What a day I had at the Swallow Hollow nature trail, part of the Iroqouis Wildlife Preserve. The above photo was just one of the many beautiful scenes I saw that day; the trail follows the water in a nice loop, sometimes going through woods, mostly near the marsh or some natural looking water canals. Much of the trail is a boardwalk to keep you up from the very wet ground, especially after such a rainy summer!
This is a picture of my new sketchbook cover, it’s a sketchbook that I designed and made myself with a long format. I thought it’d be fun to put some pictures of my paintings on the cover, to show people I meet some of my work. I can add or take pages from the sketchbook as I want to.
This is the first page of my sketchbook from my day out. I stopped at a nice area in the Tonawanda Wildlife Management area, Elizabeth Hilldurger Estate project. I was so happy to see two Great Egrets (or in my old Peterson guide American Egret) flying around. The one roosted in a tree far away, I tried to do some little sketches by looking through my binoculars.
The watercolor of the water scene I did using my little watercolor ‘altoids’ field kit and just a water-brush. It’s pretty simple looking but I did it quickly while standing up.
This is me pausing to sketch along the boardwalk. You can see I have my art kit bag on my waist and a backpack with other supplies on my back. Almost all of what I draw, I draw while I’m standing and looking at things. Along the way on my walks I usually meet some nice people who are curious about what I’m doing. I met a couple walking their dogs, Papillions…Pudgie is the puppy furiously digging the hole in the back…Max is the one gazing up at his owner. Maybe this is the kind of dog I should get to keep me company in the house? I’ve seen them before and thought about it. Their owner told me Papillion means butterfly in french….well at least it’s their names meaning, I guess because of how they look with their ears perked.
Next is another page from my sketchbook, click it to see it closer. I met a little Leopard frog along the way and did quick little sketches of him, then painted it at home using metallic watercolor paints. He really had a metallic look to his skin, so beautiful! At the end of this post you’ll see a little video clip of him!
I saw many Harvestman spiders in the woods and did a sketch of one on a dying milkweed leaf. I also took photos so when I got home I was able to paint it with watercolors. I took step by step photos of the painting, perhaps I’ll get to post it separately later.
I did some reading about Harvestmen Spiders, which are only distantly related to spiders, they are not venomous, lack fangs and do not bite. They use their legs to walk, breath, smell and capture prey! There are 5,000 species, about 235 known in North America, most are drab brown or grey, but a few are rusty red, mottled spots or have a stripe down their back. Now that I know that, I know I was lucky to see a rusty red one, and the one I painted had a mottled kind of dark stripe on it. One more interesting detail to keep my eyes open for while hiking! I hope you take a closer look next time you meet one.
This next page shows a light pencil sketch I did of the path, I also took some photos so later I could color it in. I haven’t gotten that far yet! The mushrooms at the bottom of the page I went specifically to Swallow Hollow to try to find again and paint, I saw them there just a week before. I could use some help indentifying them if anyone has expertise in this area?? I have become fascinated with mushrooms and fungi…when you walk in the woods, just take a close look at the ground or on trees or dead logs, you’ll be surprised at what you might discover! I’ve seen gorgeous yellow or orange mushrooms that I didn’t expect. The picture of the orange mushroom I could use help identifying too.
I set up my stool in the woods and I painted this study from life. It was difficult because the lighting kept changing, first direct, raking light, then very dark shadows. As I painted a Harvestmen Spider crawled across my sketchbook, pausing over my painting to ‘taste’ the wet paint! Before I could get my camera, he crawled off down my leg….he being a spider that he was I helped him hurry off me! I don’t mind them too much, but don’t want them lingering. At least I can say, knowing they are harmless helps me not to react like Little Miss Muffet! Remember her story?
This is the last page from my outing…while I was in the field I sketched the tiny mushrooms in pencil…kneeling in the pine needles to gain a closer look. They’re done at life size. Then while walking later I went over the lines with a sepia colored Micron Permanent ink pen. Later at home I printed out the photos I took of them and added the watercolor. I have found that when I do something in graphite pencil in the field, I get disappointed at how it will smear or fade with all the use the sketchbook gets, so I like to use my micron pens a lot to draw.
The while fungus is fascinating…they are hard to notice…you might just step right past them, but you have to be aware of everything and look everywhere when you walk. These are also drawn at life size, aproximately 2″ tall and coming up like delicate white filaments from the forest floor. A mystery to me, if anyone can tell us please do.
