One of the highlights for me this summer was a pond where we observed a kingfisher for over 10 minutes (perching and hunting small fish). There were also several species of dragonflies – if you sit very still for a while, they come closer. One sat down on my arm.
Sometimes all I have time (and energy) for are loose sketches and more notes – in this case I learned what kind of rock formed the cliffs we climbed over (undersea volcanic diabase), I got a quick look at a rather large dragonfly, and observed how bees enter a flower from the front and exit on the side. I wonder if this makes a difference for pollination.
Another interesting find was a dead hornet at the side of the road, and a slowworm (they’re lizards without feet, not snakes) taking a sunbath in the middle or the trail.
You can actually see how painting landscapes has seeped into my journal pages, and I will show my dedicated landscape sketches soon. On this hike, I got to know a new plant species, observed a red admiral (these guys love thistles) and we visited a Romanic abbey at the end. I sketched a small architectural detail as well, although this sketchbook is mainly about nature I find these observations fit in as well.
I’ve enjoyed making these records of my local hiking adventures, even if they are not particularly breath-taking or out of the ordinary locations. I actually love the diversity of the local countryside, and whenever we cross the border to Lower Saxony (where I grew up) I feel right at home.
When I look back at my sketchbooks, I find I treasure these memories of familiar looking places in the woods a lot, especially since they are disappearing bit by bit due to the dry summers. And there are still a lot of interesting nature finds if you look closely – there’s always something to observe and learn right where you are. In a way, I even prefer these locations to exotic places abroad, where I’m often too stressed to really enjoy my surroundings. Sketching helps to lock these places in my memory, I find that whenever I leaf through my journals, I have very vivid memories of these days in nature.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this sketchbook tour. What have you been sketching recently?
Hi Julia, I´ve missed your posts! But it was worth it, your outtakes are gorgeous! Thank you for sharing. I agree that travels to far away places are just not the thing right now and Germany has so much to offer, in nature and culture. We are discovering a lot of small things at the moment, too and this helps to cope with the dangers of the virus.
All the best for you!
Christine
Thank you Christine! We are doing the same thing, and I’m honestly surprised that there are so many beautiful hiking trails right on my doorstep. I agree that this helps a lot to stay sane. All the best for you too!
Thank you for sharing your lovely sketchbook….such a beautiful diversity of things – I really like the combination of coloured and not-coloured portions, the contrast is really striking.
It’s been a dismally hot and humid summer here — not my best weather at all — so all sketchbook work has been done indoors and from reference photos…which is fine as I’m still bumbling and clumsy and the horror of someone spotting me and asking what I’m doing is very real! So I’m happy to keep learning and practicing at home. 🙂
Thank you Melanie! I can totally relate to that strange feeling you get when someone asks you what you’re doing when you’re sketching – I still get it sometimes, and definitely get it when I’m painting outside with an easel and people want to take a look. Probably a practice thing. 🙂
I love reading your blogs. We also look for the less-traveled paths now—carrying a mask if we see people—my partner (58 years married) has learned a lot of patience over the years but I don’t usually draw while we walk. When I see an interesting plant I look at it very intently, take a picture, and put it into my journal when we get home. And yes—they do make great memories!
That’s a good strategy, I also do that a lot! And I’ve started to describe things aloud so that I don’t forget important details. It seems to work. 😉
Hi Julia, I loved looking through your July sketchbook. Its really HOT here in California, USA too. I have a girlfriend who shares my love of sketchbooking. We go to the mountains as often as we can and look for trails with few people as possible and sit and sketch. Sometimes overlooking a meadow or forest area. Otherwise, I go to our local park or my own back yard to nature sketch. I am getting ready to take your journal-making class so I can have some homemade journals with a variety of paper.
Cindy
Oh I can imagine you have even higher temperatures over there in California. My place is about the same latitude as Southern Canada, we’re not really accustomed to a lot of heat. It’s so great that you have a friend you can sketch with! I hope you’ll enjoy the journal-making class. 🙂
Hi Julia,
Thanks for this post, these are very inserting and inspiring drawings. I struggle with painting when I am out with my family too (husband and two sons) so I also just take notes, pictures, and maybe some gestural sketches. Thankfully I have time to go for walks on my own too and then I can sketch a little bit more. I live in Alberta, Canada, and also this summer we are just enjoying and discovering nature around us, which is plentiful.
Thank you Berta for sharing. It seems like a lot of us have the same problem, so I find this method of giving full attention to nature and family, and then later getting creative a great workaround!
Hi Julia,
You did a lot of sketching on your hikes.
Me and my family were on holidays in the Black forrest and made some hikes to.
We saw a lot of beautiful things and places.
But I am not able to sketch right away during the hikes. With my kids and the dog beside me, there’s not enough calm to concentrate on sketching. But I do take a lot of photos and sketch or paint afterwards at home.
I’m looking forward to that moment.
Angela
Thank you Angela! The black forest is a place I want to visit too some day. 🙂
I did just a few of these sketches outside, I filled in the rest at home. Like you, I find there’s not enough time when I’m hiking. But it’s always a beautiful activity afterwards to recap what I saw!
Hi, Julia! I love hiking as well. For me it’s connecting with nature and feeling part of it. I am from the Netherlands, hiking here during the weeks. I was in Austria for two weeks and I will be in the surroundings of Fulda at the end of September.
My husband has always been very patient while I was examining a flower or a bee or something else. Recently he developed an interest for fotography. That works great for both of us.
Thank you so much for sharing your journaling with us!
Alexandra
Hi Alexandra,
the Netherlands are a really beautiful country. Yes, it’s all about the connection for me too. Great that you have such a patient husband, and how cool he spends your nature observation time with making photos!