Sketching at Poet's Seat Tower

©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, 4/29/2012 outdoor sketching (Poet's Seat Panorama). Colored Pencil in large handbook sketchbook.

I did some sketching at Poet's Seat Tower (see this link to my blog for a photo and more info) yesterday using colored pencils. This is the highest point above the city of Greenfield so it offers a spectacular view (but lots of wind).

This is another experiment with sketching in color. I had a limited variety of colored pencils with me, which I selected because they were "natureish" colors. They were a good mix, although I will add a darker green for next time.

Birdwatching at the Orchard

©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, Greenfield as seen from Colrain. Pen in large handbook journal.

My husband took me to a nearby apple orchard to do some nature sketching the other day. The orchard sits upon a high hill which has a 180° view of the mountains surrounding Greenfield, MA. It's too bad that I didn't have my colored pencils or watercolors with me because they would have been great for this scene. All I had in my purse were some pens, which are my favorite sketching tool, but it felt a bit awkward for drawing all these trees.

When we were sitting in the car sketching, we noticed three or four bluebirds on the nearby apple trees. I was amazed because bluebirds are very rare. Then, the bluebirds started acting crazy and they all scattered when a giant hawk swooped down right near us. The hawk was being attacked by two crows, which chased the it all the way down into the valley. The hawk must have been threatening the crow's nest or something along those lines. This happened too quick for me to make a sketch or even take a photo, but it was exciting to watch.

My husband snapped a photo of me in the car sketching, looking very serious with my coffee!

Feeding the Green River

©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, Feeding the Green River. Pen and watercolor wash, 13.5 x 10 cm.

This is not a nature sketch, but I thought you would all like to see it anyway, so I'm posting it here. I would have loved to sketch this on location if possible, but it was situated right on the edge of a steep dirt road next to a winding river. I did this from a photo I snapped after Hurricane Irene, when the river and streams were especially high.

I sent this small piece along to Norway, for the Twitter Art Exhibit which is raising money for charity. It is worth checking out.

Mother Nature At Work

©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, 10-9-11 (Covered Bridge). Pen and ink in large handbook sketchbook.

Although I didn't have much to talk about after Hurricane Irene, I did get out to Greenfield, MA the next week and take some photos of the damage there. I was a bit rushed, however, and didn't get a chance to sketch anything until this past weekend. The whole area looks pretty much the same as it did then, although they did have earth moving equipment bringing in rocks to try to repair the riverbank. It's too bad that they are going to have to tear down the covered bridge.

The next day I went a few miles upriver and made another sketch. Here, the river looks more like it did before, except that it is wider now in most places. Sections of road were washed out and there is still some debris from a house that was carried off its foundation.


©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, 10-10-11 (Green River). Pen and ink in large handbook sketchbook.