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 Twisted Aspen Trees in Spring Just a pair of pages from my very small field sketch journal (3 x 4″ aprox) that I can tuck into a tiny ‘purse’ with a miniature sharpie marker, waterbrush and one black water soluble pencil (Derwent’s Inktense Ink Black). Here I just wrote some words and did a small sketch with the marker, while sitting on a pile of logs and wearing mittens mind you! I know it seems out of place, this painting of snow when it’s Spring (at least it’s trying to be spring!) but I found I had never posted this and would hate to have it forgotten! So here’s a short post about a cold, snowy walk in January! If you click it you’ll see prints of it in many sizes.  "Field at Long Lane Farm" watercolor I did this little 7 x 7″ painting in my journal while standing in the lane that goes out to the fields on my farm. I love the subtle colors of winter, the red tipped bushes and the cool blues in the snow. On a good sunny day you can have to most intensely blue colored skies and high contrast clouds. Not that you’ll ever hear your weather man call them that! “today there’s a chance of high contrast clouds with rain” hahaha.  Seed heads along the walk Here are some notes I wrote as I paused to look at some dead seed heads.  Watercolor pan, brush and waterbottle And this shows you what I used, not a waterbrush but a ‘proper’ watercolor brush, just used the one and a plastic bottle for water. In the winter you can’t use the waterbrushes that are so popular as the water tends to freeze as you paint on the paper. Hope you enjoyed the late posting…I hope we can all say goodbye to winter weather soon! Here’s some prints and note cards of this little watercolor in my shop:  Snow Filled Field winter landscape by MaryMcandrew Become a part of Zazzle’s artist affiliate program
April 14, 2011 (if viewing this in an email subscription, please go to the website to see the video clip and pictures better)  Clouds Over Fox Lane Above, this is the first view Ginger and I got when we started out on our walk; clouds, gorgeous clouds stretching as far as the eye could see! I love the way the old pasture fence looks here along “Fox Lane”.  “Wind in the Willows” I’ll show you right away what I ended up sketching after we walked all the way out on the property. (At the end of my post I have links to note cards and gifts using this image!) I had a page in my journal with the first verse of the song from “The Wind in the Willows”, the popular children’s tv show, written in permanent ink. I knew eventually I’d do some kind of painting over it of trees. I just love the song from this show, I posted a link below so you could have a listen too! Theme Song from “Wind in the Willows”  My Watercolor Crayons + Waterbrush To explain a little how I did the sketch, as I stood in about 8″ of water on a particularly wet path, I held my sketch journal and balanced the little box of crayons on it. I have taken all my water soluble crayons and cut them in half so I could carry more in a smaller space and less weight! I put it on a peice of paper towel to protect a little watercolor I’ve got on that page, and I put a piece of paper towel (Viva) next to the box for wiping my brush on. I used one flat water brush, a favorite of mine when I want to do very quick washes and scrubbing. This particular brand releases water quite fast, at first I didn’t like that but now it’s also why I DO use it! First thing I did was to scribble with white crayola wax crayon where I wanted to show white clouds. It doesn’t really show up until you color around it, but if you tip your paper a tiny bit you can see it. Then I colored very quickly with two different blue water soluble crayons all around; I found that I could shade right over the white wax and it didn’t really disturb it, cool! Then very quick scrubbing with the waterbrush to wet and move the color around. I grabbed the paper towel and sometimes blotted off the white cloud and it helped soften the look. Using the grey crayon ‘under’ each cloud really helped to pull them out and make them look real. The trees were drawn on with a brown wc crayon from Derwent, using the hard edge to make branches. It works really great on damp paper, the lines are very vivid. I must say, it’s the scribbley look of the painting that I like so much! I could go back and soften the bottom of the moon, but it was a field sketch and I think I’ll just leave it as is. It was hard to get the look in such a tiny thing while hand holding my journal.  View I painted from while standing in water! This is a photo from the spot I was standing, can you see the tiny moon in the middle?  A close up of the moon Sometimes when you’re outside in the middle of the day, if you look for it you’ll see the moon amongst the clouds. I always think it’s a nice surprise.  Ginger all wet! Yes, Miss Ginger is wet but doesn’t mind. This is the lane I stood in to do my sketch.  An old nest left from last year I spotted some old nests as I walked, this one was out near “The North Pole”, the furthest part of my land. It’s amazing how many nests are at our eye level but we don’t see them when the bushes are in full leaf.  Clouds in Spring Over the Lane I’ll leave you with one more pretty picture. I just love the colors in this, the blues contrasting with the golden colors of the dried grasses, the reds in the tips of the bushes and trees and the purpley colors under the clouds. I hope you enjoyed our walk again out on “Long Lane Farm” at Springtime. Please enjoy the pictures links shown below, they go to prints, note cards, tee shirts and a magnet using my “Wind in the Willows” field sketch painting, in my shop. I can’t wait to order a tee shirt for myself!   
