Books and Inspiration
Laws guide to Nature Drawing &
journaling
John Muir Laws
Keeping a Nature Journal
Clare Walker Leslie & Charles E. Roth
Drawn to Nature
Clare Walker Leslie
The Laws Guide to Drawing birds
John Muir Laws
The field guide to drawing and sketching animals
Tim Pond
Welcome to New Zealand: a nature journal
Sandra Morris
How to teach nature journaling
John Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren
Take This Book for A walk
Paula Peeters
Poetry
Egrets - by Judith Wright
Once as I travelled through a quiet evening,
I saw a pool, jet-black and mirror-still.
Beyond, the slender paperbarks stood crowding;
each on its own white image looked its fill,
and nothing moved but thirty egrets wading -
thirty egrets in a quiet evening.
Once in a lifetime, lovely past believing,
your lucky eyes may light on such a pool.
As though for many years I had been waiting,
I watched in silence, till my heart was full
of clear dark water, and white trees unmoving,
and, whiter yet, those thirty egrets wading.
Websites
Some websites that will help inspire you and your nature journaling
Bethan Burton is an artist and environmental educator based in Brisbane, Australia. She created Journaling With Nature as a way to share her nature journaling passion with others. She uses pen and watercolour to create finely detailed depictions of natural subjects and often draws what she sees through a microscope or loupe. On her website you will find examples of her journal pages, blog and resources to get you started with nature journaling. Bethan leads journaling workshops for professional development groups, teachers, families and children.
Melinda Nakagawa is a naturalist, biologist, and educator living on the central California coast. She is passionate about sharing nature with others and to guide them to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Melinda runs the Monterey Bay Nature Journal club and currently offer classes in nature journaling, birding and nature awareness, online and in person, to students and adults learners.
A leading figure in the nature journaling movement, John Muir Laws is an artist, naturalist, educator, scientist, and the author of The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling, among other books. His web site includes a blog archive with hundreds of hours of free video tutorials on his blog on a variety of topics including how to draw, nature journaling tools, and more, as well as many free step-by-step tutorials. He also has a free downloadable nature journaling curriculum for teachers and homeschooling families. On his site, you can also learn more about and join the Nature Journal Club, a Facebook group with more than 10,000 members around the world who are dedicated to sharing ideas and supporting each other in the practice of nature journaling.
Alex Boon is an artist and writer based by the sea in East Devon, southwest UK. He is interested in “deep immersion” into a landscape, through insight meditation practice conducted on long walks on the area’s many footpaths. He creates written and illustrated descriptions of the local countryside and is currently working on an illustrated book about his experience of the landscape of East Devon and West Dorset.
Artist and educator Jean Mackay has been exploring nature and sharing its beauty and diversity with others for more than 20 years. Working in all kinds of settings, from tide pools to farm fields to museums, Jean’s watercolor paintings and journals reflect a keen eye for detail and profound sense of wonder. Her blog, Drawn In, shares the ordinary, yet extraordinary things that she encounters close to home and farther afield.
Marley has been has been teaching nature journaling for five years. In addition to his excursions in California, he has also nature journaled in the Ecuadorean Amazon and cloud forest, the Serengeti, and the seasonally dry tropical forests of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Marley lives in Sebastopol, California where he practices gardening, wildlife tracking, birding, and painting. He strives for a reintegration of art with science, a synthesis that he develops in his journaling and teaching. Nature journaling has been a fundamental practice for Marley ever since he discovered how it improved his observation and learning.
https://cambsnaturenotes.blogspot.com
This is the blog of Sharon Williamson who shares her love of nature and her adventures in the wild nature of Cambridgeshire, England. Inspired by the natural world, she enjoys drawing, sketching, journalling, painting, photography and printmaking
www.lilyandthistle.com/category/nature-study/nature-journaling
Hannah Stevenson runs Lily and Thistle, a hub for mothers who want to bring more creativity into their days and their family life. On her website you will find a blog packed full of creative inspiration for your family. There are also step-by-step tutorials to walk you through painting natural subjects, such as acorns, holly, mushrooms, snails and more.
