Field Arts

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Art of Trees Workshop Images

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We just wrapped up a perfect Sunday: time spent with 13 enthusiastic tree-lovers in the Bay Area’s Holbrook-Palmer Park (California), learning and practicing tree sketching skills for field journaling.

For this Art of Trees workshop, co-instructor Patricia Larenas and I were bless with wonderful students, a beautiful day, and a plethora of interesting trees from which to choose, from the native stately Coast Live Oaks and mighty Coast Redwoods, to the exotic and odd Monkey Puzzles and Japanese Maples, all putting on a great show. The Atherton Arts Foundation was the perfect host, and we are so grateful for Dorothy and team who make it such a welcoming, perfect venue for art education.

Here are images of our pages and happy students.

Please join my email list to learn about future in-person (and online) field sketching and nature journaling classes!

This video shows the progression in Kate Rutter’s journal using the field exercises to zero in throughout the day on a final sketch of a wonderful Coast Live Oak. First sketch for scale and notes and ideas . . . she remarked it was a bit “flat” so she spent time with “oak marks” (love that!) and the next 13 thumbnails exploring and getting to know the oak, its shapes, negative shapes, bark, and finally found a perspective she loved and used in a completed final field sketch.

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NEW session added for Sonoran Desert Field Arts Bootcamp

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Due to popular demand, we are adding a second session of the Sonoran Desert Field Arts Bootcamp starting one day after the first—it will run from April 4 through lunch on Friday, April 7.

Southern Arizona in spring is magical—and southern Arizona in spring at a private ranch alongside a perennial river and a mythical wilderness is the best ever—and a rare opportunity not to be missed.

From April 4 – 7, this will be four days of pure immersion in field arts: nature journaling, field sketching and watercolor, animal tracking, birdwatching, reading the weather, using field optics, found pigments and inks, and much more.

The setting is a private ranch along Aravaipa Creek about 90 minutes north of Tucson, Arizona. These are ancestral lands of the Apache people, who used the fertile riverside valley for seasonal crops.

Your accommodations are comfortable but not high luxury—think 1970s big ranch house set in a grassy meadow, with a burbling creek running alongside; meals will be included and there is an optional van shuttle from the Tucson airport.

And new for this bootcamp—a camping option if you have your own vehicle and camp setup; there is a modern bathroom for campers. Our really low pricing reflects these options!

We’ll be able to host up to 20 participants because of the camping option, and there will be two instructors—Roseann & Jonathan Hanson. For details and to register, >CLICK HERE!<

Don’t delay — this is going to fill very quickly!

Fun videos — about one of our field arts activities, and a sneak-peek at the peaceful setting. Sound for both!

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Around the World in 80 Trees: Asia Part 2 [Free workshop]

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Inspired by Jonathan Drori’s wonderful books Around the World in 80 Trees and Around the World Plants, we’re going to travel around the globe by region and sketch interesting, weird, iconic, or beautiful trees and tree-like plants.

No. 6: Asia, Part 2

What you’ll need: a multi-media sketchbook or a strip map (see the versions I did for the other sessions, links below), pen and / or pencil for our base drawings, and then watercolor or colored pencil to quickly bring them to life.

TIP: I used a strip of heavy watercolor paper folded into four squares to create an “accordion” booklet to record my trees (8 total, 4 on each side).

Prepwork: have on hand a simple outline map of Europe so you can sketch location points for each species.

When: Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 10 am Arizona time (use a time converter to make sure you pick the right time for your time zone: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html )

HOW: Zoom link. This session is free but for security, registration is required. Sign up > HERE <.

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A virtual tour of my England journal pages

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Sketching and painting live at Wasdale Head, Lake District, where I hosted my first virtual field trip in 2020! See the workshop HERE!

My husband, Jonathan, and I spent a month in England recently, covering 1500 miles, from the Edgcumbe peninsula near Plymouth to the Lake District, and from Wales to Norwich!

We taught classes and gave presentations at the Armchair Adventure Festival, went birding with a friend in North Devon, explored Hereford and Hay on Wye, and then visited our overlanding publishing partner in Hitchin.

To top it off we also attended the initial print proofs for the European versions of my two books, Nature Journaling for a Wild Life and Master of Field Arts! (Both also available in the USA from my own Shop.)

These two books will soon be available in the UK, Europe and beyond—even Australia—through the highly respected natural history book and supplies retailer NHBS.com.

BONUS ALERT! They are taking pre-order now, and the first 15 customers will get FREE attendance at a 2023 Journaling Jumpstart workshop ($65 value).