 Visit my SHOP to see many beautiful note cards with photos of the new Spring flowers, bees, landscapes etc!
(if you are viewing this from your email subscription, please visit my blog on the actual website to see the video and links properly) Today I went for a walk with Ginger. We ventured forth out into the wet lanes and fields, the mud sucking at our feet, water swirling as we waded. Not all my land is wet mind you, but this time of year it certainly is in some areas. I start my post off today with my drawings of the little snail I met while out walking, because I knew you’d be curious to see him.  Little Golden Snail Sketches I did these studies actually back at my studio while looking at him under a magnifying glass. I did some while in the field (you’ll see below) but it was so small it was hard to really get a good look at him while I sat on a log! So he came home for a visit. I first lightly sketched him with pencil then drew with a permanent ink pen and then watercolor on that. After I drew the swirly curly border I drew over it with one watercolor pencil then just dragged a wet waterbrush over all of it to soften it and make the color bleed out a bit. Now back to our walk.  Secret Circle Lane This is “Secret Circle Lane”, as wet as it always is in springtime; (click it for high res. view in my shop) how pretty reflecting the sky like that! Ginger and I crept quietly along through this water because I heard an interesting call from some kind of frog along with the zillions of peepers that were singing. Here’s a short video clip I shot while standing in the water, just to let you hear the sound of the Peepers calling.  my boots Ah yes, the trusty boots! Can’t go anywhere without these mud boots or “Wellies”. Well these boots weren’t made for “walkin” they were made for “sloshin”!! I did see some interesting little critters in the water before our feet disturbed it, some snails and a few water beetles.  me Oh, and there’s me…had to show you my favorite hat of all time and my Dad’s hunting coat! The hat I bought in England at a farm supply shop, where they sell the expensive horsey equipment and clothes. Well it WAS expensive too, BUT well worth ever penny! It’s waterproof, lined for warmth, has a flap that drops down over your ears and makes it fit your head like a helmet and has an elastic cord that goes under your chin for high winds. When the wind blew hard on the high hills of Northumberland, my wonderful hat stayed put!! The other nifty thing is it has a little button on the brim you click and you get two settings of led lights! High power beams!! I’m telling you we’ve used it to find our way on paths past dusk and it’s great for visiting old castle ruins because you can point your beam into dark places that you wouldn’t have seen before. I should get paid money to promote this hat! And the wonderful old Woolrich hunting coat my dad gave me so I love it. He used to put it on when going out hunting, I still remember seeing him in the kitchen with the pants on with bright red suspenders and laughing playing like he was Santa! It is covered with pockets and has a special pocket at the back for carrying your ‘game’ home in. I have been known to carry sketchbooks there and always keep a spare kitchen size garbage bag for sitting on wet ground.  Crocuses in Aspen Hall I told you before that we planted flowers in “Aspen Hall”, here’s two little crocuses I wanted to sketch. Click to see a note card of it where you can zoom in and see it bigger.  golden snail I love the close up pictures of this pretty little golden snail. I spotted him on the ground amongst the leaf litter, but in the sun he glistened like gold. I took my tiny Olympus camera on the macro setting and shot this picture through a close up part of my magnifying glass! It really works at getting a little closer. Click on the pictures to view note cards that you can view close up.  golde snail pointy end up! Here’s another shot of him, I love the form of the shell twisting up like that.  Studying the snail closely for sketches Now this picture is important because it shows you how tiny he was and when you need reading glasses to see things better, it doesn’t help. The other thing that made it difficult to draw him in the field was sitting on one little log made my back hurt terribly so I was not comfortable. I wrote my notes and did some little sketches anyways.  golden snail peeking at me Another great shot, I love the patterns in the shell that the sunlight catches. And notice the subtle color that runs up through those eye stalks? I notice how well it matches the dead stick he was crawling on.  My Journal page Here’s my actual journal page from my time sitting in “Aspen Hall”, go ahead and click it to read it.  Tiny Golden Snail with metallic gold watercolor paint added. Now I had a little more fun with the snail studies I did by using some metallic watercolor paint on them. I took some pictures of the snail paintings tipped at an angle to catch the sun and really show the metallic watercolor paint I added on top. It was a lot of fun using it and really made it look like the snail did, it sparkled in the sun!  Golden Snails in watercolor with gold metallic watercolor over. And one more shot showing the glitter in the full sun. I hope you enjoyed our walk today and you didn’t even have to get your feet wet! 😉 Don’t forget to visit my SHOP by clicking the pictures above to see note cards of the little golden snail or the landscape photos in this post. Here’s a note card using the watercolor studies:  Speaking of snails I’m honored to say there’s a wonderful blog written by two talented women one of which was inspired by my posts about the snail I found and did studies of while I was in England! Have a look here: “The Dao of Doing”
