Costa Rica Sketch Journal ~ July 14, 2008 (still)

Sketch/journaling is half the fun of traveling or taking a vacation. It gives your trip a continuing life ~ that vacation is never really "over" if you can go back and relive it in full color (and with memory joggers for scents, sounds, ambiences, and other happenings). Making a sketch and/or writing about your day's adventures will greatly enhance your memories later. Hey, sketch/journaling your DAILY LIFE is a trip of its own!

That's why I journal my travels and also why I love teaching travel journaling to others. What a wonderful gift to be able to give other people ~ the ability to "retake" a vacation!

....Back to July 14, Daniel and I were enjoying wandering down the creek, which was about four feet wide and only a few inches deep (navigable in Crocs or other water-type shoes, but you wouldn't want to do it barefoot or in shoes you expect to dry later ~ they'll probably mould before they would dry out at this time of year, the beginning of the rainy season).

A troop of howler monkeys passed by overhead, about five of them, one mother with a baby and ... WHOA! A pinto howler! One of the howlers, a big male, had areas on his body without black pigment and the fur was brilliant golden-orange! Since the troop was about 70' up in the leafy canopy, we didn't get a lot of clear viewing, but it was very obvious that a large part of its tail was pure orange, and part of its lower body. Fascinating! We must have watched for twenty minutes, until our necks complained so loudly they drowned out the fascination and we walked on.

The stream had a cut a ravine down the mountain so that the banks rose at an angle on each side covered with trees, shrubs, and vines. For much of the distance, the creek traveled parallel to the ocean, separated from the beach by a high ridge. We could hear and smell the ocean for much of the walk (see the map journal page above).

We saw cecropia trees in a canopy opening (they grow fast to fill up openings caused by fallen trees) and along the stream we found a palm studded with spines. You definitely wouldn't want to mess with that spiny palm! I collected a spine and a bunch of leaf skeletons, as well, which you can see on this journal page.

We were fascinated by the exotic buttresses on the trees. These are adapted to help hold the trees upright in the shallow, often water-logged soil. On this tree species, whatever it may be, the top of each flange was a gorgeous, unusual coppery orange.

Reaching the lagoon, where the stream pools before wandering out to the ocean, I found a big, boxy crab shell (see the picture at right).

Here you see the (fairly) well-equipped casual hiker, with a walking stick found along the bank, camera, binoculars, water bottle and lunch and a sitting pad in the bag. The camera is usually in the bag, but I'm holding it here. I also should have had a bandana to tie around my forehead (or a soft hat to wear) because later, on the beach, sweat kept running down into my eyes. This is the humid tropics, after all.

The lagoon waxes and wanes with the seasons. On a couple of our visits it has been almost entirely absent, with the stream emptying out right into the ocean. This time, it was lovely and broad, and I saw a jesus-christ lizard race across the lagoon from one side to the other (I didn't make that name up, they really call it that because of how it "walks on water"!). They're really fast and alert, and difficult to photograph.

It was a relief to get out into the beach breeze. As we sat companionably on a log eating energy bars (from my bag), we discovered we were being watched. Be sure to click on the image here to see who was peering out over the top of the log from under the beach almond. (Hint: remember what a pizote is from previous blog entries?)

After the pizote wandered off, we were just sitting watching the waves when Dan noticed a black blob coming toward on the beach us from the north. As we watched in puzzlement turning to astonishment, an Indian water buffalo pulling a wooden cart filled with people hove into view. Talk about incongruous!

We both started snapping photos of it, hoping not to offend, and apparently the people on the cart thought we were pretty funny, because they smiled and waved at us. Later back at the cabina I sketched the preposterous scene from the viewfinder on my camera (this is Dan's photo ~ his were the best, mine were too hasty).

I love my digital camera! That oxcart was in sight for only about five minutes, and only close enough to sketch for maybe one minute ~ I'd never have been able to draw it as it passed.

Speaking of digital cameras, when I travel, I always carry two spare sets of rechargeable batteries for my camera, plus my charger. That means I always have an extra set to carry along with me, even if I have to leave a set charging in my room ~ which has happened. Additionally, I don't have to worry about running the batteries down if I want to draw from the viewfinder or share pictures with others. I never have a problem with my camera running out of juice.

