Friday, February 24, 2012

Birdwatching at the Orchard

2-20-12, Nature Sketching (Greenfield as seen from Colrain)
©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, Greenfield as seen from Colrain. Pen in large handbook journal.

My husband took me to a nearby apple orchard to do some nature sketching the other day. The orchard sits upon a high hill which has a 180° view of the mountains surrounding Greenfield, MA. It's too bad that I didn't have my colored pencils or watercolors with me because they would have been great for this scene. All I had in my purse were some pens, which are my favorite sketching tool, but it felt a bit awkward for drawing all these trees.

When we were sitting in the car sketching, we noticed three or four bluebirds on the nearby apple trees. I was amazed because bluebirds are very rare. Then, the bluebirds started acting crazy and they all scattered when a giant hawk swooped down right near us. The hawk was being attacked by two crows, which chased the it all the way down into the valley. The hawk must have been threatening the crow's nest or something along those lines. This happened too quick for me to make a sketch or even take a photo, but it was exciting to watch.

My husband snapped a photo of me in the car sketching, looking very serious with my coffee!

2-20-12, Me Nature Sketching

5 comments:

  1. Carolyn, this is a terrific sketch. I really like it with just pen. Your textures are great and you've managed to create a sense of distance very well. I wouldn't change a thing. Well done!

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  2. Thank you Paula. I always second guess myself because my sketches tend to look very "sketchy" but other people tend to think of their sketcbook or journal as more for finished drawings or paintings.

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  3. Wonderful textures, Carolyn! I love how you use ink...and sketches are wonderful, especially here.

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  4. A very nice sketch. It reminds me that I should be out doing the same thing. Thanks for sharing.

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