Obedient Plant in Field

Last week while hiking I stumbled upon obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana), in a small field near water. This is the time of year to spot them, beginning bloom is late summer. Why is it named, “obedient?” Obedient refers to the fact that if you take the stem and turn, bend, or twist it, it will remain in that position. I tried it and it worked. See, isn’t nature lots of fun?

This cluster of obedient plants were loaded with bumble bees.

Obedient Plant

When in nature, try to get down closer to the ground to get a different view point. You may be surprised at how interesting things are at this level.

Obedient Plant close up

Isn’t that beautiful? This doesn’t look like a bumble bee to me, I’m not sure what insect that is and too bad I didn’t notice it when I was taking the picture or I would have stuck around to watch.

Bumble Bee on Obedient Plant

This definitely is a bumble bee. I love the detail in the wings.

Bumble Bee Profile on Obedient Plant

I love to watch their heavy little bodies fly in and out of the flower as they diligently search for sweetness.

Bumble Bee on Obedient Plant watercolor sketch

Here is a small watercolor and micron pen sketch. The folded wings on the bumble bee’s back were fascinating to paint. It was only after following with brush in hand, did I understand their placement.

I hope you enjoyed the photos and sketch of the obedient plant. Maybe you learned something new? Now go out there and play with those stems!

The first thing we noticed was the subtle signs of autumn. Just a few hints here and there, let us know what is about to occur. I can’t wait. Autumn is my favorite time of year. 

Here is the scene we decided to sketch. What caught our attention was the one single autumn tree across the slough. Sometimes I feel like that little tree, sticking out like a sore thumb, just a little different from the rest. That’s okay, it’s our differences which makes us unique. 

I’ll tell you a little story…a customer at work regularly picks up his order at my place of employment. He has a very unique and friendly personality and sort of resembles a hippy with long hair. Today, he picked up his order and I didn’t even recognize him, for he cut his hair and was wearing “professional” clothes and looked like every other person that walks through the door. Humf. I sort of miss the unique-ness about him. If it will better his career and he feels good about himself than I will be happy for him. But if he wants to look like every other green tree, than he will get lost in the crowd. Be yourself and be the orange tree. 

Here we are sketching at the look-out post over Long John Slough. I on the left and Alanna on the right, with brushes in our pockets, we are students of nature. 

Artwork by Alanna

Here is Alanna’s beautiful translation of early autumn on Long John Slough. 

Artwork by Chris

And here is my interpretation of the “one sticking out”.
A few notes I scribbled down: 

72°F sunny, no clouds
9:55am 

Hummingbirds (Ruby-throated) feed on the orange jewel weeds as they hover in mid-air. They need to fill up before their long trip back to Mexico and Central America. Busy filling up, they allow us to stand 6 feet away and respectfully watch in awe.
Two Great Crested flycatchers stop above the red berries. They carefully inspect us and quickly fly off.
One Swallowtail butterfly flies back and forth above the slough, as a snapping turtle pokes his head above the water. 

Do you see it has nothing to do with how well we paint, but how much we learn. 

Here is the Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus). I am glad to have spotted you before your journey south. 

I hope you have enjoyed the August sketch class at the Little Red Schoolhouse. Maybe you are at work right now surfing the web and it put a little smile on your face, I’m glad. The next one will be Saturday, September 25th. Perhaps you can join us for this free event?

Free Sketch Class at the Little Red Schoolhouse

“There’s nothing free in life.” Said the pessimist.
OH, YES THERE IS!!!

Just a friendly reminder, this Saturday is the next free plein air sketch class at the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center. If you are in the Chicago area and would like to attend, meet at the schoolhouse at 9AM. Unless specified, we are going to try to establish a regular date, every last Saturday of the month. Artists can paint as they watch me do a step-by-step watercolor demonstration or they can go off on their own and sketch what they like, returning to the education center at 11:30am to discuss art. 

For address and supply list, click here to view the class page.

Bookshelf Kitty watercolor sketch

I recently purchased a new bookshelf. No sooner after I put it together and before I could fill it with books, my kitty claimed her own shelf. No books will enter this shelf, I will honor her choice. I suppose it is a cool surface, a tiny hide-a-way spot where she can relax. I understand.

After a hot summer of closed windows and central air,
A short reprieve has been granted.
Kitty on the shelf, mesmerized by blowing drapes,
Closes her eyes and sniffs the fresh air.

I love to watch her.

Spring Redbuds

Summer Blazing Stars

Autumn’s Show

Winter Pines along Creek

Each bookmark is printed on 80lb cardstock and laminated, also comes with a tassel. These bookmarks are prints and not originals, therefore the colors you see on the screen may not match exact colors printed out.

Bookmarks are $5 each or you can purchase all 4 bookmarks for $15. That’s getting one bookmark for free! Shipping and tax is included in the price. To purchase, see the new bookmark page of this site. They can make great teacher’s gifts for Christmas…OH…I said the “C” word and it’s only August!

Ok, in other nature news, the first week of the Weekly Sketcher art and phenology project has been published. One post will publish per week for 52 weeks. Each post has a sketch and description on the weather and surroundings at the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center. It is my little historical document of the seasonal changes from Aug. 2009 – Aug. 2010. It’s a bunch of fun to see changes from week to week, I hope you enjoy reading them.

Lastly, in nature news, I will be hosting a free Sketching in Nature classes every last Saturday of the month (unless specified) at the Little Red Schoolhouse. You can read class description and find a supply list on the “classes” page. The next one is soon…Saturday, August 28th! Join me with your sketchbook and learn how to make complicated landscapes into simple watercolor sketches. We are all beginners so don’t worry if you think you are not talented enough! Hope to see you there.

