The Prairie is Blooming

White Wild Indigo
Baptisia Lactea

                                                        

 On my morning bicycle ride, I circled Big Woods Lake. The trail took me through the 10 acre Rotary Prairie Reserve. The Wild White Indigo was the most showy plant in bloom. This one stood about 2-1/2 feet tall. Mosquitos (the summer scourge for plein air sketchers in Iowa) haven't arrived, but the gnats have. I found a spot with enough breeze to keep them off me to set up my folding stool. 

 Iowa, in the middle of the United States, is part of the Great Plains. Before it was tilled and became some of the planet's most fertile cropland, it was prairie. I have lived much of my adult life in the Great Plains and have come to love and appreciate the delicate beauty of the prairie. Only patches of it have been preserved and restored. This prairie is a joint project with the Rotary Club, The University of Northern Iowa, and the Black Hawk County Conservation Board.

I love this plot of land. It gives me a sense of peace and calm each time I come. Watercolor and ink on 140lb hot press. May 22, 2012. Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Eucalyptus~ botanical-ish page

Jane LaFazio here. I had great fun creating this page of Eucalyptus leucoxylon 'rosea' (White Ironbark). I snipped some of the blooms, pods and leaves and brought them to my studio to draw and watercolor. The tree itself was covered in bees and I didn't want to risk my life to draw on location.
    

 
As I drew and painted each part realistically, I also took time to create a more graphic impression of the design on the page. I'll use those designs in my other artwork..(like I show in the 4th chapter of my DVD/download "From art journaling to art.")
I'm also working larger than I usually do, this is a 9x12 journal.

Red Maple, and testing my new pen

©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, 6/27/11 Nature Sketching (Red Maple). Noodler's Bulletproof Black ink in large watercolor moleskine.

Normally I go outside later in the day, but it was so beautiful out and the weather hasn't been the greatest lately so I took the opportunity to get out earlier in the morning. It has either been rainy or oppressively muggy, so a nice sunny, non-windy day is a welcome change. I also wanted to test my new Noodler's Flex Nib pen and see how I liked it on location for nature sketching (the main reason why I bought this pen).

I sketched this large maple tree, trying to get a sense of the texture of the bark. I am pretty sure this is a red maple (acer rubrum), although I can't claim to be an expert on tree identification. I already know a number of maple trees by sight so I figure this is a good place to start though.

The pen was great but the ink was very slow to dry and also not so waterproof in my watercolor moleskine. I waited about fifteen minutes to make sure the ink was really dry and I painted the watercolor wash indoors.

Golf Game - Pam Johnson Brickell

Golf Game at Hilton Head National, a photo by PJBee on Flickr.

Now this is the only way for me to play golf.... well, my preferred way :) I sit in the cart and sketch my way around the course!

Merry Christmas & a Blessed and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas & a Blessed and Happy New Year!
Originally uploaded by PJBee

To all my friends at Sketching in Nature. This wish is for you!

Dahoon Holly Sprig - Pam Johnson Brickell

Dahoon Holly Sprig
Originally uploaded by PJBee

I love this time of year when the Holly trees sport their fruit. I discovered this variety of Ilex right outside my door, after I read Elizabeth Smith's Dahoon post.

The pen illustration with watercolor shadows of the sprig was done as a demo for my last workshop at Coastal Art Supply.  I used Canson Edition paper. It's become a favorite of mine.

I let the illustration hang around in my studio for a couple of weeks. I like the meditative process of finishing a page. I find, after a fashion, a line of communication opens between me and the initial sketch. Last Sunday, I laid in the watercolor on the leaves and berries. Monday, I played with the lettering for Dahoon on a tracing paper overlay. I used watercolor pencils for the calligraphy. Yesterday the final piece of the design puzzle came into place..... I added information about the tree and treated it as a border. Done!

The joy of discovery is captured forever in my heart :)

May Day 2010 - Pam Johnson Brickell

May Day 2010
Originally uploaded by PJBee

A lovely day in the low country. I spied these blue-flag iris and had to stop and sketch them. The surprise was finding mock strawberries at my feet :) They were quite a good size and it puzzled me at the wild strawberries I'm used to were teeny.

My wildflower guide cleared up the mystery. These plants were actually introduced from India and are not part of the strawberry family. It goes onto say that the fruits appear edible but are actually flat and tasteless. I'm glad I didn't try one. I would have been really bummed.

I painted the flowers plein air then added the calligraphy at home.

Windmill Palm - Pam Johnson Brickell

Windmill Palm
Originally uploaded by PJBee

Sketched this pretty little tree at a friends house. It was loaded with fruit.

Weeds, Leaves, Twigs and such - Carolyn Pappas

I would love to spend a few hours outside drawing now that it is light longer into the evening, but it is still a little too chilly out to spend longer than about a half hour at a time. Or, maybe I just have a very low tolerance for the wind. These days we are in the process of cleaning up outside and getting things ready for the garden. Here are some sketches I made of some small details while sitting out in the yard.

Maple seeds - Elizabeth Smith

Maple seeds, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Here in Florida, spring seems to come early. Samaras are growing on the red maples – those wonderful little pairs of seed and wing that delight the child in us! Some people call them helicopters, and some call them keys; I’m sure there are many other names in different parts of the world for this type of interesting seed dispersing device.

