How I'm Finding My Way Back to Nature Journaling

In the easiest way I know!

It’s been half a year since I last wrote a post! So, whether you are joining me for the first time or you joined me sometime last year, I’m grateful you are here and reading. Thank you. Your attention is precious to me and I am grateful for it.

Many things caused this long absence.¹ It’s not that I haven’t been out in nature, I still do this everyday. It’s not that I haven’t been sketching in my nature journal, though I admit, I haven’t been doing a lot. There were long stretches when I took my kit with me but never stopped to sketch. As 2022 moved into fall, then winter, like the plants and animals, I slowed down, shed a lot of energy, and fell into creative hibernation.

Now spring is finally here in the Pacific Northwest and I am finding my way back to regular nature journaling. I want to share how I’m making this happen.

I love a new sketchbook because of the possibility that it represents. I imagine a sketchbook filled with with colorful and expressive drawings, each page relating to the next. But here’s one problem: I have so many exciting ideas and this wealth of ideas also causes me a bit of paralysis.² Because I have the idea/wish that the first page sets the tone for a sketchbook and I want all the following pages to follow a similar style or theme all the way through,³ I worry that I’m going to “ruin” this new sketchbook by picking the “wrong” theme or making a bad first drawing. I needed a way to get past this idea that I am going to “ruin” the entire book on the first page!

Recently I saw an Instagram post by Lyn Beaton⁴. She posted a line drawing of a eucalyptus sprig. It was done over a spalsh of watercolor paint. I admired how the watercolor underneath came through successive layers to lend character to her line drawing. I decided I wanted to try this too!

I have seen other artist work this way⁵ - draw on top of a wash without trying to make the drawing fit the wash- as an antidote for the fear of the blank page.

This is how I have decided to inject new energy into my nature journaling and achieve the “escape velocity” needed to break out of my creative inertia.

Examples of "splashes" of watercolor in my small sketchbook

First: I’m prepping my sketchbook pages at home. Second: While out walking, when I decide to draw, I’m choosing the spread that looks and feels fun to draw on, even if this means jumping around and skipping pages.

Below is an example of a sketch I did using this approach.

And below are photos showing what my process was.

The funny shape in the bottom right corner is supposed to be an adult and child just past a pathway! Figures in the landscape is definitely a growth edge for me!

After doing this a few times I realized another benefit to this approach - it cuts through my dithering. Having my pages already prepped with color did help release my fear of ruining the page!⁶

In the coming days, I’m gong to experiment with a third thing I could do to make things as easy as possible. On the days when I walk in the woods with both my dog and spouse, because I don’t have much time (10-30 seconds tops!), I’m simplifying even further by taking just one drawing tool with me. I hope to report back on how this is working out soon.

Has this post has been helpful to you in some way? If so, comments are a great way to show your support and encourage me to keep sharing. Do you have a favorite “jump start my practice” method? Let’s share this with each other as well!

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Until next time, if you live in the Northern hemisphere I hope you are enjoying warmer weather. If you live in the Southern hemisphere, then I hope you are enjoying cooling weather.

Most sincerely,

Alma

1. A short spate of dog-sitting commitments, new dog adoption, a shoulder injury, I’ve started teaching private art classes.

2. I’m certain I’m not the only one who experiences this phenomenon. I’ve heard it called, “Fear of the blank page.”

3. There are so many drool worthy examples on social media of this type of follow-through in a sketchbook. This may be part of my problem! I want to stop comparing myself to others and just do what works for me. Even if that means a sketchbook with a lot of seemingly unrelated sketches.

4. You can find Lyn’s work on Instagram: @lynsartloft.

5. See

Koosje Koene

here on Substack and on Instagram: @koosjekoene.

6. But to be totally open, I often simply turn the page and start a new sketch if things REALLY go badly.