Below is a video tour of all my journal pages. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed creating them! [Hint: click the “Full Screen” symbol on the video to open larger; it’s the square at the far right, bottom.]

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Sonoran Desert Field Arts Bootcamp – registration open!

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Southern Arizona in spring is magical—and southern Arizona in spring at a private ranch alongside a perennial river and a mythical wilderness is the best ever—and a rare opportunity not to be missed.

From March 30 to April 2, 2023, this will be four days of pure immersion in field arts: nature journaling, field sketching and watercolor, animal tracking, birdwatching, reading the weather, using field optics, found pigments and inks, and much more.

The setting is a private ranch along Aravaipa Creek about 90 minutes north of Tucson, Arizona. These are ancestral lands of the Apache people, who used the fertile riverside valley for seasonal crops.

Your accommodations are comfortable but not high luxury—think 1970s big ranch house set in a grassy meadow, with a burbling creek running alongside; meals will be included and there is an optional van shuttle from the Tucson airport.

And new for this bootcamp—a camping option if you have your own vehicle and camp setup; there is a modern bathroom for campers. Our really low pricing reflects these options!

We’ll be able to host up to 21 participants because of the camping option, and there will be two instructors—Roseann & Jonathan Hanson. For details and to register, >CLICK HERE!<

Don’t delay — this is going to fill very quickly!

Fun videos — about one of our field arts activities, and a sneak-peek at the peaceful setting. Sound for both!

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Around the World in 80 Trees: ASIA! [Free workshop]

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Inspired by Jonathan Drori’s wonderful books Around the World in 80 Trees and Around the World Plants, we’re going to travel around the globe by region and sketch interesting, weird, iconic, or beautiful trees and tree-like plants.

No. 5: Asia

What you’ll need: a multi-media sketchbook or a strip map (see the versions I did for the other sessions, links below), pen and / or pencil for our base drawings, and then watercolor or colored pencil to quickly bring them to life.

TIP: I used a strip of heavy watercolor paper folded into four squares to create an “accordion” booklet to record my trees (8 total, 4 on each side).

Prepwork: have on hand a simple outline map of Europe so you can sketch location points for each species.

When: Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 10 am Arizona time (use a time converter to make sure you pick the right time for your time zone: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html )

HOW: Zoom link. This session is free but for security, registration is required. Sign up > HERE <.

Just added: Baja Field Arts Bootcamp!

Join me for a trip of a lifetime February 11–17, 2023 to a private camp in Baja to see the world-renowned gray whales. We will spend three days and two nights camping on the shores of magical Magdalena Bay, with daily small-boat trips to join the whales and other sea mammals and birds, then we’ll spend a full day off Loreto, on the Sea of Cortez side, snorkeling (and journaling!) with sea lions and other wildlife of Isla Coronado. I’ll also be offering an optional one-day extension at the end to head into the interior cañons to view 6,000-year-old rock art and taste local wines in the shade of ancient fig trees at a Spanish mission site (includes hotel in Loreto).

This will be five-plus days of pure immersion in field arts: nature journaling, field sketching and watercolor, animal tracking, birdwatching, reading the weather, using field optics, found pigments and inks, and much more. I’ll also supply everyone with Rite In the Rain journals / paper and pens, and underwater writing slates so we can journal in the boats and while snorkeling!

Imagine the luxury of doing nothing but exploring wild nature and journaling in a cohort of like-minded fellow journalers . . . and with customized one-on-one feedback and skills-specific tutoring throughout the whole experience.

The Field Arts Boot Camp is suitable for beginners to advanced journalers, as your Boot Camp experience is tailored to your appropriate level. Nurturing, inquisitive, and expansive.

No excuses. Just pure nature journaling growth and mindset.

What’s included:

  • One-on-one attention in areas in which you would like to improve;

  • Skills-specific mini-tutorials in field arts such as sketching, watercolor, nature writing, animal tracking, reading the weather, and using optics;

  • Marine biology naturalists and local experts;

  • Accommodations on arrival / last day in at the gracious Hacienda del Sol in Loreto and at a private camp at Magdalena Bay (two-person large tents with two cots and bedding);

  • Twice-daily boat excursions for close-up whale viewing (see details here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U70T4OilANQ&t=92s )

  • Vans from Loreto to camp and back (and for the optional Rock Art extension);

  • Wine and beer happy hour each evening;

  • All meals from dinner on Saturday through breakfast on Thursday (or lunch and dinner through Friday if Rock Art extension added);

  • Use of Swarovski Optics binoculars throughout the Bootcamp.

  • Field kits, including Rite In the Rain waterproof paper and pens, and a writing slate for snorkel-sketching.