As well, I use a 1 or 2 Gigabyte storage card in the camera and always carry a spare card in case I fill the first one up. Knowing I have the spare card, I can take as many pictures as I want. And I have learned the hard way that before checking my bag for the plane ride home, it's a good idea to either carry the camera or to at least remove the card with my precious photos and tuck it into my wallet. My camera was stolen, along with my entire trip's photos, last February. I minded losing the photos a LOT more than I minded losing the camera ~ it sure was a good lesson!

Tomorrow's entry will the last one for this trip. It includes sketching the jungle from the beach, drawings of some cool things I found along the beach, and the trip home (including a crocodile!). See you then! And after that, I will get back into the process of preparing for my new Oregon Trail historical workshop.

Nature Sketching Workshop - 6-21&22&28-08

Time is scudding past! I finished my final June Nature Sketching class last weekend, and it couldn't have been more fun or rewarding. Here are my students, working on a critique.

As I mentioned last entry, it was one of my more age-varied classes, from Gene, who is twelve, to us older folk, in our 60s, with teenagers added in for good measure -- and it was a good measure. All of my students were hard workers and emerged magically at the end as artists, (although some already had some expertise when they arrived).

I got so involved with the process I forgot to take pictures until nearly the end of the first day when everyone was involved in drawing their turkey feathers and I had a chance to stop and breathe.

The second day was all about landscapes, and one of the projects was drawing sticks. This seems like such a ridiculous project until you start to draw, then the most marvelous things happen -- such as "a stick" becomes a particular individual stick, with fascinating curves, protruberances, cracks, and swirls. The students became well acquainted with their sticks, and their results were remarkably lifelike. They also practiced textures used for leaves, grasses, rocks, and other things that make up a landscape.

And, moving on to how to interpret a scene, everyone chose a photo (from a large assortment) to try to translate what they had been studying and practicing into a drawing. This was also their homework (although optional), and while a lot of the drawing was done in class, a number of the students worked on it during the week and here are their results:



I was impressed with their progress. We didn't spend a lot of time on shading in class, so their efforts in that direction were quite entrepreneurial (did I spell that right?)
After the critique, I demonstrated for each student (on request) how to get the results they wanted for various areas of their individual drawings.


This third day the focus was on watercolor pencils, so we worked awhile on the color wheel, then did a "coloring book" exercise on an orchid outline. This is a useful exercise for a beginning watercolor pencil student because they won't be afraid of messing up their own drawing with color if they're using a predrawn outline.

Then it was on to the final project of the day, drawing an apple and coloring it. In this workshop I didn't sit down much, and I didn't draw and color my own apple as I did in the last class with only three students. I needed that time to coach and help my eight (well, seven, since one of my younger students could only attend the first two classes) students. So here are most of them with their apples, then the apples close-




up in the same order. The second one from the right is Kate's, who isn't in a photo. Chris wasn't at the third session:





and here are their extremely edible-looking results! Yum, huh? Be sure to click for a close-up look.

At the end of the workshop, as always, I handed around an evaluation sheet. This one was special because in addition to their opinions and experiences of the class I asked the students questions about how they would feel about this 3-day workshop being split into two separate 2-day workshops: Beginning Nature and Landscape Sketching, and Advanced Nature Sketching and Watercolor Pencil.

The response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. I'm still scheduled to do this version of the class a couple more times, but as it happens, both workshops have been stretched into 4-day workshops, so the effect will be the same. The split-up two-day format will fit weekend attendees better than a 4-day combined workshop would, so it should work okay. I'll keep you updated on how that goes.

This week was pretty crazy, because in addition to the class, I received my 25 Advance Reading Copies (also called Advance Review Copies or ARCs) from the printer, wrote up the incredibly detailed information sheet that has to go with it, stuffed them into padded envelopes, and shipped them off to reviewers and important people that have offered to write blurbs for the back cover. It was a lengthier process by a magnitude of ten than it sounds, and I am really frazzled.