The butterfly was a type I saw all day, following me it seemed, to see what I was doing in their woods? I sketched it in the field on a leaf, but later painted it from a photo. Can anyone help me with identifying it?
I added a short video clip of my meeting with the Leopard Frog along a sunny path, check it out!
Well, it’s time to play ‘catch up’, this is from July, but better late than never! If you click on the pictures you’ll see an enlarged view, where you can read my notes.
I did these two pages in my sketchbook following a very upsetting visit to a surgeon. I left the office in tears because he said I needed surgery on my discs from my car accident! He told me the symptoms to watch out for, all very nasty and debilitating, and then about the surgery and recovery. It was a little too much for me to handle after all the months of trying to recover from the car crash! So….on my way home, I pulled over at a nice little park by the Niagara River and was determined to look at birds, do some sketching. It was hard but, as most artists know, once you get started there’s nothing better to take your mind off pain and worry. The reason I share this with all of you friends around the world, is to let you know, it’s not always as it seems. That is, I’ve seen other doctors since who believe I can make it without surgery (Yay!!!) and my hopes for proceeding with my life fall back into place. How awful those kind of days are that throw us for a loop of self doubt, or “how will I ever cope?” The page above shows some sketches of water plants, and I think Purple Loose strife, considered an invasive weed here. Two bugs, including one of my favorites, the milkweed beetle and notes about birds and flowers seen. I was sitting on a rock that had waves splashing up on it, jutting into the river a bit. What a gorgeous day! The second page was more plants, a close up view of some kind of sedge I think…I love the seed pods on this, all pointy and green, and as I studied it and drew, all of a sudden I realised there was a furry catapillar hanging on under one of the leaves. At the bottom of the page you can see a tiny landscape sketch of Niagara Falls in the distance. I wish the pictures were colored in but I didn’t have time or the energy to stay and do that. Just so you know, All is Well with me!!! I’m getting ready for my trip to England and Ireland now, I’ll be blogging from there I hope, keep tuned!
It was a very hot day when I decided to scoot outside to do a quick little painting. I used my a square sketchpad because it’s a fun change. The painting is only 5″x5″ big. I first sketched with a micron pen then I used my tiny watercolor kit. Because the day was so hot, it dried very quickly as I worked. I like the stroked look of the sky, it gives it movement. Of course Ginger had to be right next to me! She was smart and hide from the hot sun under the table! I stood at the picnic table and put one foot up on the seat, resting my sketchbook and arm on my knee. This little painting is of Birds Foot Trefoil, it grows wild here and there in my, ahem…kind of wild yard! It has lovely little yellow flowers and it’s called ‘bird’s foot’ because the pod cluster that grows looks like a bird foot. This flower grows in Europe and that’s where it came from, now quite common here. The painting is a bit pale because I painted it in full sun, it got hard to look at the white paper after awhile. I used a little trick to make it go faster, I held the flower so the shadow fell onto my paper and then drew the stem lightly with a pencil. Then I was able to just look at the flower and work on my drawing, fixing the details and proportions.
While walking in the woods at Stiglmeier Park in Cheektowaga, NY, I happened upon a toad…almost stepped on the little guy (girl?) because it blended in so well with the dead leaves on the woodland floor. I took pictures, usually very hard to capture a frog or toad because the just don’t sit still while you focus etc….they have other ideas! Above is a little tiny sketch I did after I caught a few pictures, noting the light stripe and other markings which helped me identify him later. There are so many toads and frogs for me to learn! Later I sat late at night and drew this sketch above, from a photo with a micron permanent ink pen. You can see, I didn’t start with pencil drawing, I just drew in a sketchy manner to block in his shape. Sometimes I like the looseness of that look, some pen lines showing at the end of the drawing. You can also hide unwanted lines by adding the dark lines for background. Here I added a light wash in watercolor of yellow ochre + sepia, just a touch. I was careful to leave the light stripe and light areas of his body, and add more wash layers to the darker areas. Here you can see, I added green by mixing olive green + a touch of sepia to dull it. The brown spots are sepia and permanent rose. The background is prussian blue + ultramarine blue + black. To make his bumps or warts stand out a bit, I tried to use the tip of a very small pointed brush to outline them a little with the brown. Then some spots were just painted with the watercolor, which made a softer looking wart than one that was drawn with ink. When I was finished I felt I should have made his mouth or nose, stick a out just a little more, it looks a bit short…but it’s done. These are pictures I took of the little guy…um…girl? in the woods. Hope you enjoyed looking at my little sketch and the pictures. More on that walk later….