Amazing what can be found on the internet…I didn’t know maple seeds were edible for one!
**Disclaimer: one should ALWAYS confirm edibility and then positively identify the plant or tree before eating.  Even when sure that it is edible (speaking as one with allergies), try only a small amount and wait to see how you will react.**

Samara definition

How to eat maple seeds

NASA’s make a maple seed "helicopter" page

You can click on the image above to view it larger on my Flickr photostream.

~ Elizabeth Smith, Naples, FL, USA

Snow! In the Low Country!! - Pam Johnson Brickell

Last evening at 9 p.m. I check what was happening outside - still raining. At 11, when I took the dogs out for their last call, we had 2" of snow!!! They were most dismayed....... thought we left this weather in NY :) This morning, after my walk to photograph the remains of snow, I sat in my warm kitchen and recorded this day in my journal. The snow was gone by 1 p.m. - My kind of snow storm :)

Spring Signs Chasing Away Blahs - Pam Johnson Brickell

Spring Signs Chasing Away Blahs
Originally uploaded by PJBee

Did you ever look forward to waiting? I've been doing this all week. Today (Friday) is the day I knew I'd be spending 45 minutes at the car dealer, getting my car's oil changed and all week I've been seeing spring signs that needed to be recorded :)

At last, time to journal :)

Crepe Myrtle seed capsules - Elizabeth Smith

Crepe Myrtle seed capsules, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

I enjoyed drawing these seed capsules, found on a recent walk. They turned out to be the perfect subject for my new Sakura Pigma sepia pens, a Christmas gift!

You can click on the image above to view it larger on my Flickr photostream.

~ Elizabeth Smith, Naples, FL USA

Bald Cypress - Pam Johnson Brickell

Last Saturday, I took time out to capture the Bald Cypress in our back yard. These wonderfully lacy trees are a favorite of mine. In the fall, their green leaves turn russet closest to the trunks while the ends of the branches struggle to remain green.

I used both Derwent watercolor and metallic pencils along with brown Micron pens. The yellow metallic #86 was the perfect color for the yellow green leaves. Other metallic colors used: copper #86 and antique gold #33. Watercolor pencils used: Copper Beach #61, Golden Brown #59, Deep Vermilion #14, Orange Chroma #10, Grass Green #10 and Prussian Blue #35. And a titch of General's Sketch & wash pencil on the trunk.

Dead Squirrel in the Park

We came to the park to find a whole bunch of little friends already engaged in some sort of treasure game. One of them came to tell me that there is a "special treasure over there - squirrel sleeping". Since I never saw squirrel sleeping, I decided to check it out and found this poor body. It looked very healthy - with shiny fur and laying in a lovely relaxed pose.

The Last Persimmon -- Watercolor: Judy Butler

Fall is upon us. The nights have turned cold with the first frost only days a way. The leaves are begining to fall and the persistent breeze shifts the leaves into swirling piles all over the yard. In the far back end of the yard are two very fickle persimmon trees, some years bearing fruit and others not a peep. This year there were a few lovely bright orange fruit that ripened just in time for the orange theme of Halloween. The Persimmon tree's leaves just shrivel up and do not turn bright colors. The hanging orange bobbles shine bright against the dark burnt umber green of their leaves.

Lewis went out and picked the LAST PERSIMMON thinking I might like to draw it. I thought that was a fine idea. I did this quick sketch trying to capture the shriveled leaves and the bright color of the fruit.

Shine On Harvest Moon - Pam Johnson Brickell

Spent a lovely evening enjoying our friends and the Harvest Moon, at their home on the May River, Bluffton, South Carolina.

Cattleya Orchid - Elizabeth Smith

Cattleya Orchid, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

A gift from a friend many years ago, this Cattleya orchid has somehow survived my care. My guess is that southern Florida’s climate is similar to that of South America, it’s probable origin. Cattleya orchids were “the” orchid that started the orchid excitement in the 19th century. You can read a bit of history about it here.

Cattleyas have been bred and hybridized for over a century, with all types of colors and color combinations. Although these orchids have gone a bit out of favor, I love this particular one because it reminds me of my friend.

You can click on the top image to view larger on my Flickr photostream.

~Elizabeth Smith, Southwest Florida, USA

Fogfruit - Elizabeth Smith

Fogfruit, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Fogfruit Phyla nodiflora
Verbena family

I saw this along the bike path, growing in among the Spanish needles. This is the spot where I saw so many White Peacock butterflies, and later I learned that this plant is the larval food for its caterpillars. I wonder if they were laying eggs that day? Butterfly eggs are so tiny that I may have to wait until the caterpillars hatch and grow up a bit before I can find them.

I also found out that this plant has spread into many countries throughout the world, and has a lot of different common names. I think my favorite so far has to be “Turkey Tanglefoot.” I can just imagine tangled mats of this low-growing ground cover along the sunny edges of trees, ready to snare an unsuspecting bird!

Clicking on the above image will take you to my Flickr photostream.

~ Elizabeth Smith, Naples, FL USA

Wild grape - Elizabeth Smith

Wild grape, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

A signal of summer's end, ripening fruit. It's hard to find signs of the changing seasons here in Florida, especially when the weather stays so hot through September. But... the mornings are a little darker, early temperatures a bit cooler, yellows and lavenders are the wildflower colors that dominate. Berries and fruits are maturing, and I have no doubt that the acorns are swelling as well!
Click on the image to see it larger on my Flickr photostream.
~ Elizabeth Smith, Naples, FL, USA