In addition, I have been working on my brand-new garden, planted in tree pots in a clearing in the manzanita on the hillside south of my house. Wanna see? Here's what it looked like on the 20th of June.

I got to eat that reddest strawberry in the photo, the first one I ever grew, but a wild turkey got the other two just as they ripened (DANG!), having flown in over the fence. However, I gave it quite a fright and it may not come back (HA! you say?)

That picture was taken June 20. However, you may have noticed that it's three days into July already, so by now my garden is WAY junglier, and I don't have a picture of it yet because, speaking of jungles, I have been preparing to go to Costa Rica (leaving noon tomorrow!), too.

Alas, I had to cancel the workshop I had scheduled there for July 7-10. I got a few queries, and one student was even about to sign up, but on reflection she decided she couldn't afford the air fare. I'm wondering how much the sky-high ticket prices deterred would-be workshop attendees. I got my ticket way back in March, when it was $700+, but I think now they are MUCH higher than that.

Daniel and I are going anyway, workshop or not. I will take my sketchbook, as usual, and sketch what I see on my journey. I'll be back on the 17th or so, and I'll require a couple of days to decompress, then I'll try to start getting some of the journal/sketchbook page up on this blog.

Thanks for sticking around! When I return, after I put up my journal and sketches, I will start working on the History and Nature Sketching workshop for the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, trying to keep a running account of what's transpiring. I've already ordered about 6 books of pioneer diaries and accounts from Amazon to research what the travelers on the Trail experienced. I've already received some of the books, so maybe I'll take a couple to read in my hammock in C.R. Sure.....

In the meantime, you have a lovely summer, don't inhale too much smoke from forest fires if you're on the west coast (like me), and stay cool.

Big hugs,
Irene

Wot's Hoppening?

I keep thinking I'll write, but then I stick my nose back down to the grindstone and wear a little more away. I think I'm Nearly Noseless Now.

The Southern Swamp Explorer, on the other hand, has made it through the final proofing progress, and I have designed the cover rough. I thought you might be interested in taking a look at this final paroxysm and it's sort-of humorous results.

I sent the following letter and this cobbled-together rough of the cover design to about fifteen people, my six proofers plus interested friends, asking for input:

I have been pondering the cover for some time now and have come up with the attached rough, composed, at the moment, from a collage of photos, plus artwork from the book. My thinking is to get this outline onto paper, then do a painting of it, full color. But I'd like your feedback on the looks of it.

What I am trying to do with the cover (although maybe I should get your feedback before I cloud your judgement) is to convey the many facets of the swamp (open water and deep gloomy trees), bald cypress, Spanish moss and swamp lily representing vegetation, some of the wildlife (mammal, bird, reptile) ~ and to compose a scene which looks as though it could really happen, as opposed to a constructed scene with representatives of lots of things, but totally unrealistic as to proximity of one animal to another, or other constraints.

And, of course, I'd like it to make people want to pick up the book and leaf through it, then buy it.

The scene is somewhat complex to get all that information and subliminal nudging in, but the complexity is also an attempt to take SOME of the focus off the alligator, which might be a bit too scary all by itself for some people, although it will positively GRAB other people.

If you think this design simply doesn't work, could use refinement, or needs a different emphasis -- whatever -- please feel free to just blurt it out and I will take your advice strongly into consideration.

The responses were all over the map -- from "I love it as-is" to those who thought it needed a whole lot of help. Of course, cobbling photos and b/w artwork together into a rough design DOES look a bit cheesy, but they're called "roughs" for a reason.

Here are the responses I got. I think I've included them all; some are reworded to shorten them but I think I kept the meaning intact (I put all the most complimentary ones first, to polish my halo:

"[the cover] would be great as is.

"... [I] was drawn in to search the details, like in hidden picture drawings."

"[the cover] works."

"It is very nice. I love your work."

"Really beautiful and exciting."

"I love the cover."

"...powerful and lovely."

"I can't wait to see the finished book."

"..absolutely gorgeous, I really love it."