Well here I am the last day, the last hours of my time at the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage, spending it at the most beautiful place I found all weekend, Thunderocks. Before I left the park I drove up by myself to visit this wonder I kept hearing about, wow! it was well worth it. You drive up the hill, make a left turn at the four corners and just ahead, very easy parking and you are right there. It’s quite accessable for everyone.
The whole area is a bit unique as it was untouched by the glaciers so I’ve been told. The rocks are enormous, some as big as houses, and what a great place to bring your kids to let them marvel at this natural sight! (and climb a little!) You can see I’m wearing my binoculars and my sketchbag, I also had a video camera with me and took some nice videos. The little clip at the end is just with my tiny digital camera.
Here you can see a family climbing up, which helps to show the immense size of the rocks.
I just love the dapple effect of the sun on the rocks. It’d either be a painters dream or nightmare. The views are gorgeous, but the sun dapples ever moving and disappearing.
Though the ground was well worn around the rocks, there were still many pockets of wildflowers and ferns. I saw Clintonia, Wild Lily of the Valley, Star Flowers, and ferns.
Another beautiful view, showing mosses, ferns and trees. I’d love to sit up on one of those big rocks in the middle of the night and just listen to everything around me. I wonder what the Indians thought of these rocks? Did they use them as landmarks? Climb around on them as children too? Who knows.
This one reminds me of a green waterfall~ so lush!
I took the time to do a really quick little sketch before I left. You can see I put notes about a bird and bird song on the page. Below a short, corny video clip for you…but what can I say? I loved being there and didn’t want to leave!
A quick post here, to show you some more pictures from my Allegany weekend. Actually all these pictures are from the all day hike I went on led by Tim Baird, it’s his hands holding the slimy salamander and the snake. We were walking right along and this little guy almost got stepped on in the dirt road, so well he blended in with the leaves and dirt! It’s a Wood Frog, I had to really move quick to catch some pictures of him! What I love is his ‘robbers’ mask and the way the stripes on his legs line up when he’s crouched, it breaks up his body form so he blends into the ground better. It sure works! I’ll definitely be doing a painting or drawing of him. I’m pretty sure this is an Eastern Newt, the adult stage of a Red Eft, the common little red salamander you see in the moist woods. They are a very important part of the food chain in the forest and I think protected, at least in some states. I think everyone should be aware of them and try to keep them from harm to help keep their numbers up. Here Tim is holding a tiny Ring Necked Snake, it looked like a bit of wire laying on the road, he’s got good eyes! The belly of this snake was a pale yellow. I looked it up in my “Audubon’s Familiar Reptiles + Amphibians of North America”, it says that it grows 10-30″ long and can have a yellow, cream or orange neck ring and a yellow to red belly. I’d love to see a full grown one. It’s a docile snake that will curl and show it’s belly when frightened, also emitting a foul musk. Well, only one more entry to go about my Allegany weekend, until then I hope you’re enjoying the pictures! I did a few little paintings yesterday and today and will put them up soon.