Pricing:

  • Base cost, one person – $2,550

  • Single supplement, hotel – $200

  • Single supplement, camp (only 2 available) – $300

  • Optional one-day Rock Art extension to San Javier (hotel incl.) – $350

Space is very limited for this amazing trip of a lifetime!

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Wyoming Field Arts Bootcamp report

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Jaci E. sketching on Peralta Creek.

As a beginner, I loved all the sessions! I loved the day you taught the “landscapitos” and then we all went out in the meadow to paint. I felt like your one-on-one tutorials in the field were very valuable. You have taught me how I can simplify my journaling which will result in my actually doing more journaling in the future. Thank you for a wonderful experience! – Tammie A., Wyoming Field Arts Bootcamp participant

I’ve just returned to Arizona after a very fun first Field Arts Bootcamp in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains above Sheridan.

Sixteen participants unplugged from the distracting digital world and spent four blissful days plugged into pure nature: learning, sketching, painting, writing, exploring, investigating, and socializing with like-minded “nature nerds” — it was so much fun we didn’t want it to end!

Each day began with an early bird-and-animal-tracks walk, then a delicious breakfast prepared by the chef, Abi Hedrick (who was so attentive, talented, and lovely, we all wanted to adopt her!). An optional morning tutorial was then followed by free time to work on journal entries. Another delicious lunch, followed by an afternoon tutorial (also optional) and more free time.

Tutorial subjects included:

  • Using Field Optics (we provided a loaner 8x32 CL Swarovski binocular for every participant!)

  • Getting Over the Fear of the Blank Page

  • Philosophies of Page Layout

  • Landscapito Drawing Tips and Using Grids for Easy Proportions

  • Watercolors Made Easy: Mixing Colors with a Triad

  • Animal Tracking Basics plus Tracing Tracks and Make Plaster Casts

  • Making a Cyanometer

  • And a “bring it all together” session by the creek to create quick sketches

 

measuring, photographing, sketching, and making paster casts of animal tracks:

 

Putting it all together: creating a “landscapito” of peralta creek (aka “little giggling creek”)

We all sketched the same creek, and it’s fun to see all the different visions and styles:

In addition, everyone got a specially made 14-card “Bootcamp Calisthenics” set (laminated and with a ring binder) for self-guided journaling “workouts” along with an animal track tip card and fun goodies to play with.

By happy hour we were all ready to gather and enjoy wine or sparkling water and share our journals and a cheerful fire in the great room. Dinner was always delicious, and we often went on further explorations afterwards, since dark was not until after 9 pm.

 

happy hours and journal shares:

 

We’ll definitely be returning to the Spear-O Wigwam ranch in the Bighorn Mountains next summer (around the third week of June 2023). I’m also booking new venues for later 2022 and into 2023 and 2024: northern New Mexico (Ghost Ranch, near Abiquiu), Arizona, and Alaska, as well as the Midwest and Eastern U.S. and in England.

Bootcamp participants as well as those on my Bootcamp Interest List will get first dibs on slots opening up! Please visit the Bootcamp page here: https://www.exploringoverland.com/field-arts-bootcamps

Scenes from around the ranch (by Mary Jo Watters)

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Chroma Sonorensis: Making ink from mesquite tree sap

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Huge old mesquite tree on the Verde River in Arizona; from the US Forest Service publication Riparian Research and Management - Past present and future Volume 2

Drawing and painting in your journal with locally foraged wild pigments is deeply satisfying—true place-based art.

As part of my Chroma Sonorensis project, I began experimenting with making ink from mesquite tree sap—and I’m really pleased with the results. The mesquite (Prosopis velutina) is endemic to North America and an iconic tree in the Southwestern United States (though it’s now an invasive species plaguing nearly every continent). I grew up with mesquites, and especially love the huge old trees that are the remnants of the once-great bosques (Spanish for forest) that lined our now-dry rivers a hundred-plus years ago.

I gathered strips of bark from a tree in my back yard, where a lot of dark brown sap had leaked after a pruning cut last year. I soaked the bark in distilled water in a glass bowl, and then simmered it over a pan of barely boiling water for about four hours, until the liquid was very, very dark. I filtered the pigment solution through a paper coffee filter (several times, using clean filters each time). I then put the solution into the stainless steel pot and reduced it by at least four times by slow simmering, until only about half a cup of liquid was left—being very careful not to let it get to a rolling boil or burn. Finally, I cooled the liquid and added a very few drops of vinegar, and then decanted into small vials and a glass jar, adding a clove to each container (to help prevent mold).