Today the sun was out so warm and I eventually found myself in the backyard in a lawn chair for the first time this season. I pondered my journal and things going on in my life, then before you know it I was writing a poem. So I’m sharing it with you here, hope you like it. (I also typed it at the end so you can read it minus the typo’s! 😉 “The Journals’ Answer” by Mary McAndrew
 My poem "The Journals' Answer" on parchment
As usual I like to share with you a little about how I did something. Below are color swatches to show what color’s I used making this parchment. The top five are water soluble crayons, the bottom one is Derwent’s Inktense black water soluble pencil. I used the top four mostly, and at the end I added some black right next to the edge of the paper. I then added some black water soluble crayon over it just to try it. The paper was Bristol Vellum and it’s great for a journal you’ll paint in but it only handles a so much ‘rubbing’ when you’re blending layers of colors.
 Color chart for what I used making the parchment I jotted the poem on some lined paper I keep at the back of my journal then started to write it ‘neatly’ (hahah) on the journal page. I didn’t realize it was going to grow to be so long so I drew the parchment borders after I got the whole thing written. Oh and as a side note, I didn’t really cry though I felt a frustration with some things on my mind. Writing about crying was like crying for real. * “The Journals’ Answer” Holding my journal in my hands, Of feelings that welled from inside. Where will this future take me now? Is it my book I hear replying Pages open wide for me Leaving my writing for all to see No time for tears or heavy sighs Futures come and futures go Now is all that matters much (c) Mary McAndrew 2011 I may change the line that reads “Futures come and futures go” to “The future comes then it goes”? Usually when I write a poem I finish it pretty fast, all in one sitting because it just kind of flows out at that time. Sometimes I go back and rearrange a bit. Well leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Ponderings of a poet-naturalist-artist!
Well today there were the most beautiful high clouds, and the sun, making an appearance for the afternoon, gave nice shadows and light to them. I used my square format journal that I made and opened it fully to take advantage of the great sky-scape.  Cloud study done with water soluble crayons This view is from my studio window, I stood by the old sink finding room near the coffee pot! I worked very quickly to sketch the clouds as they were moving fast with the wind. I used a plain old “Crayola” black crayon to sketch and very lightly put some lines in for the field below. Then I scumbled on the watersoluble crayon starting with the sky. This is only the second time I’ve used these crayons; when I first bought them I hated them! They were bright in color and garish to me. But I’m going lightly and trying some layering of colors to see how it looks.  Water soluble crayons in a tin Here’s my little black crayon and an “Altoids” tin filled with watersoluble crayons that I broke in half to fit them in. I keep a folded up piece of “Viva” paper towel in it with them.  Using the lid of the tin for watering down colors Being that the colors ARE so vivid and strong I found it helpful to get my brush loaded with water then touch the tip of the crayon to pick up color and mix it into the wet brush on the lid. First I directly laid color on the paper and wet it, then I used this ‘brush to tip’ method (that’s what I call it!) to add more color.  Cloud studies and round brush I used This is showing you the brush I used, just a simple round. (The sketch is unfinished here). I used it instead of the waterbrush because I wanted to get lots of water quickly and just scrub freely with the brush tip. I’m still getting used to the crayons but I think I’m starting to like them more! I like how you can cover large areas quickly and when you wet them they really get juicy. I actually got some color on my hands (it got kind of messy!) so I was picking color up from my fingers with the brush! I think I’ll look for some other colors for landscapes in other name brands. Most of the crayons I have are Caran D’Ache. Give them a try and let me know how you like them too!
