Some recent sketches

I haven’t posted much recently, partially because I’ve been trying to get out and sketch more when the weather had been nice, which means less time online. It’s funny how the internet exerts such a siren call, enticing me to spend time online, but when I just get outside and start sketching, I feel free of that pull and immerse myself more in the present moment. Here are a few sketches of some such recent “present moments,” some alone and some with Stephen.
Looking downriver from Shadows restaurant during Stephen’s birthday dinner
Bowdoin Park oak tree

Outer Banks Meandering July 2015

I folded what is sometimes called a meander or maze book from a single sheet of watercolor paper (22″ x 30″) and filled it up (32 pages) on our Fischer family vacation to the Outer Banks. I love the word “meander,” since that is what I do when I have a sketchbook in hand and nature aplenty to observe, so I am calling it that, as “meander” describes both form and function for me. I followed Cathy Johnson’s Youtube tutorial and folded the whole meander book in about ten minutes– very satisfying for this craft-averse person. I will definitely be making more of these!

We had a wonderful time with Stephen’s family, as we always do. We stayed in a house on the Currituck Sound side of the Outer Banks (as opposed to the ocean side) for the first time this year, and I spent hours every day walking and sitting observing the flora and fauna of the Outer Banks. I had planned to do a lot of people sketching, too, but I ended up only sketching people a few times, as I was mostly in conversation when with the family and otherwise was outside observing birds, dragonflies, and plant life. One afternoon a few of us attended a fabulous dragonfly identification workshop, which was very timely, since I had spent the previous afternoon sketching dragonflies.

Below are photos of my meander book– both sides of the whole book unfolded, then closer scans of some of the pages. You can click the images to see them large enough to read my notes, if you so desire.

Sunset July 22 from Currituck Banks Reserve
Sunset July 23 from Currituck Banks Reserve