The ink is a beautiful, rich brown that flows perfectly and adheres easily to the paper. Normally when making plant-based inks you must add a “binder” such as gum arabic (just a little) so the color adheres to the paper. But because this ink is made from sap it has a “built in” binder in the form of the slightly sticky sugars that occur in phloem (one of the heartwood tissue components in trees).

You can try making your own ink from lots of different sources. Berries can produce lovely inks though their color may fade or change color entirely over time. Dark-brown and black inks were historically made from plant-based sources of tannin, or tannic acid. Experiment! Try any tree sap that shows color, walnut hulls (not the nuts but the green fuzzy outer covering of the hard nut), and oak galls, which are not tree fruit but a nodule created by the tree in response to a little wasp (there are many species that do this) that lays its eggs in the oak leaf tissue and the tree actually forms the hard shell in response to the invasion. The baby wasps actually develop inside the round gall. You can read more about iron gall ink here, along with a good description of the ancient recipes for ink, including why vinegar is used.

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Field notes, a historical perspective

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Field notes in the Americas by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque, ca. 1820s.

Explorers have been keeping hand-written field notes—with or without sketches—for hundreds of years, if not many millennia (on observing many rock art sites, I’ve been struck by the possibility that early humans were using rock and pigment to record their travels and nature information for hunting and gathering, and sharing their findings with others . . . such as at the large complex at the Neolithic Tweifelfontein in Namibia, which includes a large slab map showing water holes and game; see my field notes from this site at the bottom of this post).

A spread from my book Master of Field Arts showcasing the journals of Charles Darwin, Meriwether Lewis, and Thomas Orde-Lees—as well as a page from my humble journal during a weeklong biological survey of the Sierra los Locos, Sonora, Mexico in 2019. [Click to enlarge.]

Browsing the field notes of science explorers such as Charles Darwin (1809–1882), Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), Edgar Mearns (1856-1916), and Constantine Samuel Rafinesque (1783-1840) gives us an incalculable wealth of knowledge of the lands they explored and the human cultures and nature they observed. Darwin’s branching tree of evolution (right) with the scribble “I think . . .” never fails to give me the chills.

From the journals of geographer-explorers such as Thomas Orde-Lees, a member of Shackelton’s Endurance crew on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1916, and Meriwether Lewis (1774-1805) and William Clark (1770-1838) from their Corps of Discovery, we discover new lands and learn first-hand the astonishing courage and skill needed to push the limits of human exploration.

Their meticulously detailed and illustrated field journals are priceless to humanity, as I mentioned, for their wealth of data, but also as roadmaps of human learning through exploration. Our boundless curiosity coupled with our ability to record what we see is one of the critical attributes that sets apart humans from other species.

Alexander von Humboldt’s journals from his Americas explorations ca. 1799–1800. (from https://humboldt.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/work/?lang=en)

List of bird species observed by Edgar Mearns (1856-1916) at Fort Verde, Arizona, in 1884.

The Importance of Field Notes Today

Field notes are still critical tools for field scientists and explorers, and yet the practice is waning with the advent of computers and pocket devices with 12-mexapixel cameras. You could say that I have been on a mission for the last several years to not only help save the tradition of venerable classic field notes but to also spread the love of recording nature to everyone—from kids to grandparents. John Muir Laws (The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling) says it best: “Keeping a journal of your observations, questions, and reflections will enrich your experiences and develop gratitude, reverence, and the skills of a naturalist.”

In these digitally cacophonous times that are robbing us of the ability to focus intently on one thing for very long, connecting with nature through careful observation and note-taking is more important today than ever in the past. Keeping a field journal may be the key to healing our digitally fractured minds.

I’ve been keeping field journals for almost 50 years, since I was eight years old and my Dad built me a Stevenson screen stocked with an array of weather instruments—every day at 4 pm I would head out with my notebook to record the daily weather and make notes and field observations. That—along with rockhounding expeditions with Dad and wildflower safaris with my Mom—cemented my lifelong love of nature observation, scientific discovery, and exploration (not to mention I’m still a weather nerd).

Grinnell’s narrative journal page from a 1910 field expedition to Pilot Knob. I followed his method starting in college—and still do, albeit with more drawings and color. I keep a small field notebook for jotting quick notes when I’m traveling or moving quickly, in addition to my larger narrative journal (see below).

When I started studying ecology and evolutionary biology in college, my field notes became serious records of natural history data using the Grinnell Method of scientific note-taking (a thorough documentation style, which included four components: a field notebook, a field journal, a species account, and a catalog of specimens; see right).