Here we have a succulent tree cavity, which I spotted 20 feet off trail. It sparked my curiosity. I couldn’t hold back. Stepping around poison ivy….it was like gravity, I was drawn. Who is in there?

At home, I can zoom in on the computer and inspect the hole. What is that reflection in center? Are those eyes?

OH WOW! Look at this monster! If I only knew when my hand was in the tree, I would not have been as brave. To tell you the truth, it was probably more scared of the monster (me) that invaded his home, than I would have been of him.

Nature might not always be pretty, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Sometimes our own fears get in the way of beautiful nature.

Here is my reference photo, not the greatest I know, but hey, I really did meet this beautiful girl at the pond in the woods. Now this can either be a female or a juvenile male pondhawk. An adult male pondhawk is all blue with a green head. Today I am going to believe it is female. Girls rule, boys drual…just kidding!

Step 1: Make a pencil sketch on cold press watercolor paper.

Step 2: Paint the body with cad yellow and the wings a pale gray by mixing a tiny bit of indigo blue, sap green, and crimson, with much water to create a diluted gray.

Step 3: Mix a tiny bit of sap green to your cad yellow on your palate and paint the body. Leave some pure yellow showing through. Do not cover the whole body.

Step 4: Using pure sap green, paint the tip of the head and the abdomen. Just like before, don’t cover the whole body, leave some pure yellow-green showing through.

Step 5: Here comes the cool part! Make a black mixture using blue, red, and green. Paint the black spots. Don’t go crazy though, look at the reference photo before placing black spots.

Step 6: Paint the eyes with a gray mixture. You can dilute your black mixture with water to make gray. Make more details with a black micron pen or fine rigger brush, look at the segments in the abdomen and notice the black line running down. Painting is all about noticing the details.

Step 7: Now, I do not have an expensive camera and can not tell what is going on in the wings or head…that’s OK, I’m not worried, if you just suggest what’s going on, the viewer will believe it. Remember, there is no stress when painting, only fun. In this step I took my micron black pen and made lines on the wings to suggest separation. I also made legs with the pen.

Step 7b: You thought you were having fun before? Look at this step! When everything was dry, I painted an iridescent medium on top of the wings. This watercolor iridescent medium is not gaudy, but subtle. You can only see the iridescent glitter when you hold the painting on an angle to the light. I love it.

Female Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly watercolor

Step 8 Final: This is optional. I added a green background using leftover paint on my palate. I also added a darker green stick for my dragonfly to rest on and a flower for interest. Now I know this pondhawk isn’t perfect but it sure does remind me of my encounter in the woods at the pond. How lovely.

I have total confidence that you can do this step-by-step dragonfly. Just try it and don’t give up, you might just surprise yourself!

I am proud to announce a phenology art project that I have been working on for one year has completed today on August 8, 2010. What is phenology? Phenology is the study of the seasons and how it affects plants and animals. To better appreciate what happens each week in nature, I decided to document the changes through detailed descriptions and a watercolor sketch at one location only.

You would not believe the amount of great info I’ve learned in 52 weeks.

I would like to share that information by unveiling a new website I’ve started called, Weekly Sketcher. Each week’s hike is schedule to publish on the day I discovered it one year later. The first one will publish next weekend.

Why did I not publish it as I went? Well, the location is a very public place and I wanted to remain anonymous. I learn best by myself, alone. Growing up as an only child has trained me that way, I guess.

Each week will contain a watercolor picture, description of the sights, smells, and sounds, and a GPS location so you can find that very location if you choose.

Please visit www.weeklysketcher.com to experience a year at the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center. You can sign up to receive an email update once a week if you would like, on the side bar of the site.

Thank you for sharing in this exciting adventure!

Summer.
In my area it is time for summer. That time of year when the days are long and hot, the nights are short and cool and the crickets sing a soothing song. In my backyard, I have a tiny patio with a small table, perfect for getting away. When I can’t escape to the woods, I like to sit out there and listen to nature. It is my summer sanctuary.

Speaking of nature sounds…there is a great site you may want to visit called, The Music of Nature. It is a group of people whose mission is to celebrate the nature at hand by presenting sound recordings and videos. You can find samples of birds, insects, coyotes, and frogs.
Try it out, it’s just a bunch of fun!

This is Long John Slough. We liked the shape of the trees and the color of the sky and clouds.

Here is Alanna, my first non-internet student! We had a very enjoyable morning, as crickets, birds, and cicadas sang to us while we painted.

Slough Artwork by Alanna

Here is a beautiful sketch by Alanna. I think she did a very nice job, well done.

Slough Artwork by Chris

Here is my sketch. You may think that we just painted birds in the sky to include some wildlife and give our scene more excitement, but no, those geese flew at that very spot while we painted. How cool is that?

How can you beat such a beautiful inspiring view? Painting in nature is truly good therapy.

After we were done, we decided to walk the trail. We encountered lots of wildlife, including a monster…

This crawdad was HUGE (6 or 7 inches) and was standing in the middle of the trail ready to attack! He wanted to eat me, I can tell…

I saw it in his eyes! We barely escaped with our lives. (LOL)

On a happier note, this swallowtail butterfly landed on a tree, right by us and allowed us to take some pictures. How blessed we are.

My friend Sharon was going to be at this sketchcrawl and was looking forward to this day. I am not sad, nor will I be depressed, and let it discourage me from painting for I know that she was with us and that all things work for the good of those who love God…

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Rom 8:28

I wish to thank everyone for your kind comments about the passing of my friend. They really comforted me during a trying time.