How to Start a Nature Journaling Practice?

Don't know where to start (to learn) to do nature journaling? Mental block? Time constraints? Perfectionism? Other reasons (excuses)?

Check out John Muir Laws' Blog Archives of How To Draw topics, as one place to find inspirational instruction.

The Challenge

1. Pick a category of something from nature that you would like to investigate further. (Example categories: birds, mammals, insects, plants/flowers, lizards, etc.).

2. Go to John Muir Laws' Blog Archives and find your topic or category. Review the list of instructional videos that can help inspire you. Watch it!

3. Spend time drawing. Nothing special, just draw! Don't judge yourself. *Don't need to show it to anyone, unless you want to. 

4. Optional: Go to Shadow Hills Nature Journal Club's Facebook public page  and *share! What did you learn? What did you notice? 

That's it. Get started. Draw. Share. Make an apt with yourself do it--again.  

Start with a once a week goal.

OPTIONAL CHALLENGE

1. Find someone to go do nature journaling with:  A friend. A family member. A Nature Journaling Club.
2. Set a date/time to GO OUTSIDE and observe. Record your observations (pictures optional).

Perfectionism is the enemy of completion or possibly even starting?

The MOST Important BEST FIRST Step--Get Outside and Observe!

I've been inspired to draw a series of birds after attending several  San Fernando Valley Audubon Society's "Bird Sit" meetups. 

My inspiration comes from getting outside to observe! I struggle to draw plein air, so instead I observe, listen, take notes. Return home and select one bird I observed, find a reference photo. Draw. Then do some research to learn more about the chosen subject--add the facts that interest me and a personal story-- to the journal page. 

This process is getting me past all my "excuses" to draw. Most important is the act of getting outside to observe. 

Special Thanks to all the enthusiastic kind people (especially Teri) that attend and share their drawing experience at the "Bird Sit."

More birds to come...

My first "Bird Sit" journal entry. Too intimidated to draw plein air. Took notes which inspired further investigation to draw birds from reference photos. As I build my own personal confidence, I will share gesture drawings and hope to build my experience doing plein air compositions.

Drawn plein air at O'Melveny Park, Granada Hills, CA. 

All the following drawn from reference photos. (Credit given in text on each journal page).

Path to Unlock the Artist Within - Visit us June 22, 204 at Eaton Canyon's "A Day in Nature"

Shadow Hills NJC will be at Eaton Canyon's "A Day in Nature."  

NO reservation required. Just show up to enjoy all the activities at Eaton Canyon. 

More information.

Our mantra is "All Ages Can Nature Journal." At this event, Shadow Hills NJC will focus on ways that Nature Journaling can be a "Path to Unlock the Artist Within". Process and steps developed and taught by Betty Edwards (author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and Drawing on the Artist Within: An Inspirational and Practical Guide to Increasing Your Creative Powers), her techniques are explored as possible ways to learn to observe and translate what you see into drawings, using nature journaling as practice to unlock your "artist within".