Congratulations to all here--we've won another award!

Many of you may know of the annual awards initiated by Katherine Tyrrell of the inspiring Making a Mark blog. This year, Sketching in Nature has been chosen to win the challenge up as the best art project!

Thanks to all our wonderful contributors...you make the blog what it is---and thank you, Katherine, we're honored and thrilled. 

You'll see this proudly displayed in our sidebar at right, joining our "Going Greener" award.

Katherine writes:

In the end I decided that the art blog project which was worthy of note is a project led by Cathy Johnson which received Making A Mark's Going Greener Gong in 2009. 

Group blog projects often 'fall over' after a time. People get interested in other things, participation drops off and then before you know it very few people are posting.

Sketching in Nature started in 2009, has developed a linked site on Flickr (with 748 members) where they often identify future blog correspondents, has grown its correspondent base as a result (by invitation only) and every week it generates between 5 and 10 posts. So lots for people to read making a blog worth subscribing too, if you have a similar interest, but not a huge commitment for an individual correspondent. It's also a correspondent recruitment model which tends to raise the calibre of the post. Plus the posts stay on topic and do not drift away from the reason for its existence i.e. sketching nature from observation and at first hand. Moderation also seems to be pretty effective in reviewing output and keeping the comments on topic as well! Bottom line this is a blog which has made a commitment to being both on topic and sustainable!

The 2012 winner of

The Best Art Blog Project Virtual Challenge Cup is

"Sketching in Nature"

Sketching on the spot, outdoors; field sketches;

learning from our sketches; nature observation; exploring with a sketchbook.

See all of this year's award winners on Making a Mark, HERE, and congratulations to all!

Making a Mark awards coming up!

Last year we at Sketching in Nature were delighted to win the Going Greener Gong award on Katherine Tyrrell's Making a Mark--it's that time again, to nominate blogs and artists.

There are several categories this year--go to Making a Mark to learn more, but here are your options

NOMINATE ART BLOGS and ARTISTS for the Best Artwork 2010

• NEW!!! The Best Nature 2010

• NOMINATE ART BLOGS: Getting out of the Studio

These include the categories below--

• The Painting Plein Air Plus Prize
• The Travels with a Sketchbook Trophy
• The Going Greener Gong

Click the links to find out more about each award and how to nominate.

Katherine writes "It's important to note that artists can nominate themselves as well as nominating other artists they think are deserving of the recognition - however the person nominated MUST be an art blogger."

Check out last year's winners and think about who you'd like to see win this honor this year.  It's not an easy choice, there are some wonderful blogs and websites out there.  I'm having trouble choosing between them, myself...

We won an award!

Every year, Katherine Tyrrell of the marvelous Making a Mark blog gives out awards to nominated artists, blogs, groups, etc. This year, Sketching in Nature gets it for "Going Greener"--with many kind words for YOU, our contributors. Congratulations, all! I'm very proud of you.

Feel free to spread the word on your own blogs!

And here is more information: http://makingamark.blogspot.com/2009/12/making-mark-awards-2009-part-1.html

Thank you, Katherine!

Thomas Bewick on Making a Mark--and here!

This quick gesture sketch captures the pose and approximate markings, though the outer edges of the wren's tail are white--I missed that!

If you've ever heard of Thomas Bewick, artist/naturalist and wood engraver (and if you're a birder you'll remember Bewick's Wren and perhaps Bewick's Swan, though he also illustrated a book on quadrupeds and did a great many humorous illustrations as well), you'll enjoy this post by Katherine Tyrrell on her terrifically helpful blog, "Making a Mark."

Here's a direct link to today's post--you'll enjoy it!

More on the artist from the Bewick Society, http://www.bewicksociety.org/

Bewick’s Wren, known scientifically as Thryomanes bewickii, was collected by John James Audubon on its winter quarters in Louisiana in 1821. Audubon reportedly described this tiny bird and named for his friend, Thomas Bewick, a British engraver. It occurs in Great Britain and elsewhere, as well. Its range on the North American Continent ranged from southern Canada to Mexico, largely in the East to Midwest--we have them here in Missouri, but they're not as common as house wrens or winter wrens.