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How to Start a Nature Journal

I lead a homeschool hiking group that meets in nearby state parks and natural areas at least once a month. We’re working on nature journals this year and I decided to turn the student tutorial I was writing for next Friday’s hike into a blog post.

Photo Caption: Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve is one of our favorite afternoon destinations. (Although even in the winter my supplies got covered in fire ants!)

When beginning a nature journal, you don’t need much. Prior to setting out, we scavenged our home for the art supplies we’ve bought with ambitious intentions (and then left in a dusty cabinet for several years). If you don’t have art tools squirreled away, simply start with a regular #2 pencil and some stapled-together typing paper. Anything fancier is unnecessary!

Photo Caption: My daughter, boyfriend, and I each brought our own journal and a variety of art supplies. Shown here are 3 journals, nature books, graphite pencils, pens, watercolor pencils, oil pastels, chalk pastels, compact watercolor paints, and conté crayons. In the upper right corner are our microwavable heating pads -- useful on a cold day when you plan to be sitting still.

If you do decide to bring elaborate artist supplies, look for ones that have sturdy, compact containers. My favorite standby is a small tin of watercolor pencils. You can use them like regular pencils for most applications. The fun part is when you have an image that needs a body of water or a swath of grass– just use a drop from your water bottle (or lick your finger) and gently turn bits of your drawing into paint.

My daughter favors oil pastels for the same reason. She can make quick drawings (useful when you’re out in the field) and then strategically smudge parts of them with her finger. Blend colors together, scratch them for texture, or stretch them out to create a transparent look. If you’d like to combine both of our favorite techniques, try some water soluble oil pastels.

I’ve gathered a list of art supplies you might like. Any of these products would be easy to stick in a backpack and “different sizes” means the size of the art set, not the tool. The smallest sets are cheaper and best for field study:

One tool I recommend (for the winter) isn’t for drawing: microwavable heating pads like this or this will make sitting still and drawing in the cold a lot more appealing!

You can purchase these products from stores in your city instead of buying them online. Try to support the small guys — I like the art section at a locally-owned store called Suburban Paint. If you only have big box stores in your area it’s good to take advantage of online coupons. Most craft stores offer printable coupons for 50% off any item in the store. For example, type your zipcode in the store locator for A.C. Moore and then click on “coupon” from the selection of links.

The only art tool I do not think you need is an eraser. Most of us have a hard time fighting the urge to draw “right.” It’s important to remember there is no such thing! Drawing well means getting rid of hesitation and understanding that all practice is good, no matter what it looks like. Try to teach yourself that errant lines and blots are part of the process and that a nature journal with no mistakes is incomplete.

Photo Caption: The light began to wane so I didn't photograph our drawings until later.

We love Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve in Travelers Rest, SC, especially when we get a late start. Its trails are level and around 2 miles long, so we’re sure to get back to the parking area before sunset.

If you want to succeed at keeping a nature journal, keep it simple. Locate convenient wild areas where you scarcely have to get out of the car. Even better, take a walk in your own neighborhood or sit in the backyard garden.

Eventually, you’ll get to go on that all-day hike with a lunchtime picnic art break… but that’s a rare treat. Nature study succeeds when it fits your everyday schedule.

Photo Caption: As the sun went down it turned the meadow golden. Greenville's Paris Mountain is visible in the distance.

I didn’t get our journals photographed until today. You can click on any photos (on my entire blog) to see a larger image:

Photo Caption: We drew a lot of the same objects with different mediums and styles. On the far right, my boyfriend's journal mixes graphite pencils, pens, and watercolor pencils.

These were photographed today on our porch (to use the natural lighting) because everywhere else is drenched in snow. We took our time drawing objects we found. Sometimes this will be possible, and sometimes you’ll be drawing quickly because you’re pressed for time or your subject moves.

If you hate drawing, don’t! How about writing a text-only list of the species you saw or a diary entry describing the day’s events. Or, you can use a camera and create a labeled photo album. This style of journal at Art, Letter, & Life could be made using actual photographs. Or, Mama Craft uses scrapbook photo methods for her nature study.

Photo Caption: I drew primarily with watercolor pencils and listed the species that I didn't have time to illustrate in the blank areas of the page.

I enjoy art and attempt to draw at least one thing from every outing. The watercolor pencils allowed me to smooth the barbs of the blue jay feather and blend the shadow around the hickory nut. Most of the lines were left dry for a crisp and defined look.

Empty sections of the page are perfect for listing observations that I don’t feel like illustrating.

Photo Caption: My daughter and I both drew the sweetgum ball, stick, and shelf mushrooms. She used oil pastels and I used watercolor pencils.

When you’re new or rusty, it’s good to start with inanimate objects — they don’t run, blow, or fly away!

If you need to draw more quickly, experiment with fat drawing tools like crayons, conté crayons, oil pastels, chunks of stick graphite, or soft pastels. The blunt edges encourage you to draw without worrying about small details.

Photo Caption: I drew these quick seed-eating sparrow sketches this morning. The top left uses a smudged oil pastel, the top right uses a graphite stick, and the rest use a sharp graphite pencil.

Many times you just want to capture the general impression of something you see. Gesture drawings (my daughter calls them “scribble drawings) are defined by “rapid execution” and may not have eyes, feathers, fur, feet, or claws… it may even look like a blob of mud! Fortunately, once you write “running deer” or “flying turkey vulture” underneath it, everyone will know what it is supposed to be (including you).

Even simpler — a geometric shape or blob of color may be all you need to help identify something later. If you saw an indigo bunting flit by in a field you could write “small songbird” and scribble a bright blue dot next to it as a reminder of what to search for in your home field guides.

Photo Caption: This is one of the sparrows that was flitting on and off our porch this morning. I had a hard time capturing it in a photograph, much less drawing it.

Taking a camera hiking gives you the opportunity to do a detailed drawing once you get home. Drawing an animal’s posture, markings, and texture is much easier when it’s frozen in time! Or perhaps your schedule won’t allow you to stay and do that waterfall justice. It’s okay to flesh out the sights of your trip from the comfort of your house.

All in all, the goal is to keep a record of the nature you see. Write dates, places, and circumstantial observations like weather and time of day.

Photo Caption: This photo of our garden sundial was taken around 10:30am. We haven't seen so much snow here since 1988 and it's still coming down strong!

Amateur naturalism is important! You could discover a rare bird or even a supernova. But remember, every time you find something new to you, you’ve made a discovery.

Nature Study Resources:

(I’ve listed three books on nature study, the Audubon online field guide, links to the full Audubon and Peterson field guide catalogs, and some regional books that I use where I live.)

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January 10th, 2011 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: Birds, Hiking, Native Plants, Native Trees, Nature & Garden Journals, Nature Study, State & National Parks, Things to Do

42 comments to How to Start a Nature Journal

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