An afternoon at the Field Museum, sketching gulls. I set out to see how many of the gulls in the case I could sketch. After six, the page spread was filled and I was tired and stopped for coffee “and,” then did the final spread (the first spread above). I am still not sure I want to keep drawing in pen instead of pencil, but it it is cleaner and doesn’t smear, and forces me to commit to decisions in drawing, live with my mistakes, and then practice some more.
To be honest, these are drawings of photos I took on the banks of Salt Creek at Graue Mill in Oak Brook, Illinois. I did fill two spreads of my sketchbook while I was there, but as a novice at drawing active birds, I could not capture much.
Pencil sketches of a molting robin done at the Trailside Museum, River Forest, Illinois.
I went to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois on Labor Day and discovered this sycamore tree leaning toward the water (Lake Marmo). I loved the peeling bark and the way the branches grew, with prominent knobs, and changing direction quite abruptly.
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