This is a continuation of my weekend at the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage at the end of May. This post I have some pictures of fungus, lichens and moss from the non flowering plants hike I took led by Alice Brown. This is a fungus I’ve seen growing on my land in Clarence Center NY, in the Adirondack mtns. and at Allegany. It’s a fungus I identified as Trametes Versicolor, the common name is Turkey Tail, so named because of the variable bands of color. I’ve seen it in all seasons which makes it kind of fun to look for, check dead trees and branches on the ground etc. I read on a website that a tea can be made from it and that it’s used to fight cancer and hiv. Don’t quote me on that but it’s what I read, I do know that mushrooms can be very good for you. I wouldn’t recommed going out and eating these though…my mushroom book (Simon and Schuster’s Guide to Mushrooms- Excellent Book!) says that it’s inedible because of texture. This is a flat fern type of moss, I don’t know my mosses yet so if someone can help me out here. I have to look for a good field guide, you know…tall, dark, handsome! haha…no really, the kind with pages is fine! This is a picture of mosses on the side (type?) and in the center is a type of lichen, foliose type I think. I’ve always liked the cool color of lichens..like the green patina copper gets when it’s out in the elements. Then there was the night I was headed to bed, enhausted from all the hikes and early mornings, but saw this show-stopping Luna Moth! Wayne Gall had a simple white sheet up each night with a really bright light to attract all kinds of bugs. I never imagined I’d ever see a Luna Moth and there it was! Wow! It caused quite a bit of excitment. I definitley have to do a painting with one of those in it. Notice the antennae…so large. This is a page from my sketchbook, just some quick sketches of the dragonfly talk led by Jeremy Martin. Below is a picture of a dragonfly that just came out of the ‘Exuvia’, or shed skin. That’s what I did the small sketch of above. I have written in my sketchbook that I took a picture of a Springtime Darner…maybe that’s the type below. Well as I said, not too many drawings on this Nature Pilgrimage…I needed the whole following week to stay there and digest all that I learned, and go back and sketch things. Be sure to check my post about Thunder Rocks coming up!
This is another ‘catch up’ post about the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage at the end of May. This post I put up pictures of birding hikes and the bird banding demonstration along with a video clip of the demo.
This was the very first nature hike I went on the whole weekend, it was led by birding expert Frank Gardner. We wound our way through some beautiful woods by a stream, to me it looked like a ‘Faerie Haven’. It was considered an advanced bird walk because most of the identification was by bird song. We kept hearing a Blackburnian Warbler up in the trees…ok, this is one of those birds that I’m dying to see. If you remember I did a little painting of one in my sketchbook this winter, click here to see it. Well, I had to leave the hike a little early to catch another hike that was starting soon, guess what everyone in the entire group saw after I left? A Blackburnian Warbler came down to take a bath in the creek!! Oh boy…they teased me a bit because I made such a big deal out of wanting to see one!
This is the ‘All Day Birding Hike’ I took with Tim Baird as the leader. I was worried that we’d be hiking all day long and I wouldn’t be able to do it, but it was actually very pleasant as we took several cars and drove to different locations in the park, then walked. This is a page from my sketchbook, click it too see all my notes on the different birds I saw or heard. I put a little dot in front of birds I heard, and a check mark for ones I saw too. I did a tiny sketch with water-soluble graphite of the lake and hills from where we stood by the lodge, Allegany Park’s main office. The water-soluble pencils are by Derwendt and I just love them. You can do a simple sketch when you’re in a hurry and just worry about the values, use a water-brush to wet it while you’re standing there. In a later post I’ll put up the sketch pages with complete lists of every bird and flower that I’ve seen here and in the Adirondack Mnts. Believe me it’s long!!
This is at the bird banding demonstration on Sunday morning. If you’ve never seen a banding demo please make sure you try to some day, I had no idea it’d be so fascinating! The above picture shows Jerry blowing on the breast of a yellow warbler to expose the breast. It’s a way they check for a brood patch or check the general weight of the bird for health.
To catch the birds they raise fine nets up in the early morning and leave them up, the birds fly into them and get tangled but not harmed.This is a hummingbird in the hand, amazing!
Here’s a Chestnut Sided Warbler that Jerry is holding, it’s amazing how they hold the bird by the upper legs, above the joint I think, and it doesn’t hurt it. I’ve included a video clip, you’ll see how casual they are about holding the birds, and get a good look at Bob McKinney holding a Yellow-Billed Cuckoo. Jerry is holding a Catbird, though he seems extremely casual about holding it, believe me they’ve done this thousands of times and no birds are injured. A funny trick Bob would do with the kids, when he was ready to release a bird, he’d carefully lay it on it’s backside on top of someone’s head. Then the bird would get it’s bearings and fly off…it was really neat! You’ll see Bob measuring the bird, blowing on it’s breast to look for a brood patch and then he unceremoniously plops it into a tumbler to put it on the scale for weighing. With smaller birds he used an empty pill bottle! Up above on my double sketch page you can see a tiny sketch I did of the Cuckoo in the tumbler. Enjoy the video!!