Kelly Johnson is an artist, author and nature journaling guide. She leads journaling and gardening workshops, offers courses and more! Her blogs are full of activities for the whole family to connect with nature and the world around them.
Kim McNett works as an environmental educator, sea kayak guide, and fisheries observer which has led to an intimate understanding of the local ecosystems and allowed Kim to develop her professional niche as an artist. Along with videographer/photographer Bjorn Olson, she has completed human-powered routes through wild waters, tundra and mountains which has not only provided Kim with an intimate appreciation of the organisms found there, but also a holistic understanding of landscape formation, weather patterns, and environmental change.
http://wanderingleavesstudio.com
Artist, nature lover and educator Lisa Duncan runs Wandering Leaves Studio. On her website you will find resources for learning to draw, getting started with nature journaling and hand lettering. Lisa believes that anyone can learn to draw, and you will find out how through this website.
Ali Foxon is a former climate change advisor turned professional artist, and the founder of Boggy Doodles. Her mission is to spread the joy and benefits of sketching in nature. Ali created the concept of ‘green sketching’, a new vision in nature art that helps people connect with nature while also letting go of the fears that many carry about the quality of their art. Green sketching is about joy and freedom of expression in nature.
Artist and biologist Robin Lee Carlson is a natural science illustrator with a particular interest in how landscapes and ecological communities change over time. Her mission is to see, record, and understand the world around her as it unfolds. How we are moved by the places we find ourselves in? When we experience a place, how do we change it? How does it change us? How can we use all of the tools at our disposal to communicate the interactions between humans and the world that surrounds us?
https://thewalkingsketchbook.co.uk
Katherine Owen (The Walking Sketchbook) is an Environmental Artist nestled on the border of Wale. She works full-time for a Conservation Tree Charity across the U.K. With her own art practice, she creates in her spare time outdoors with nature in all weathers. This approach to creativity is intuitive and self-taught, from connecting with nature.
https://gallery.artistsforconservation.org/artists/1403
Eriko Kobayashi was born in Mitaka, Tokyo. She loved playing in nature and drawing since she was a little. It brought her to start her career as a nature illustrator in1993. She held her first solo show for watercolor paintings at a gallery in Tokyo in 1996. In 2018, she started “Japan Nature Journal Club” in Kanagawa where she lived at that time. She lives in Ino, Kochi.
Dallas Nachtigall is an artist, teacher and homeschooling mom. She was first inspired to begin nature journaling by the work of educational philosopher Charlotte Mason. Dallas has a strong focus on brush drawing. On her website you will find resources for improving drawing skills, links to her YouTube channel and podcast as well as her new video course entitled ‘Brush, chalk and charcoal: Foundations in drawing’.
Drawn Into Nature is a website created by Jules Woolford. It is a personal response to the natural world, where she seeks to encourage people to engage with nature, and especially, the natural world on their own doorsteps.
Her main tool is her illustrated nature journal. Through sharing her wildlife encounters and experiences she hope to inspire others to begin their own journal; and help people experience the joy of connecting with, and caring for, our amazing natural world.
www.fionasongbird.com/naturalist.html
Fiona Gillogly, age 16, is an avid artist, birder, nature journaler, writer, musician, actor, and passionate advocate for nature. She spends time daily in the wild lands near her California home, and she loves to look for mysteries in nature and explore them in the pages of her journal. Since she began nature journaling at the age of 13, she has created nearly 2,000 pages in her journal. Fiona has given talks on nature and nature journaling at Environmental Volunteers, the Central Valley Birding Symposium, Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference, and CSU Chico. On her site, you can see some examples of her nature journal pages and watch videos of some of her talks.
www.juliabausenhardt.com/courses
Julia Bausenhardt is an inspirational watercolour artist who has developed a series of online classes to teach and encourage others to keep a nature journal. On her website you will find classes on drawing birds, painting clouds, beginning a nature journal, as well as nature journaling during different seasons of the year. Each course has around 1.5 hours of video demonstrations, and features one or more practical sketching projects so you can practice what you’ve just learnt and will walk away with a result.
www.ExploringOverland.com/field-arts-intro
Roseann Hanson is an author, naturalist, and explorer who has been keeping nature journals for 40 years—her newest book is Nature Journaling for a Wild Life, an 8-week “workshop in a book” that includes 60 pages of watercolor journal paper, weekly lesson plans, tips, and resources. Roseann has authored a dozen natural history and outdoor books, including the Southern Arizona Nature Almanac and San Pedro River: A Discovery Guide, both of which include her nature journal data and art. She loves sharing her passion for art and science communications.
