September Nature Journaling at the North Museum: Dino Day!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Surrounded by fossils, dinosaur bones, and Mesozoic Murals. Can this be nature journaling?

Watercolor and ink in Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media Journal.

Can't draw a dino without being inspired by Roz Stendahl.

Dino Day at the North Museum

Nature Journaling at the North Museum in Lancaster, PA. The day's theme was dinosaurs. As I encouraged participants to paint their choice of these exquisite extinct reptiles, I kept doodling on this page with gouache.

I never really "finished" the creature. Just stopped working when it was time to go.

But for some reason, I really like this part!

Thursday! And it's lunchtime with the dinosaurs again!

 At the Reading Museum to dine with the dinosaur! And boy, did this dude have a big mouth. Why, it stretched all the way to the back of his head!

The sign said he ate baby dinosaurs, but as you can see, he was willing to take a bite out of my pulled pork on gluten-free bread sandwich.

The Museum has two dinosaurs outside. This is a Spinosaurus. It's carnivorous and larger than the T-Rex.

Spinney had quite a few visitors today. It was fun to watch the little ones scream and tremble in fear when he moved and roared! Just kidding. No, really a few kids would not go anywhere near him. Reality is a strange thing at the age of 4.

Many stopped to talk and check out my sketchbook. My Dino sketch today was done quicker and looser than last week's. I used a Sharpie Ultra Fine pen and my watercolor field kit (Winsor and Newton - artist grade). Too much talking? Still fun anyway! I also added a touch of grass. Studies of coprolites (dino dung) show that dinosaurs did consume grass. Where there's grass there's herbivores to munch on! I also added a background with my Liquitex marker.

Last Thursday's dino is here:

Thursday is Lunch with a Dinosaur Day!

Chicken sandwich on gluten free bread and a Hadrosaur.

How often do you get to paint life size dinosaurs en plein air?

Zig Writer over a pencil sketch.

Double spread in a Strathmore Series 500 Mixed Media Soft Cover Journal. Watercolor added to sketch. The name "Hadrosaur" came from the roots "hadros" meaning thick and "sauros" meaning lizard. So the Hadrosaur is a "thick or stout lizard." 

Lots of school kids at the Reading Museum today! Fun to watch them react to the Stout Lizard which every so often would start to move and roar. They were curious when they passed by the Berks Art Alliance group on the way back to their buses. They got a kick out of seeing us paint and complimented our work nicely. I got a kick out of a few high schoolers who stopped by and were interested in my journal!