Bluebells, Bluets and Practice--Vickie Henderson

The tiny Bluets growing along the wooded hillside in my yard this year are gorgeous.  Irresistible, in fact.  So I gathered up my outdoor sketch kit this past weekend and went outside.  

Practice is just what its meant to be, an experience full of mistakes, blunders and, most of all, learning.  And this experience was no exception.  I would love to create one of those beautiful en plein air landscapes that I often admire.  But until then, I practice.  It's a bit like riding a bicycle.  You don't learn how to balance until you actually try it--over and over again.  And nobody can tell you how.  Then one day, without you knowing it, your brain has integrated all that you've learned and you find yourself doing it.    

That's the fun of new discoveries.  They feel like magic!  

For more about my first 2010 outdoor sketching experience visit my blog post Fumbling En Plein Air  at Vickie's Sketchbook.  You may also enjoy seeing my Red-shouldered Hawk Sketchbook at Vickie Henderson Art.