Category: nature

of vegetable matters.

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As much as I have a minor pre-occupation with so-called “urban” sketching, my situation, life, and local environment often steer me towards subject matter that is decidedly more suburban, rural, or parkland. In other words, leafing through my growing stack of sketchbooks, the common theme seems to trend towards nature, trees, insects, and outdoors… in the wilderness sense. In the winter this has meant snow and brown, leafless trees. In the autumn I specifically went

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on the first day of daily drawing.

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If you haven’t been keeping up with my daily notes, then you may also be unaware that I’ve dubbed March 2023 a month called #mARTch and am planning on drawing, sketching, painting, and otherwise being squwetchy all through the 31 days of this month, As I write this, the first day of March is essentially three quarters over, but I’ve fulfilled my end of that bargain and already produced a not-terrible watercolour. In my planning

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of a hundred little bugs.

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Did I mention that I have a biology degree? It factors into this post, so it’s worth mentioning now. Bachelor of Science with a specialization in molecular genetics and minor in entomology, convocation 1999. I can’t say that I’ve used it much in my career, though having it has opened numerous doors. And occasionally it rears up as a useful bit of dormant knowledge in my head such as when I need to help my

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of a million little leaves.

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The autumn weather and colours brought me on a long wandering walk this past weekend through the rolling single-track trails of our local river valley. Fifteen minutes of brisk strolling in the direction of the parklike preserve finds multiple opportunities to step into a wilderness that changes with the season. For a few days, literally only days, each year the trail is a glorious canopy of oranges and yellows, and on rare days it is

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of nature studies and pinecones.

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Autumn arrived like an express train, passing between the trees with a gust of chilly wind and leaving behind a noticeable change in the mood. The leaves changed colour with its arrival, folding from a mature, ripe green hue to patterns of orange and red and yellow and brown. These are colours to which I have learned this year to give new names: ochre, umber, rust, and olive. While I spent hours of my weekend

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