Hiking & Painting in Nature – Chicago
Let's go hiking and painting at Churchill Woods. Come on... I'll bring Oscar Mayer the dog and you bring yourself! It will be fun. When Oscar Mayer stops to do his business, I stop to notice nature up close. Here we have lichen growing among moss on tree bark. Very delicate and very beautiful. Delicate? … Continue reading December Tree Overlooks Snow Crested Bank Watercolor
Jan, Catherine, Christine, Donna, Debby, Alanna (front) My MeetUp group: Chicagoland Sketchbook Hikers, meets all over the place. That's the goal, especially since the Chicago area (you might not realize) has a ton of preserved land which is a refuge, an oasis, shall we say for souls like ourselves that need to connect with nature. … Continue reading Sketch Class Results Hammel Woods
Last Saturday I had the chance to visit my old stomping grounds and have a picnic with a friend at Kennedy Park in Chicago. I always had admired this field house. It is all stone and quality built. They don't make them like this anymore. Now it is all about cheap materials, cheap labor, and … Continue reading Kennedy Park Field House watercolor sketch
A little cold and a little gray....but that didn't stop our fun at the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center Sketch Class! I saw a notification on the Illinois Bird List website that a pair of Osprey were building a nest on the platform in Long John Slough, so I was very excited to tell the … Continue reading Sketch Class Results March 2012
The cold realities of winter did not hinder our love for art and nature. All eager participants showed up bright and early on this frosty January morning, ready to get to work play. We did however, agree to sketch from inside the nature center as the wind was fierce and the wind chill was in the … Continue reading Sketch Class Results Jan 2012
The group, 10 including myself, was the biggest we've ever had and on a morning like this one, it couldn't have gotten any better; The sky: pure blue, the temps: perfectly mild, and the artistic fellowship while connecting with nature: magnificent! We decided to hang out by Long John Slough and sketched the trail and background. … Continue reading August 2011 Sketch Class Results
Saturday we woke up to a very threatening sky. Dark and ominous. Ready to unleash buckets of rain? We didn't know...but we took our chances anyway. And OH BOY I'm glad we did, because the rain held off right up until the end! Whooo Hoooo! Sketch class, here we go! This is the scene we decided to sketch. … Continue reading Sketch Class Results May 2011
Do you want to go on a hike with me at McClaughrey Springs Woods? We'll find some woodland wildflowers and after that, I'll show you a real easy step-by-step watercolor sketch. I know you can do this one! I'll give you techniques to take a complicated landscape and create a simple watercolor for your journal. … Continue reading Sketchbook Hiking: McClaughrey VIDEO
Spring at Centennial ParkSpring...new beginnings...tender...fresh...new life. Those are just a few words that come to mind when I think of spring. A few days ago I had the chance to experience those feelings at Centennial Park in Orland Park, IL. A cute little gazebo adorns a lake which is teaming with wildlife! On this … Continue reading Spring Gazebo Watercolor Sketch
Little Red Schoolhouse Sketch Class April 2011Amanda, Scott, Michelle, Amy, Lori, Alanna (kneeling), myself, and Sue Wow! What a class!!! Finally blessed with a perfect warm day to do some watercolor sketching, the group headed out on the White Oak Trail in search for woodland wildflowers...and oh boy, did we find a treasure of them! Mesmerized … Continue reading Sketch Class Results April 2011
