Nature Journal I

Nature will always have something to offer to those who take time to look. Interesting structures, relationships, and stories are everywhere around us. My nature journals help me to take better notice of the natural world, to learn, and to ask new questions. I also wanted to find out if I could do this year-round in Toronto, where we have a pretty full-on winter season (so far, so good).

This dozen drawings are selections, in non-chronological order, from my first nature journal book from 2012-13. I like the ‘Hand-Book’ journals (5.5″ square, 125 pages), and in them I work in graphite, ink, and watercolour. These studies take an hour or two each, and almost everything is done from direct observation, which I prefer. But if that’s not possible (i.e. you can’t always take things home with you) I shoot lots of reference photos on location and work from those.

Click on any image to launch full size slideshow. When finished, close slideshow by clicking on the x in the upper R corner. All images ©Kathryn Chorney.

: Teasel seed heads, August.

: Burdock, July, and Canada Thistle, September. To save space in the gallery, here and there I’ve digitally ‘mashed-up’ images from different journal pages. Here, two similar subjects from different dates.

: Red Pine Cones, Summer. Spirals are some of the most intriguing structures in nature. This Red Pine cone has 8 spirals going in one direction, 13 in the other – two numbers from the mysterious Fibonacci sequence.

: Christmas Cactus 1, April. Nature happens indoors too — in April, my independently-minded Christmas Cactus began to bloom.

: Christmas Cactus 2, May. The cactus flowers continued to develop thru the following days. A possum paid a brief visit to the back garden – I did a quick sketch from memory.

: Spathiphyllum – ‘Peace Lily’ 1, September. Another indoor journalling opp – the ‘Peace Lily’ (they’re not really lilies) in my faculty office began to open its spathe to reveal its flowerhead. (I’m left-handed, so it feels natural to me to draw sequences from right to left.)

: Spathiphyllum – ‘Peace Lily’ 2, October. The Peace Lily’s spathe (white ‘petal’) fully opens. I shot phone-cam photos through a magnifying glass to discover the minute structures of the composite flower head.

: Golden Rain Tree seed pods, September. The fall brings some of the most interesting journalling opportunities. I would pass this tree in my car driving home, getting more and more curious about the large clusters of hanging pods. One day I stopped and collected a few to take home and find out about them.

: Scarlet Runner Beans, October. I opened one runner-bean pod to see the brilliantly-coloured beans. A few minutes later, the bean pod had curled up into a double-helix form.

: Moneyplant (Lunaria annua), November. Always lots to learn. I discovered the ‘coins’ of the money plant are seedpods that open from the top; inside is a paper-thin sheet bearing several dark seeds. Here, many of the seeds have fallen, leaving their delicate stems behind on the ‘paper’.

: Stella D’Oro pods, September. Subjects of interest are everywhere – these were in a drugstore parking lot.

: Ivy, March 2013. I found this ivy growing on a stone farmhouse in Wellington County, Ontario. The ivy grows short, tough fibers that allow it to attach to the wall.