“Our field-records will be perhaps the most valuable of all our results. …any and all (as many as you have time to record) items are liable to be just what will provide the information wanted. You can’t tell in advance which observations will prove valuable. Do record them all!”

– Joseph Grinnell, 1908

About eight years ago I started adding sketches and watercolor to my field notes, adopting a more “journaling” style and yet still always including the critical metadata and nature data.

Sketches and data from my journals have been used in several books written by me and my husband, Jonathan Hanson. In 2020 I published Nature Journaling for a Wild Life, to encourage anyone who wants to begin keeping a field or “nature” journal, and in 2022 Master of Field Arts, a sort of “master’s degree” for the next level to becoming a lifelong naturalist and explorer.

Obviously we can’t all be Charles Darwins or Alexander von Humboldts, but we can explore the world around us and make observations and fall in love with the process of discovery.

Time and again I return to one of my favorite published journals of discovery, the superbly readable The Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research by longtime friends John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts. Published in 1941, it is the full and shared vision of their scientific collecting expedition aboard the Western Flyer sailing out of Monterey. The book is part travel journal, part philosophical essay, as well as a nature journal and a catalogue of species Grinnell would highly approve of. Steinbeck described the purpose of the journey was

“to stir curiosity”

. . . but my favorite line from the book perfectly captures the larger context of exploration and observation (and recording those observations in our journals):

“It is advisable to look from the tide pool to the stars, and then back to the tide pool again.”

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Field notes page from our crossing of Botswana in 2019.

Above and below: Studying and documenting a large (and probably 1,000+ year-old) Welwitschia mirabilis in the Ugab River region of Namibia, 2019.

 

I love that my field journal—made for me by my husband over 25 years ago (and my companion on tens of thousands of miles of exploration and field work on five continents) so closely resembles the journal of Meriwether Lewis (right).

Resources for exploring historical and modern field notes:

Start with the Smithsonian Institution’s Field Book Project (scroll to the bottom of the page to access the archives links) at https://siarchives.si.edu/about/field-book-project

The goal of the Field Book Project is to promote awareness of and access to thousands of scientific field notes in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution Archives, and holdings at the National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Libraries. It began in 2010 as an effort to bring to light these hidden collections with a goal to catalog 5,000 field books and provide online access to those records, a goal graciously funded by the Center for Libraries and Information Resources (CLIR). At this point, the Project has cataloged over 9,500 field books and digitized over 4,000.

Another rabbit hole to explore is the UC Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology’s Archives Field Notes collection: https://mvz.berkeley.edu/mvzarchives/

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This post is an update to my 2019 post, “The art of seeing instead of looking: reasons to keep a nature journal”.

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Toolkit tips: Power of observation

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The power of observation is one of the most important tools in your field arts “toolkit.” Sharpen it regularly!

Here’s an example, which I could have missed had I been just looking and not seeing what was happening:

I noticed recently that when pruning a little scraggly mesquite tree (Prosopis velutina) in our yard that the next month it had sprouted HUGE thorns.

I have to ponder: Do plants have genetic memory?

Prosopis species evolved with Pleistocene megafauna. Are the mammoth thorns in response to predation by mammoths? (Even if in this case the predation was by shears, not megafauna!)

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Book birth – Master of Field Arts

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I am beyond thrilled that my next book, Master of Field Arts is finally finished and I’m expecting copies from the printer around February 9th! PRE-ORDER NOW FOR SPECIAL DISCOUNT AND GIVEAWAYS—save the date for February 19 for a virtual Book Launch Party (details below)!

Master of Field Arts is the next level for nature journalers and field sketchers—a deep-dive into becoming a dedicated master naturalist and field artist. A Master of Field Arts.

Chapters are organized to build your skills and introduce you to new tools and methods, including:

  • Field Arts Méthode

  • Tools for Field Arts

  • Session 1 – Pencil: Humble Sketching Tool

  • Session 2 – Ink: Elegant Linework

  • Session 3 – Cartography: Visualize Your World

  • Session 4 – Vintage Tint: Ochres & Natural Pigments

  • Session 5 – Weather: Read, Record, & Predict

  • Session 6 – Animal Sign: Read & Record Clues of Passage

  • Session 7 – Word Pictures: Natural History Writing

  • Bonus Workshop: Make Your Own Ink & Dip Pen

  • Projects, Templates, & Tools

  • Fieldwork Studies

  • Removable Charts, Tips, & Reminders

178 pages

Spiral binding to facilitate workshop-style learning.

$35 (see below to secure a $5 off coupon)

also available bundled with Nature Journaling for a Wild Life, Field Journal Sketchbook, Field Arts Discovery Kit, or all of the above! Click the PRE-ORDER NOW button below.

