Nature & Nurture Journaling Class

It's time to sign up for Nature & Nurture: a six week online class (do at your own pace) covering the lives of Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and Beatrix Potter. We'll talk about their lives, the landscapes they lived in, how that nature translated to their writings, and what observations we can make about our own lives in nature. As a bonus we will also explore teatime with these authors and try our hand at painting some food.

Landscape has a huge effect on one's life, even when we don't realize it. The three landscapes of these authors are unique and varied. 

 

Each of these authors lived during a different time in "tea history" and we'll explore what kinds of tea they drank, what they had to accompany that, and how we can "taste history" ourselves.

The houses these women lived in played another role in their lives and writings.

We'll talk about the moods of landscape and how those moods appeared in the books that were written.

Included will be plenty of watercolor tutorials so you can add to your sketchbook!

And there will be an optional live Zoom each Wednesday evening so you can join others in the class to discuss what we are learning.

If you have any questions, find me on Facebook or Instagram and send me a DM.

I'd love to have you join me! Find the sign-up info by clicking this link. 

FREE Journaling Winter Nature Journaling Course in January

 

I am so excited to offer you a free online nature journaling course this January called Journaling Winter!

You can access this course by signing up for my newsletter (see the left side-bar of this blog). All you need will come automatically to your email inbox (well, except for physical painting supplies)! You can then view the course whenever you want on your own schedule.

I created this course because I want to encourage everyone to get out and explore nature this winter as one of the biggest ways to beat the winter blues and find encouragement and joy in what can be a discouraging time of year. I am convinced that connecting with nature will reap benefits in each of our lives. 

I hope you find a way to make nature connection a part of your winter! If you take the course, let me know if you enjoyed it. 

Capture Summer Workshop

Today my mom and I completed the second of four watercolor nature journaling workshops we are doing this summer!



What a joy to be out in the beautiful Indiana summer enjoying the flowers and wildlife and introducing people to watercolor!

Last Saturday our attendees braved the 94+ degree weather to spend the day at Coxhall Gardens.

Watching people grasp basic watercolor techniques and color mixing is such fun!

Group one had 15 participants and we all huddled in the circle created by a bunch of pine trees.

The best part of the day is seeing all the lovely paintings everyone creates!

Today's workshop moved indoors for the first half of the day as the temperatures began in the high 60's and rain threatened.

The overcast skies created a beautiful contrast of gray and bright green.

This morning we painted bee balm, wild rose, and chicory. I loved seeing everyone's work.

Each sketchbook was unique and beautiful!

After lunch we headed out to the park for our afternoon session.

After a walk around the pond observing the redwing blackbirds and even a snake (!!) we worked on landscape elements.

And before we knew it the workshops were over! There will be another one to look forward to in July and then August!

Nature Journal: Plein Air Painting

Over the past two weeks I've done several "plein air" painting outings down to my Secret Beach. Plein air is the fancy term for outdoor painting. It was popularized by Claude Monet and his Impressionist friends in the 19th century. We have our own hero of plein air painting here in Indiana -T. C. Steele (whose home can be visited in Brown County). 

When out in nature, it's hard to narrow down a subject from everything that is in our eyesight. In class we talked about choosing what we feel inspired by or emotionally connected to. We also practiced using view finders and the Rule of Thirds.

I loved taking the classes out of the classroom and into nature to sit and compose their drawings!

One class was even blessed to discover a newt!

It's so nice and peaceful at the Secret Beach. However, there are a number of hickory and black walnut trees around so every now and then one thinks a group of boys is throwing things our way!

James decided on a grouping of autumn leaves.

I chose the river bank to paint today.

One of my favorite nature writers is Gladys Taber and this week I finished reading her autobiography:

 (Harvest of Yesterdaysby Gladys Taber)
In this book Taber tells the story of her life from her birth in the late 19th century to her growing up years in the midwest and her eventual settling in Connecticut and Massachusetts. She tells of her college years during World War I and how she survived the flu epidemic that followed. We learn about her marriage and eventually her purchase of the Connecticut farm that would become so prominent in her writings. I always enjoy hearing how writers/artists began their careers and what influences in their childhood play a part in their later life.

I've just finished the first session of my Nature Journaling classes and have a two week break before the November session begins! (More information on my classes can be found here: Westside Art Workshop).

One more day of school and then fall break begins! I hope to be able to have a little more time than usual to enjoy the beauty of fall!

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