The next day, it was sunny and warm, so I caught the cabbage white butterfly, which had spent the night in my kitchen, and released it onto the forget-me-nots in my front garden. In my new nature journal, I recorded this in watercolour and coloured pencils. Today, I was out in the rain to biologically treat my containers against vine weevils, so I put it in my nature journal. Do you nature journal? Leave a link in a comment and I'll check it out.
![]() For Earthday2018, an urbansketcher friend posted an invitation, a nature challenge #sowinghopefornature, which included starting a nature journal. (Read the post here). I've been having a muse-free year and think this is the incentive I need - I'm even blogging again. First, I got out a new Seawhite of Brighton A5 Artists Travel Journal Sketchbook and attacked it with a stencil that was left over from a workshop, thereby commiting myself to the task. Then, my furry assistant and I headed into the garden - it was a glorious sunny day - and started my first spread and, as last year, I celebrated Earthday with a watercolour. On 8th April, I sowed a corner of my garden with wildflower seeds, cornfield annuals, plus a plug of Digitalis and one of Knautia Arvensis. They were last year's seeds, but they are starting to grow 🌱 In front, is a willow fence is to stop my lovely assistant digging them up. Below are photos of this first spread. I had several ideas for a second spread, yay I have a muse, but when driving to visit my mum there was a hitchhiker, a cabbage white butterfly, on my dashboard and then windscreen. (I pulled over, parking, and turning the engine off three times to take photos and to try to let it out). Therefore, my second spread had to be of the hitchhiker. I don't like handlettering, so am going through a trial and error period whilst I find a style that's both fast and neat. Here's the hitchhiker... and a bad photo of the spread. Today, I managed to get the butterfly out of my car, fed it a little sugar water, and it is currently on my begonia in the kitchen as it's too cold to put it outside.
Unfortunately, due to my teaching commitments, I didn't have the time to add anything to the journal, I will do soon, but am not putting any pressure on myself to do X per day, week, or month. Please check back here soon. |
About me
I am a nomadic artist travelling the world for inspiration. Here, I publish my sketchbook work alongside my new finished pieces. Tags
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