January Treasures

I pick up little treasures everywhere, especially on my walks and hikes. This January was ripe with good walking, and I gathered a nice collection. I keep these in a little envelope at the back of my pocket sketchbooks or in a bag that contains my "always with me" snack (it is a great reason to snack - by the way - to empty the bag :) Some of these I draw on site (while working on that snack), some come with me home, and I draw them when I have a moment. Some days it takes a few hours to find time to draw these, and some of these I found a couple of weeks later - little time capsules of the color and texture tucked in a pocket. I added little sketches and notes from photos and memory to some of these. 

Forest Diary

Sketching the redwood forests on the Pacific Coast as I hike is a speeding activity - but is always worth it - even if all I get to do is put a few lines on the page or spread some huckleberries as an illustration to what is happening (see process photos below)! Bits of text are usually added when I get to the table and glue and tape in my day's sketching bounty. The forest was wet and full of wonderful light and colors. I am ready to go there again! 

A lovely hike and sketch - with an unexpected frustration.

I had a couple of brief moments of waiting for my companions on a local hike recently and I sketched. But with some unexpected frustration: both reds in my pocket palette lost the pigment completely. Both my Cadmium Red and Alizarin Crimson just fossilized.

This is a hike that in winter is very blue and green. At least that is how I think about it, so I did not need reds too much - but I missed mixing grays for the shadows and tree trunks and roads and trails! 

There was no return of pigment no matter what I tried at home - including soaking for multiple days and grinding and then soaking, grinding, and adding binding agents - nothing worked - the best I got back after a lot of work was very weak gray. 

But now I refilled the palette and hopefully am ready for the next hike!