This book is a perfect sequel to Nature Journaling for a Wild Life as you grow in your nature journaling practice, as well as for field researchers and expedition leaders who want to ensure their field notes are meaningful, accessible, and useful for their work.

Join us for a Book Launch Party

Saturday, February 19, 2022

10 am MST

  • Selected reading and sneek-peeks of the content

  • Attendees who already have ordered their copy will be eligible for special giveaways during the event—see below! (if you are on our email list you will also get a $5 off code; if you didn’t get it, contact me, or sign up for the email list for instant access (below)!)

  • Giveaways—book customers will be eligible for free cool kit from the Field Arts shop (Discovery Kits, Mini Plant Presses, mini microscopes, and Field Arts Sketchbooks)!

  • Special preview of upcoming exciting new projects

Length:  45 minutes (maximum)

Start time: 10 am Mountain time / 9 am Pacific time / GMT - 7

(Having trouble figuring out time zones?Use this calculator: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html)

Format: online via Zoom

Access: Registration not required for this event. Please use this link HERE to join the event!

Email list subscribers and current customers received a $5 off code for pre-orders in the launch party announcement. Not on the list? Sign up now to get your code instantly!

 
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“Master of Field Arts is a welcome companion to Roseann Hanson’s 2020 book, Nature Journaling for a Wild Life. In this second book in her Wild Life series, Hanson gives us an accessible and practical guide to advanced naturalist and field journaling skills. The lessons provide the structure and details to enable you to think and see like a naturalist, and take your observation and ability to investigate nature mysteries to the next level.

“These methods connect you with old traditions of exploration and promote learning from experience. You will learn fundamental skills for journaling and recording, and ways to make your own art materials, a process that more deeply connects you to place. You will also dive deeply into reading the sky and tracks in the dust. As a bonus, Hanson gives us templates and field tools she uses in her own work. This book will help you take your nature discovery, inquiry, and journaling to mastery.”

– John Muir Laws, The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling (Heyday Books)

Field Arts Workshop: Making Lake Pigments from Plants

Lake pigments are the holy grail for natural pigment hunters: how to take an ephemeral thing such as a flower, leaf, or fruit, and turn it into a pigment that can become a paint that lasts nearly indefinitely?

Join me on this fascinating journey into science and art, where we make liquid dye from leaves or berries, and then extract the dye by binding the color to salt that we can then grind to a powder and mull with gum arabic to create watercolor.

This is a challenging skill and we’ll dive deeply into all the science behind it so we come away with the knowledge and confidence to do more experimentation and create truly “feral watercolors.”

I offer an optional lake pigment kit if you want to “lake” along.

Length: 2.5 hours

Start time: 10 am Mountain time / 9 am Pacific time / GMT - 7

(Having trouble figuring out time zones?Use this calculator: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html)

Format: online via Zoom (you will receive a log-in link)

Cost: $45 Includes unlimited access to workshop recording and resources page.

Access: Registration and payment required. Please use this link HERE.

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Field Arts Workshop: Landscapitos - Little Drawings, Big Impact (FREE online)

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Adding small landscape drawings and paintings to your journals creates a wonderful sense of place, greatly enhancing your pages. John Muir Laws calls them “Landscapitos!” Don’t be intimidated! These are fast, fun, and addictive.

On Saturday, February 5 I’ll take you on two or three explorations using my Virtual Field Trip technology; I’ll walk you through how I choose a scene to sketch, how I “edit” down the view so I’m not overwhelmed, and how I quickly map out the drawing using big shapes. Then we’ll add some beautiful watercolor.

Have your journal and pencil or pen with waterproof ink handy, along with your favorite watercolors. Have you seen my new Earth Palette? These are especially fun paints for landscapitos.

When: Saturday, February 5

Length: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Start time: 10 am Mountain / 9 am Pacific / GMT - 7

(Having trouble figuring out time zones?Use this calculator: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html)

Format: online via Zoom (you will receive a log-in link)

Cost: free

Access: To protect your privacy and security online and for us to find out how many students will be attending, registration is required. Please use this link HERE.

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Art and Science Spring Workshops at Desert Laboratory

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Join me February 12 – May 7 at the Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill as we ring in the spring with the science and art of color in the desert: Red Tubular Flowers, Purple Iridescence in Hummingbirds, Yellow Palo Verde Blossoms, and Ochre Earth. Sign up for all four for a discount, or choose individual workshops (online via Zoom; by March we may be able to add in-person options). All workshops are on a Saturday from 10 am to noon Arizona time. I will be hosting all the workshops, as Art and Science Program Coordinator for the Desert Lab; and I will be teaching the art components for March 19th’s Purple Flashdance: Iridescence in Hummingbirds, and May 7th’s Ochre: Earth Makes Art.

