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Why I Love Nature Journaling With Watercolors

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There are lots of ways to keep a nature journal, some prefer pencil only while others like using colored pencils or ink. I keep coming back to watercolors. This might be because I’ve been painting in watercolor for a few years now, but even apart from that I find that it is a wonderfully versatile and expressive medium that work very well for nature journaling outside.

Watercolor – Portable & Lightweight

Watercolor might be the most classic medium for sketchbook painting. It definitely was the first truly portable medium for artists that enabled them to work in the field without bringing along big easels, tubes of paint, and big canvasses. The only thing you need for watercolor painting is a small paintbox, a brush and a sketchbook – watercolor can be a very lightweight and spontaneous technique.

Watercolor Has Many Options

I love watercolor because it has so many options. You can create very expressive and quick sketches with it, but it can also be used for precise paintings, whatever your style is and whatever you prefer. I’m always amazed by the multitude of different styles that I see from different watercolor artists.
The paint itself has an easy concept: pigments mixed with water-solvable binding agents that will activate when water is added. Different pigments react differently, some are intense and good for mixing (like the Phthalo pigments), some are more natural and subdued (like many earth pigments), and you can get a wide range of mixed colors by combining these pigments.

A Great Tool For Sketching Outside

Watercolor is great for sketching in nature, because with a few simple brushstrokes you can document what you see outside. This means you have a great tool to make your nature journal more visually compelling. Color will add another layer of information, and it will help you remember what you saw better, because before you start adding color you will usually study your subject intensely. And by doing this over and over you will become a watercolor expert over time and better your painting skills.

Mastering The Basics

Watercolor is quickly associated with hobbyist painting, but you actually need to learn a few key techniques before you can use it effectively in your sketchbook. Very often watercolor has its own mind, and it does what it wants on paper. Since correcting the paint is difficult once it is on paper, this is usually the most frustrating stage for beginners.
Your watercolor style can be loose or precise, whatever you prefer. That is the beauty and versatility of this medium. With a few basic techniques under your belt, you will master it in no time. As long as you keep practicing, you will see results.

For me, watercolor goes hand in hand with nature journaling, and I couldn’t imagine doing it without my small watercolor field kit. I also like exploring other techniques to combine it with, but I always keep coming back to watercolor, and I find I can constantly learn new things about it.

What technique do you like to use for nature journaling or in your sketchbook?
Do you have any specific questions about watercolor? Is there something you’d like to learn about the basics? Please let me know!

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14 thoughts on “Why I Love Nature Journaling With Watercolors”

  1. Hello, thank you for this post! I really enjoyed it. What is the least amount of colors that one can get away with for nature journaling if only a limited palette is accessible and what colors would you recommend for such a limited palette?

    1. There are artists who work with a very limited palette – just primary colors (yellow, cyan and magenta). I find mixing with these very basic palettes a bit limiting, especially when you sketch outside it’s great to have at least a green and some earth tones ready to go – often your subjects will disappear before you can mix all the colors you need.
      I’d say having a cool and a warm version of each primary color is good, then a green and one or two earth tones. More if you feel the need for a specific color. You can get a lot of colors by mixing!
      I have quite a lot of colors in my field kit because I like to test new paints, but it’s still very small and portable. Here’s my palette – you could easily adapt this for a more limited approach:
      https://juliabausenhardt.com/my-current-watercolor-field-kit-tips-for-choosing-a-palette/

  2. I just signed up for your newsletter today, after viewing your excellent class on Sketchbook Revival. I want to say that it has been my favorite and most useful class in the second series of SR.

    I was happy to see that you have several Skillshare classes available, which I will be checking out immediately. Thank you!

  3. Hi Julia,

    Just found your website and purchased my first class. You are offering exactly what I was looking for and am delighted. You are a wonderful teacher as well.

    Thank you so much for your work bringing such focus to our exquisitely beautiful Natural Worlds, much needed in our modern tech-heavy culture.

    Would love your opinion on what brand of Sketchbooks are the best for watercolors (less bleed through). I am in the US.

    1. Hi Julianne,
      thank you so much, I hope you’ll enjoy the course!
      I usually make my own sketchbooks so I have full control over the paper, so I can’t recommend one “best” brand. But I know some sketchers like the Strathmore 400 watercolor sketchbooks, or the heavier Stillman & Birn sketchbooks. There are also nice readymade watercolor sketchbooks by Hahnemühle. If you want to sketch on cotton paper then there’s not a lot of choice – Pentalic used to have one I believe.

  4. Thank you, Julia, for your quick and helpful reply. I will check into your recommendations. I have tried using DS Watercolor Ground, but the moisture in it also wrinkles the page because of its moisture bleed-though as well. A warm iron only reduces them slightly.

    Also wanted to comment on your Mijello Gouache palette. I have the same in blue, and it is one of my very favorites as well. I have been able to greatly reduce the ‘paint pooling’ issue (on it and all my other plastic packets) by simply taking a toothbrush with toothpaste on it and scrubbing the mixing areas. This takes away some of the slippery, shiny surface which has helped immensely.

    1. I’m not familiar with the watercolor ground, is it a kind of primer? Usually if you use watercolor paper, you shouldn’t need it. If you choose paper that’s thick enough (300 gsm/140lbs) there shouldn’t be so much warping because the paper can take a good amount of water. Some sketchbooks have slightly thinner paper that works okay if you don’t attack it with lots of wet in wet washes.

      And thanks for the palette trick! I will definitely try that out. 🙂

  5. Yes, ‘Watercolor Ground’ is a primer made by Daniel Smith for the purpose of preparing any surface to accept watercolor paints. Can even be used to paint on rocks, etc.

    I have a amassed a plethora of Sketchbooks that are 140 lb. or less and was looking for a way to diminish the warping issues. Even though it is a very thick paste, it still contains some water to make it spreadable, which causes some buckling on thinner paper surfaces. I have even tried it on copy machine paper (cartridge) as a test, and with some stretching and a warm iron it works amazingly well. Comes in colors and transparent too. Not expensive.

    BTW, thank you for your very honest and deeply perceptive thoughts expressed in your videos about the Social Media ‘controllers’. You are spot on.

    1. Thank you Julianne, that primer sounds really interesting, maybe I’ll stumble over it one day. Great to hear it works so well for you on all kinds of surfaces.
      And thank you for your feedback on the social media videos!

  6. PS: Your watercolor pages are absolutely delightful! I am currently struggling with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms and watching the love you paint with in your watercolour sketches is bringing such joy, which is so lifting to the Spirit. ‍♀️

    1. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I have a friend with CFS and I’ve heard from them how hard this condition can be. I hope you will get better soon, and it’s good to hear my videos can help even a tiny bit.

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