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 (click on the photos for a larger view, these were taken in my own backyard)
“Connecting to Nature”by Mary McAndrew2-4-08
“If you’re feeling tired, stressed out or sort of ‘disconnected’ today, consider taking time to visit some place of natural beauty, a place that fills you with a sense of awe and wonder.The ocean, a river, canyon or forest would be great because they carry their own energy of power to marvel at. Let go of worrisome thoughts and just immerse your mind in the beauty around you. Our problems fade away when we are in the presence of such wonder; our mind and spirit expand and open.
Actually the more you experience these great feelings and positive feedback, the easier it will be to draw the memories up when you need them.You don’t have to visit a grand forest or the Grand Canyon for that matter, to experience this, just take a walk out your back door for some fresh air.Even a dead looking yard in winter can hold beauty and life. Find a place to sit or stand quietly and close your eyes, just listen, feel the breeze on your face and hands, smells of the earth, rain, snow; the sounds of birds or leaves blowing.Let them visit you, touch you and enter your being.Feel the warmth of it entering your heart space, a beautiful green color glows within.Did you get a shiver?That’s the energy moving through your body, it’s a great thing!
If you can’t get out to nature, sit and quiet your mind and breath slow, let yourself wander out an imaginary door to the places you’ve really been before. Remember the sounds, sights, smells and feelings you had when you were there. Let yourself smile and see how it changes your feelings or mood!
If you can, next time you do go to a beautiful place, take a journal or sketchbook with you.Write how you feel, paint some colors or do a drawing of an interesting or beautiful plant.Memories will stick with you so much deeper if you write about it or draw it, the thoughts going from a deep place within you, to your head, to your hand, your pen then the paper.Look back on these notes and sketches on a day when you feel you need to connect with nature and you’ll be surprised how the feelings and memories will come back to you!“
 Today I’m showing a page from my sketchbook that has drawings from two different days. At the top is a drawing of a dead sunflower head I did on Jan. 25th, on a very snowy, cold day! You can read what I wrote on the page about that. I was trying out my new Graphitint Color Pencils, this one is ‘cocoa’. After I sketched it, I used a waterbrush (brush with water stored in it) to pull the color out and create graded values of tone. Then I worked back into the dark areas to push the value range further and define the flower’s shape.
Today I found a green caterpillar when I picked up some bricks that were piled by my driveway, it was tucked in some rotting leaves and snow. I can’t imagine how caterpillars survive the winter like this. But he looked as fresh as springtime! Umm…so if you knew me, you’d already know I took him inside to draw and study!
The picture shows him lying on my sketchbook page. 1st I did a pencil sketch with the ‘outliner’ pencil that comes with the Inktense color pencils. I drew it at actual size then made an enlarged drawing that looks like he’s under a magnifying glass. The shadow and the magnifying glass make it look more real. Then I drew him again (small) and tried to add a cast shadow. This didn’t work out too well at this tiny size so I pulled the ink black color all around it to ‘fix’ it. I also show a picture of the sanding block I use to sharpen my colorpencils. I don’t keep a very long point on them because they are more prone to breaking then graphite. Click on the pictures to see enlarged views and read my notes on my sketchbook. 
Thursday, 1-10-08 Cold morning but not too bad! I visited Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve in Depew, NY. It’s an almost 300 acre preserve with forests, wetlands and ponds surrounded by suburban developments. What a surprise it is to find a place like this when you can walk in and feel like your far outside the city (Buffalo) limits but you’re not!
Today was a camera exploring day, I didn’t pull out the sketchbook. I saw turkeys, white tailed deer, a beaver (must be the warm winter) chickadees, downey woodpeckers, mallards and Canada geese. I captured so many wonderful pictures of leaves, dead ferns, lichens, mosses and fungi…but…alas the computer Gods were against me when I downloaded them! I lost almost all!!! Heavy Sigh….
But I shall be returning there often as I will be teaching my Nature Sketching class there this spring and summer. I will be planning several different days and time options to accomodate as many as I can. I might also offer a ‘fairy house + fairy making’ class! Directions to Reinstein Woods: http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/1975.html and here’s another link about Reinstein Woods: http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/1965.html
December 2007
This is a watercolor sketch I did from a photo of a sparrow. I used my small watercolor travel set for practice and did it while watching tv with my son. Trying to get artwork done at any time is a challenge so I practice when I can!
Click on any picture to view larger. (the photos of me working are compiments of Daniel M. Cox, thanks Dan!)
Here are some photos, so hard to pick from so many beautiful flowers and plants! Here’s a link to their home page: http://www.buffalogardens.com/
Today I went for a hike with my dog Ginger, the weather was so warm I couldn’t resist! I think the temperature today reached 66 degrees! It’s very breezy, clouds and patches of sun. So we wandered and I pretty much descibed things on my journal pages. Just click on the pics of my sketchbook to read my notes and see the small sketches. This first page I did a very quick sketch (7 minutes), click on it.
This is a photo of me and Ginger, I set my tiny Olympus FE 230 digital camera on top of the fence post and did an auto timer shot. I have my mud boots on, my small three legged stool over my shoulder, and an over-size fanny pack from LL Bean.
I wasn’t sure about wearing the fanny pack in front,because I thought it’d make my back hurt, but actually it was ok. It was nice to have it right in front of me to keep tucking my sketchpad and pens into as I walked. My cell phone is clipped to my belt loop.
Page 2 of the journal…I found this great moss…so green for such a dreary time of year. It was growing all over the bottoms of the trees, it’s very wet on my land.
 ‘Memory Lane’ is so flooded I didn’t dare go there with leaky boots! But it still looks beautiful, all that water reflecting the sky, dry grasses, great color.
Page 3…I was picking up some dried oak leaves to take back home with me and saw a small spider on one leaf. It was so cool, looked like a little seed if you look quick. I did three little quick studies of it. It keeps raining off and on and I don’t have my rain coat.
This is my three legged stool I bought at Walmart in the hunting/fishing dept. This stool is great but when the ground is wet…um, well you kind of sink in when you sit on it!
This is the back side of a fern stem, the tiny leaves are actually curled up and look like seeds. I think it’s a ‘Sensitive Fern’.
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(click on the photos for a larger view, these were taken in my own backyard)