For details and to purchase tickets for all four sessions, click here

Skyscapito Meet-up No. 7 – Favorite sky painters from art history

Luke Howard, late 1800s

Eric Sloane, 1950

Inspired by and in collaboration with Journaling with Nature’s Bethan Burton, this is our own informal “Skyscapito Appreciation Society!” A “skyscapito” is a small skyscape we create in our nature journals, similar to the “little landscapes” John Muir Laws loves to create.

Join me (Roseann Hanson, of the Field Arts Institute), Bethan, and Deborah Conn as we host an hour (or a little more, if needed) of sharing our sky passions — Friday, February 25 at 4 pm MST.

THIS IS NOT A WORKSHOP! It's a casual meetup of like-minded sky aficionados, nature journalers, and field sketchers.

This session we'll be sharing favorite examples of skies from art history (or present!).

Find one image to share and be prepared to briefly say why you love it and if you dare, try an example of that type of sky and share that, too!

FREE but registration is required, for security reasons. SIGN UP HERE

WHEN: Friday, February 25 at 4 pm Mountain USA time

LENGTH: About an hour

This is Arizona time, which is the same as Mountain Time USA right now. Please use a timezone converter app to make sure you have the right time!

http://www.exploringoverland.com/skyscapito

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Fun New Field Arts Products Released

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Just in time for the holidays I’m pleased to offer several fun new field arts tools for your toolkit—I’ve carefully curated the set to enhance your in-the-field discovery process: magnification lenses, measuring tools, a special light, tweezers, and a beautiful plant press. And don’t miss the limited-edition Sky Palette with the perfect colors for capturing skies and clouds.

Mini Plant Press

I’m most excited about the beautiful handmade Mini Plant Press, which is based on one that I bought from Vince Roth in 1985 at the Southwest Research Station, where he was director. My husband, Jonathan, hand-cut the lovely 3x5” birch plywood covers and I sanded and assembled them. They are light (4.5 ounces!) and will be a fun addition to your field kit (they are also come as part of the new Field Arts Discovery Kit). I’ve had my mini press for 36 years and it’s been all over the world with me.

Our Mini Plant Press is lovingly handmade by us just for your field kit.

Mini Plant Press
Mini Plant Press
$18.00

^ Click the image above for more images, details, and to order.

Field Arts Discovery Kit

Field Arts Discovery Kit
Field Arts Discovery Kit
from $39.50

The new Field Arts Discovery Kit is really fun as well—a curated collection of fields arts tools that I find indispensable. You can choose between two options, depending on which optics you want (either with a classic triplet pocket loupe at $39, or with a mini-LED-microscope at $46). Each set includes:

  • Mini plant press (see above)

  • Stainless steel, bent-nose tweezers for dissecting or picking up small items to study under your optics

  • 2-inch hand lens magnifier

  • Mini UV light for looking at critters at night—scorpions and other arthropods (and some mammals!) fluoresce under UV light

  • Clear ruler with metric (15 cm) and English (6 inches) scales

  • Round protractor by Helix—measure angles and draw 21 different sizes of circles perfectly (see demonstration video on the product page)

  • 9x7” zippered cotton pouch with a clip ring; customize your pouch with fabric paint, ink, or embroidery

Click the image at top for more details, images, and to order, or click here.

Sky Palette

And in very limited quantities I’m offering Sky Palettes, a mini paint kit with six colors for making perfect skies and clouds. Click the image below for more details, images, and to order:

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sold out
NEW! Sky Palette (limited edition)
$33.00

Field Arts Workshop: Ancient Ochres recording available

Human use of pigments to express ourselves may be—literally—a watershed moment in evolutionary time. Perhaps among the first to be used were iron oxides (ochres) such as at France’s famous Lascaux. Archaeologist Tammy Hodgskiss wrote: “People may say ochre is the earliest form of art and symbolism, but there’s more to it. Ochre shows how our brains were developing, and that we were using our environment. It bridges the divide between art and science.” In this deep dive into the science of artistic pigments and look at our earliest history as artists, we will also learn to create beautiful images in our field notebooks and nature journals using natural earth pigments such as ochres (yellow, red, purple), manganese, lapis lazuli, graphite, and more.

View the full video and resources on the Tutorial page > HERE <

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Alaska Explorations – Reflections on "pencil miles"

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We recently returned from the high and middle Arctic regions of Alaska—a research trip for Jonathan’s next fiction novel in his Clayton T. Porter series.

