Sketchbook–Winter Twigs

On my walks on these dreary wet days of winter, it seems that nature is asleep and I see nothing but bare twigs and dead field grasses.  Recently I took a closer look when I began searching for something to sketch for a sketchbook exchange project I am involved in (more about that later).  I was surprised to note that many buds were already beginning to swell, bright catkins were dangling in the breeze and the lovely chartreuse petal-like bracts unfolding on the native Dogwood trees.

You have to look closely but the subtle signs of spring on its way are there even on these cold dark days of January! The buds on the native oak tree growing on the Willamette River bluff are beginning to swell.

I happily collected some twigs to paint in the warmth of my studio, feeling that spring wasn’t so far away after all. Here I am building up the colors.

January sketchbook pages with twigs that hint of spring, Pacific Dogwood, Red Flowering Currant, and Beaked Hazelnut.

The title page from my sketchbook with dried field grass in graphite as a background.

Our local botanical art group, Oregon Botanical Artists, was inspired by the wonderful sketchbook exchange project, Nature Trails to start our own exchange. We have 14 participants, so I will create an entry each month for the next fourteen months in a different sketchbook, and the other participants will do the same as we rotate them around.  At the end, we will each have a sketchbook filled with botanical sketches from 14 different artists.  In case you are wondering, one of our members suggested the whimsical title “Sisters of the Traveling Paints” for our project, so I thought it would be fitting to have it float on the grass blade.

As you can see on my 2-page spread, I used three pigments to mix all of the greens, browns and rich reds that I needed–Winsor Blue Green Shade, Transparent Yellow and Permanent Rose. The WBGS and TY combination makes a bright spring green, so that was my starting point. I used a very watery mixture of Payne’s Grey and Cobalt Violet to shade the lime-green bracts and yellowish catkins. Although they are both semi-opaque pigments, I find they create lovely, delicate shadows for yellow subjects.

What signs of spring are you seeing in your neighborhood?