Well where to begin? This is a very late entry about my weekend at the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage, May 30, 31, June 1, 2008. I wanted to make sure I share it with you because it was such a fantastically wonderful weekend filled with great people and plenty of new things to learn about nature. I’ve decided to break it up into several posts so it’s not too long. This one will be about the wildflowers I saw. Below is just one of the fabulous views in Allegany State Park.
I feel giulty for not having more drawings, but let me explain what it was like. From Friday until Sunday you could show up for hikes or classes lead by experts in their field, all day long! There was one after the other, some at the same time, it was so hard to pick and choose which I wanted to go on. I filled 13 pages in my sketchbook with notes about birds, flowers and plants! We were constantly walking as a group so it was very hard to draw, the small amount of sketching I did was while I was walking! Seriously…you have to watch the ground so you don’t trip! haha…
This page of my sketchbook shows a drawing I did while on a guided birdwatching hike. It was lead by Tim Baird of Salamanca, he’s a retired science teacher who knows more about birds and plants than anyone I know! He has such a wonderful casual manner when you ask questions about everything you see….well um…that was me! I asked him about everything I saw! He was so patient!! haha…must be the teacher in him. Most of the flowers, plants and birds I learned about this weekend were from his walks. Thanks Tim!!
Dwarf Ginseng, shown in the little sketch above, a pretty little woodland flower.
I learned about this flower on a wildflower hike led by Mary Alice Tock, down by the lakeside. It’s Cinquefoil, cinque (5) as in five leaves, five petals slightly heart shaped. Mary told us some things to look for when identifying wildflowers: 1. color 2. shape of leaves 3. # of petals 4. arrangement of leaves on stem, and how they’re connected to the stem.
This is Clintonia, a woodland lily, also called Yellow Corn-lily or Blue Bead for the fruits it bears. I took this picture up at Thunderocks on my last day…more about that amazing place in another post!
This is Golden Alexander, shown in the sketch I did above while walking. It has a complicated flower head like Queen Anne’s Lace, I forget the technical term…I’m sure someone can remind me in the comments.
This very pretty flower is Golden Ragwort, looks just like something that’d be growing in your garden.
This is Star Flower, found in the woods also, like a hidden gem just waiting to be noticed.
And this is a very well known wildflower, Trillium. I was lucky to catch sight of it in bloom here and in the Adirondack mtns.
It’s a gorgeous day! 65-70 degrees, sunny and breezy. The first journal page is done with watercolor pencils and a waterbrush…I found it hard to get the greens I wanted. A gorgeous bird, the Black Tern; I took so many pictures of them swooping over the water, with their very elegant coloring. The other picture is a bit more sad but shows the real life of nature, it’s a Red Tailed Hawk being chased by Red Winged Black-Birds because he’s stolen a youngster from the nest! I saw him land into the tall grasses on the marsh, and noted the huge commotion of the Black Birds. When he took off I figured something was up, and sure enough he was carrying a chick.
I spotted this little butterfly in the field as we walked and I’ve narrowed it down to two butterflies-either the Pearl Crescent or Gorgone Checkerspot…anyone help me with an ID?
This painting was done with watercolors. I used my little watercolor kit that’s tucked into a tiny “Altoids” tin if you can believe it! I’ll have to post a picture of that soon.
Some bird photos I took, two of a male Tree Swallow that was sitting by it’s nest box. A picture of a Song Sparrow on the left, and a Swamp Sparrow on the right.
This flower was drawn with a micron pen then colored with watercolor. I had to wait till I was at the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage (more on that later!) to indentify it, showing it to some wildflower experts…they told me it’s a Evening Lychnis. Click here for the link to Iroqouis Nature Refuge.
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What a day I had at the Swallow Hollow nature trail, part of the Iroqouis Wildlife Preserve. The above photo was just one of the many beautiful scenes I saw that day; the trail follows the water in a nice loop, sometimes going through woods, mostly near the marsh or some natural looking water canals. Much of the trail is a boardwalk to keep you up from the very wet ground, especially after such a rainy summer!
Along the way on my walks I usually meet some nice people who are curious about what I’m doing. I met a couple walking their dogs, Papillions…Pudgie is the puppy furiously digging the hole in the back…Max is the one gazing up at his owner. Maybe this is the kind of dog I should get to keep me company in the house? I’ve seen them before and thought about it. Their owner told me Papillion means butterfly in french….well at least it’s their names meaning, I guess because of how they look with their ears perked.