For two weeks solid I was able to explore new habitats, learn new species, and sketch and write extensively from early morning until late in the evening—a whopping 27 pages worth! And I can confidently say:

  1. Alaska is a superb natural treasure, as vast and wild and full of wildlife and rich cultural history as anywhere we’ve been in Africa . . . and . . .

  2. “Pencil miles” work, even in the short-term (thanks, Jack Laws).

I’ve posted below all the pages in chronological order.

It’s particularly interesting to note the changes from day one at the natural history museum at the University of Fairbanks, where I jumped into live sketching after several weeks hiatus from any journaling at all. I dove in (after writing the metadata, of course) with the 8-foot-tall stuffed grizzly . . . and it just went all wobbly wonky on me. Too many people around, too many people watching over my shoulder, I just couldn’t find my sketching ju-ju.

But I stuck it out. Then I took a deep breath and centered myself and concentrated on the walrus . . . and after zenning it out, I got it. My sketching started settling.

Over the course of the next 11 days watch how the quality progresses. I even tackled quite a few live-in-the-field animal sketches where I only saw the critter for a very short time. Into the second week, after struggling a little with pen-only live animal sketching, I adopted a purple-leaded pencil* to do these initial one- to two-minute gesture sketches, and left them as-is. Then later, using photos my husband shot as reference, I completed more detailed sketches in camp, using my gesture sketches as baselines. I really like the peregrine and muskox gestures.

I returned completely energized and excited to complete my next book (80% done), Master of Field Arts. I also will be offering several workshops:

* I don’t like graphite pencil for journal sketches because the soft pigment can smudge terribly on my pages. Jack Laws likes a non-photo blue pencil, which I tried but found I didn’t really like, perhaps because the blue pigment is rather hard and unexpressive. Recently I saw Jack using a purple-colored pencil, so I ordered purple refills for my mechanical pencil—and I really like it. Soft and expressive, light enough to not overpower the gestures but with enough character to create really pleasing gesture sketches.

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Strip Maps – History and Science

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Often on long overland journeys or expeditions, I draw a map of the route we are taking, running the map along the bottom of my pages or up the side (see right), adding little sketches of species or interesting landforms. The map is continuous from page to page. Until I started researching maps for a chapter on cartography in my forthcoming book, Master of Field Arts, I didn’t know that linear or “strip maps” were a thing.

Strip maps are linear route-maps that one follows along a strip, with key landmarks, features, and times it takes to travel between points. One of the earliest was by Matthew Paris, a London-to-Apulia strip map from the 13th century (and more likely an allegory than something you would use to travel), but the one shown at top is a massive work by John Ogilby, his 1675 Britannia Atlas. The traveler starts in the lower left, travels up, the come down the next strip, then up the next, down the next.

One day’s journey in 2018 as we explored the Victoria Desert in central Australia.

One day’s journey in 2018 as we explored the Victoria Desert in central Australia.

Ribbon Map of the Father of Waters, by Coloney &amp; Fairchild (St. Louis, 1866). Wrapped on a wooden scroll and lined with linen, it shows all 2,600 miles of the Mississippi River. Courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. From http://commonplace.online/article/one-mississippi/

Ribbon Map of the Father of Waters, by Coloney & Fairchild (St. Louis, 1866). Wrapped on a wooden scroll and lined with linen, it shows all 2,600 miles of the Mississippi River. Courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. From http://commonplace.online/article/one-mississippi/

Artist Carol Morris recently shared a 1984 paper by John Emlen, professor of zoology at University of Wisconson Madison, who employed strip maps and a mathematical model for censusing songbirds. Very simple and yet the clever thing here is a formula for calculating territories for breeding birds—this would be a great project for our nature journals.

"The method provides a continuous record, divisible into segments of any desired length, of the density, song activity, and distribution of individuals of each species through its breeding season. The detection-threshold distance and song-frequency values obtained can be used as species-specific conversion factors for translating simple detection counts to bird densities." Click on the image to enlarge.

Link to PDF of article from the Auk: https://sora.unm.edu/.../jour.../auk/v101n04/p0730-p0740.pdf

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Here is another way I am now using strip maps—I cut long pieces of watercolor paper and fold them accordion-style. The map can be just one side or continue on the back side; it can run top to bottom or turn the strip on its side and run it from left to right. Glue or tape the map onto your page, or glue an envelope in which to tuck the map.

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If you missed my free workshop on cartography, you can find it on my tutorials page, >HERE<.