Well my “Creative Journaling Spring 2011” class has ended after 4 weeks; it passed very quickly! Some of my students had never drawn anything before and others were used to doing some art or crafts. What I found the most interesting was how certain areas of what I taught really suited different students or ‘caught’ their imaginations. (Please CLICK on pictures to see them enlarged)  Great job Helen! I’m happy to say Helen, who has never drawn before but is an EXCELLENT quilter, tried drawing and did quite well. I went over comparative measurements and gesture sketching with her and I think she’s getting the hang of it! She said she loved using the watercolor pencils. I can see her love of color in her quilts and could see she loved using color with the watercolor pencils.  Helen used her love of fabric and made a cover for her journal. This of course, is Helen’s journal…she couldn’t help but get creative with fabric and cover her sketchbook journal that we made. She glued it on with rubber cement.  Linda and Paula working on poems and painting. These ladies are very involved with their pages. Linda created some beautiful twig letters when we did creative lettering. I showed how to start with a simple outline then embellish your lines. Paula was inspired to write a poem during class after I introduced using poetry in your journal and gave a little talk about how I write a poem. Paula already liked writing poems so it really caught her interest and here is the wonderful poem she penned about our class! “Challenges” Painting what I see, Enjoying Nature: by Paula Minklai 2011 Paula followed just what I was encouraging by doing a little painting in her journal and incorporated the poem on the page. Her little painting was of an incline with trees on it and she likened learning to going up the incline, enjoying what we experience as we go. Great job Paula!  I showed the class how to use the twig look for letters, Linda did a great job! I love the blue color of the twigs Linda used. Please enjoy the rest of the photos taken over the last few weeks.  Linda working on watercolor pencil landscape in a circle.  Helen used the watercolor pencils so nicely here for the first time ever!  Creative Journaling class 2 - making coffee stained paper  Creative Journaling class 3 - drawing I hope someday you’ll take a class with me! Sign up your email in the subscribe box to see when I’ll be teaching near you or just follow my posts about my journaling adventures!
As my page describes, it was overcast, wet and dreary. I did the small landscape sketch while standing up, just a small little thing but it reminds me exactly of the time and place. At the bottom I wrote words I associated with where I was sat, this is a great way to begin creative writing. When I got back to the house I added the background colors behind the words and around the landscape to perk the page up. Without it it was quite plain looking! Then I outlined the leaf shapes under the crocuses to give it more ‘umph’.  Wet Walk in March (2011) I was sitting on a small pile of dead trees that I stacked as I could during the winter, right in the middle of “Aspen Hall”, a favorite place on my land. It’s just a clump of Aspen trees that sticks out into my field and can be seen from the house. As you walk up the lane, lined with bushes and some trees, you come to a place where there are thick trees on both sides and it forms a sort of shady canopy, so we named it “Aspen Hall”. When my boys were just two and four (when we first moved here) we found it to be just the right distance to hike from the house and have a picnic. I then planted daffodils, crocuses and maybe some tulips some seventeen years ago! When I went out the other day I was excited to see shoots coming up! Today there were crocuses ready to open, I can’t wait to see what will be out next time I visit.  Mud Boots and Paint This picture and those that follow I took with my cell phone! I guess I was glad I had it, sometimes it is great to get some pictures. Had to add this photo! The mud boots or “Wellies” are standard fare around here; if you want dry feet you practically live in your mud boots! I just reached down to use the colors but it wasn’t the most comfortable after awhile for my lower back, even though I was on a low seat.  My Watercolor Paints and Watersoluble Crayons Here’s a closer look at my watercolors and crayons. I didn’t use the crayons but put them out just in case; they’re new to me so I want to play around with them more while out in the field. I also used just a tiny round watercolor brush with a small container of water I had, not my usual waterbrush.  