Being & Birds

I started a nature journal! This has been a long time coming. I’ve never considered myself good at drawing so I have been shocked and elated to find that I enjoy the process of drawing and the outcome.

After viewing lots of art and being constantly reminded about how drawing birds will improve your birding skills, the stars aligned when I suggested to my partner that we spend an evening trying to draw a bird from memory. I felt I had a pretty good grasp on the field marks of an American Robin so that’s what I chose. I did ok. My drawing resembled a robin. My next step was to find an eBird image of an American Robin and try to replicate it. To my surprise and delight, my drawing of a robin had improved. I feverishly looked for resources on how to draw birds.

I went to Barnes and Noble and bought the most popular book for how to draw birds. I gave it a try. “Wow, this is hard and my drawing is terrible.” Not surprised by my historical lack of skill, but upset because I thought I had gained traction with my recent experience drawing the robin. Instead of dwelling in my usual self-defeating thoughts, my desire to be good at drawing birds persevered and I thought “maybe pencil isn’t my personal choice of artistic medium.”

I remembered the practice of nature journaling and all of the colorful images I had seen in other’s journals. I scoured the internet for resources and found a medium that seemed to make sense for me: pen and watercolor. I went to Blick art supplies and got all the supplies I needed for under $50. I bought a watercolor pad, a water brush, and a watercolor palette.

My first drawing was of the Serviceberry in the front yard, with under an hour of daylight and the mosquitoes matching my vigor. Voila! I had my first drawing in my nature journal and I was pleased.

It’s been a few weeks since then and I have been kept plenty busy with all of the nature material in the back vegetable garden: flowers, birds, insects, fruits, and leaves. What a special place to retreat to and to focus in on all the detail and beauty.