Time Out for Sketching--Vickie Henderson

I've just returned from the New River Birding and Nature Festival in West Virginia, a fun, camp-like and personable way to learn about birds from the experts.  And an equally fun way to meet other people who love nature.

The above sketch is the New River Gorge Bridge, an impressive structure that is unique in the world.  Not only is the ground below it honey-combed with abandoned coal mines, its structure is a single-span arch, the largest in the world.  And below it is the beautiful New River, a place of white water and boulders surrounded by ridges and wood warbler nesting.

No matter how much I wanted to sketch the beauty around me, I did well to survive the rigor of the schedule and take in all that was available to enjoy and learn.  So my sketchbook journey now becomes a way of slowing down my experience, gleaning out my favorite discoveries and enriching my world as I integrate all that I learned on my sketchbook pages.

To see more about this birding adventure, visit my New River Festival Posts at Vickie Henderson Art.
And for more on the challenge of time, visit The Hardest Thing About Sketching is Time at Vickie's Sketchbook.