"I think it pretty fam dine accomplishes what you stated. Except for the alligator, which is still pretty much of a focus item--the eye just goes there and stops!"

"I LOVE the cover--it really does do all the things you wanted it to!"

"I think it rocks, this cover, and I love it."

"maybe it should include humans to make swamps seem less scary"

"needs more variety, maybe even a water cutaway to show what's beneath the water"

"add a prothonotary warbler [yellow] for color"

"I would like to see more wildlife "hiding' around in the swamp."

"'written and illustrated by Irene Brady' shouldn't stretch clear across the page...put 'by Irene Brady' just below the "written and illustrated."

"animals are too obvious, unnatural placement, the scale seems off"

"perhaps it could use a 1/2" solid border strip down the left side"

"don't use color -- leave it in b/w"

"..alligator should be less confrontational, maybe give babies a ride on her back"

"alligator is too big"

"mama gator is incongruous with calmness of scene"

"can't get a read on the 'gator."

"The alligator is very powerful and a huge draw."

"I wouldn't put the alligator in the front."

"Soften and lighten alligator to make it blend in better."

"..making the gator just a little smaller, only a bit -- I think it de-emphasizes it just enuff so the other animals become more a part of the scene."

"What is the mother gator doing?"

Obviously, dear friends, I shall have to make the decision myself. But in general, my thinking is that I will leave the cover design pretty much as is, with the changes noted below, leaving open the possibility of any other changes I might decide to implement later. If I didn't use your suggestion/s, I hope you wil be philosophical about it.

1. I will try changing the text as per the "written and illustrated" suggestion.
2. I will add a yellow prothonotary warbler and perhaps another colorful bird or butterfly (cardinal?)
3. the gator will get a little smaller and less contrasty
4. maybe I'll add a turtle on a log in the water
5. maybe I'll hide some other animal where you MIGHT not spot it immediately.

I may make other changes as I proceed. However, at this point I don't have time to entirely redo the cover (as a couple of people suggested), as I still have the painting to do, the back cover to design and write (I might talk about what the mother 'gator is doing on the back cover), and the book to get printed and into the hands of the parks before it comes time to order.

Also, I have some workshops for which I need to partially redo the workbooks, and another workshop in Costa Rica in July. Oh yeah, plus my garden to plant and tend, and weeding/pruning down at the nursery to keep groceries on the table. Yikes. So, only time for SMALL changes.

Thank you SO much for your input, and thanks also to everyone who made appreciative comments about the looks of the current cobbled-together rough design. I also appreciate the comments of those of you who thought it needed major revisions -- I will take those comments into consideration as I work, and hope the final results will live up to everyone's expectations.

Now, back to work! This week I am soliciting printing bids, cleaning up files and creating initial .pdfs to send to the printer, as well as doing the final read-through of the manuscript to check for possible mess-ups on making those last edits suggested by the proofers.

Wish me clear eyes and an alert brain. I'm gonna need 'em! I think I've properly scared myself.

hugs and thanks to you all,

If you've actually read this far......you'll have a pretty good idea of what I've been doing for the last three weeks (instead of properly attending to my blog as hoped for).

However, I will be making some adjustments to my workshop workbooks (as mentioned above) this week, before getting a new reprint for the next class at the end of this month.

If you've been impatiently waiting for me to get on with the workshop stuff, I do apologize. This book is pretty important in saving the world (hey, if you love a swamp you won't let it die!) so it really needs tending to. Besides, I started this book back in 2001 or 2002 -- a LONG time ago, and it has taken way too long to get it to this point. I'm not quitting now!


By the way, I've started cogitating ideas for my Oregon Trail workshop October 10-13, and I think it's going to be an interesting take-off on my usual nature journaling workshop. I was born near the Oregon Trail, so pioneers and "Westward Ho the Wagons!" are in my blood.

I'll try to get back sooner next time. Right now, I have to start implementing all the suggestions I got for the swamp book cover. As always, I'm apprehensive about painting that cover. It seems that the "fear of the unknown" never seems to go away, no matter how well I do a previous painting.


Maybe next time I'll have a painting to show you -- or at least some degree of painting finished!