NATURE JOURNAL Using Colors of the World Crayola Crayons in my Nature Journal? Yes! Beach Treasures!

 

More Possum Patty's Nature Journaling:

NATURE JOURNAL A Chatty Nature Journal Flip of Journals #12 & #13

NATURE JOURNAL At the Shore: Oh! Them Slipper Limpets! Washed Up Surf Clam, Cockles, Not Alive-O!

More information on Seashells of North America:

Disclaimer: If you click on the above icon and actually purchase this book I will make a few Possum Pennies. For example, after doing this for YEARS, Amazon sent me a gift card for $10.60. Thank you!

#SBSColoredPencils #PlaysWithPencils If I was in charge of naming seaweed...

I sketched in the sun, sand, and salty sea spray. Prismacolor Premier colored pencils and watercolor in Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media Journal.

As I walked along the shoreline enjoying the feel of the waves, I discovered many different kinds of seaweed. I made mental notes of each kind along with a fun name to help me remember what it looked like. 

  

Back at the beach blanket, I sketched Tom as he went into the waves, and decorated the page with my algal findings.

Pink Pom-pom Seaweed, Sea Grass, and Sea Lettuce.

Lasagna Noodle Seaweed and Seaweed With-A-Stem-Attached-To-Some-Other-Seaweed.

Bubble-wrap Seaweed and Looks-Like-A-Feather Seaweed.

Nature Journaling outside of the box or in this case without a guide book. You don't always need a Latin binomial or even a botanical level drawing to enjoy recording nature.

Hog Island: Tidal Pool Exploration

Nature Journaling at Audubon Camp on Hog Island, Maine. June 2017 Watercolors in Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media Journal.

Horseshoe Crabs are arthropods!

Seaweed or common Atlantic Rockweed is a brown algae.

Campers enjoy a session of making watercolor sketches of specimens brought back from tidal pool explorations.

Click here to learn more about 

Arts and Birding on Hog Island!

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Way Back Wednesday: Gull on the Beach

A sketch from 2009 "Every Day Matters" #125 Draw a Bird. It was a windy day on the beach and the gull's feathers were all-a-ruffle. You can tell it's a Herring Gull by the red spot on the beak.  (Mixed Media in Canson 140 lbs Watercolor Paper Hard Cover Journal)

Inspiration: Google Jamie Wyeth's "Seven Deadly Sins" to view his awesome gull paintings:

A gull sketch from the Jersey Shore (2016):

Sharks!! ?? !! ??

What's on my mind? July 20th, Belmar Beach, NJ. 

Now that I have your attention...

I've been thinking about the Cownose Rays that have been spotted along the Jersey Shore.

The Cownose Ray has a brown kite-shaped body. It can have a "wing-span" of up to 3 feet and weigh 50 lbs. It has a whip-like tail.

Cownose Rays swim in the column of water as opposed to those rays that are benthic and swim along the bottom. When their fins break the water surface as they "fly" through the water, it looks like sharks! They school in shallow water to feed. They like soft-shelled clams and such, but will eat harder bivalves if hungry.

"Don't swim out too far! There's Stingrays in the area!" says the life guard. Really. He said that. Oh, Please, please - rescue ME!

At the lake:

In the kiddie pool:

Under the ocean:

Jersey Shore Gull Attitude

Went to the Jersey Shore. Used a few Prisma Verithin Colored Pencils my ProArt Sketchbook for quick gestures to record the "Jersey Shore Gull Attitude."

This guy was one of my favorites. He could have been a British Commander peering over the dunes in North Africa, searching for a sign of Rommel's advancing troupes. 

And this one kept his head close to his body and fluffed out his feathers as if to say "This one's mine and so are all the potato chips that she throws." 

More Jersey Shore:

Tom dropped his glasses once, in the Atlantic Ocean, he searched and searched...

A day at the beach. We visited the lovely Belmar Beach at the Jersey Shore. I wanted to paint the horizon but only had my 60 lbs paper ProArt sketchbook with me. Went ahead and tried it anyway. As I was capturing waves with watercolors, I noticed that Tom appeared to be looking for something in the water. Stingray! No. A wave had knocked his glasses off. He searched and searched but never found them. I just had to add him to the picture.

More Jersey Shore:

Sea Hag

After 300 years in the ocean even the Little Mermaid shows signs of aging! 

 The snail represents how life may slow down...

 but the starfish symbolizes that she hasn't lost her sparkle and shine! 

Mixed media: collage, Zig Writer, Neocolor II crayons, and sparkle and shiny bits and bobs.

Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media Journal.

First "tale" in the Ever After Series with Tamara Laporte. 

Crone:

Art and Oatmeal: Ink and Inktense: Under the Sea

Working with a random limited palette of Derwent Inktense pencils, an Under the Sea theme, and a bowl of oatmeal with sliced apples.

First go was a bit realistic. I didn't leave room for journaling!

The second try was drawn first and then lettering added. Sort of simple and cartoon-like.

And one more. I wrote the quote first, and then decorated around it. I think this one is the most fun!