Fay Merritt Iseminger is an artist living in the Pacific Northwest, USA. She works primarily with ink and watercolor in handmade sketchbooks that she binds herself. Her work includes sketches of her beloved garden, birds, nature and things she wants to remember from her daily life, along with inspiring quotes and tidbits from books she has read. She believes sketching builds awareness of the world around us; is a fun way to strengthen focus and is wonderful therapy!
Paula Peeters combines art, science and nature to produce resources that inspire and educate. Her book “Make a Date with Nature: An introduction to nature journaling” can be downloaded from her website.
www.scratchmadejournal.com/nature-journaling
Scratchmade Journal is a website full of inspiration for those interested in connecting with the natural world through art. You will find tutorials on how to paint myriad natural subjects, including mushrooms, trees, landscapes, seascapes and much more. Tonya has also curated resources for nature study and nature journaling with children.
Nicole Warrington is an artist and educator on Vancouver Island on Canada’s West Coast. She works in watercolour and mixed media to create art journals and small paintings. She also enjoys hiking, doing yoga daily and exploring the forest, mountains, and beaches with her husband and two daughters. She teaches in person art workshops at a community art space and online classes.
Angela Hennessy (Raspberry Thief) is an artist based in Yorkshire. Growing up in rural East Yorkshire gave her a deep connection to the seasons. Angela uses her nature journal as inspiration to create artwork that connects people to the natural world. She has recreated her 2018 journal into a book, creates nature inspired commission work and has a series of prints and cards inspiring a connection to the seasons.
Kleo Bartilsson is a Swedish freelance illustrator who mostly depicts nature-themed motifs. Visit her website to see examples of her beautifully detailed work. Her portfolio includes illustrations she has done for interpretive signs, books, newspapers, magazines and posters.
Sara Corren is a watercolour artist and avid art journaler. Throughout her varied creative career, nature has been a deep source of inspiration for Sara. Always working in the art field, Sara has worked as an art director and illustrator in advertising as well as a background artist for the Sydney Disney Animation Studio. Throughout this, nature has always been a constant source of inspiration through journaling and picture-making.
Johanna Koen is an illustrator, horticulturalist and social media content creator, originally from the Netherlands and Germany now living in Scotland. Her vintage aesthetic and gentle style has inspired thousands of people to discover joy in the small things in life. Find her nature journals and botanical drawings on her website along with links to her YouTube channel and podcast ‘Inevitable Change’.
Shanna is an avid nature enthusiast and non-fiction writer. She combines her passions by keeping personal nature journals to study local wildlife and writing nature-inspired essays. Shanna has been journaling for over 30 years. She has found that nature always holds a surprise no matter how well you know it. The same can be said for the art of journaling.
Jennifer Ross is an artist and educator living by the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia. Trained as a secondary art teacher, she now teaches art to adults with special needs and works on community art projects. With her own art practice, she has a special interest in Australian nature, trying to capture fleeting moments with her watercolours, evoking the scent of the eucalypts and the sounds of the bush.
Emilie Lygren is an educator, facilitator, and poet committed to building a more connected and just world. Throughout her career, Emilie has intentionally cultivated a broad range of teaching skills and expertise in curriculum development, science education, social emotional learning, discussion facilitation, learning theory, outdoor leadership, and culturally responsive teaching practices. Co-author of the book ‘How to Teach Nature Journaling’, Emilie’s work is a positive force in the world. Find more about Emilie, her work and her poetry on her website.
Julia Landford is an artist and environmental educator who has established a natural history art school called NatureArt Lab in Canberra, Australia. Julia offers regular online nature journaling tutorials for anyone interested in getting started with nature journaling, as well as many other nature-inspired courses and short workshops for adults and kids. .