Ginger's Big Nose My little companion Ginger, she loves to walk with me and waits patiently (though she whimpers when she wants to keep going) as I stop often to sketch or paint. She’s getting older now though so it’s probably good for her to stop.  Water Droplets on Seed Heads On my return to the house I noticed something glimmering like diamonds in a rather dreary landscape; it was water droplets hanging on the seed heads of the plants.  The World Upside Down in a Drop of Water Did you know that water droplets hanging like this reflect the world upside down? It reminds me of the drawing I did of a crystal ball reflecting the woods around it (Ravensphere), everything is upside down. I think someone poetic could think of ways to use this imagery of the world being caught like this. (This picture is a bit dark but it shows the glimmering of the droplets quite well). Well I hope you enjoyed coming on this walk with me today! There’s always something to discover outside your door and you don’t have to go that far. I hope you will go out today and see and hear what you can!
 Drawing a window and creative borders on my journal page in Alnwick, England Meeting on Saturday’s – April 2 through 30, no classes on April 23, 10 am – 12 noon Our adventure continues! This class includes students who took the first Creative Journaling class and we welcome all new comers!
 Creative Journaling class 1- Making our journals Get Creative with Journaling! A class for all ages. We’ll combine sketching, painting and writing with experienced guidance from our instructor to create a journal of experiences and special days. Learn drawing skills, how to add decorative borders, creative designs and lettering to your journal. Learn creative writing tips; dabble in poetry writing and techniques for creating a very personal record. You’ll also be introduced to the use of watercolor pencils, watercolors, permanent ink pens, and water brushes to create images and illustrations to share. We’ll even make our own journal! Creative Journaling or Art Journaling is becoming increasingly popular; it complements internet blogs or conventional diaries and provides a highly visual and descriptive book to treasure for years to come.
 Creative Journaling - playing with creative text. $75 for 4 classes, a $3 materials fee payable to the instructor the first day covers the water brush you keep. •Following this class (after a lunch break) is “Nature Sketching”, a two-hour class that ties in beautifully with Creative Journaling. Sign up for both and save $5 on both classes!
 Creative Journaling class 3 - drawing landscape behind a shape To register for class go to http://www.burchfieldnac.org/Spring_Classes.html to download form. Phone: 716-677-4843 or www.burchfieldnac.org
 Learn how to make colorful Creative Borders Please sign your email in the “Subscribe” box on the right to be notified when I put up new posts.
 Girls study a bug with a magnifying glass Four Saturdays in April (2nd, 9th, 16th, 30th, no class on the 23rd) Time: 1 – 3 pm At the Burchfield Nature and Art Center in West Seneca, NY. Explore nature as we work indoors and out when the weather is nice, from real subjects and photos. Share my field sketchbooks from England and New York. Learn how to make your own easy field sketch journal! Learn ‘drawing from life’ techniques that will help you next time you are out in nature and want to capture something on paper. Work in your field sketchbook using real nature objects as we learn how to draw and paint them. Learn how to use pencil, watercolor pencil and watercolor in creative ways to embellish your sketchbook pages. Adults and mature young students are welcome. We will sketch and learn in the park if weather permits.
 "Springtime Path in the Maze" watercolor crayon + wax crayon $75 for 4 classes, a $6 materials fee payable to the instructor the first day covers the cost of various papers and a water brush to keep.
 Me drawing and writing in my journal along the coast of England To register for class go to http://www.burchfieldnac.org/Spring_Classes.html to download form. Phone: 716-677-4843 or www.burchfieldnac.org
 Painting an "Angle Shades" moth from life  Adult student comparing sketch to a flower.  Studies of Grey Heron I hope you join us, it’s going to be great fun! |
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