John Muir Laws demonstrates how to draw raptors on toned paper using a 2B mechanical pencil, a white pencil for highlights, and the tone of the paper itself as a value. Read More
Tag: sketching
How to Draw Warblers
Join John Muir Laws and the Galt Winter Bird Festival for this in-depth workshop about warblers. Wood Warblers are bundles of beauty that add color and joy to our woodlands and marshes. Let’s explore the basics of warbler anatomy and how to draw the birds you see in your field notes. Read More
John Busby: nature journaling inspiration
Join John Muir Laws and Valters Videnieks for a close exploration of the sketches and work of bird artist John Busby. Both John and Valters have been strongly influenced by Busby’s work. His drawings accurately capture subtle and fleeting moments with simplicity and joy. We will learn from his drawings, analyze his style, and teaching Read More
Article on Nature Journaling in PUNCH magazine
The February 2022 issue of PUNCH magazine features a cover story on nature journaling: “The Key To Infinite Wonder: John Muir Laws Nurtures Active Curiosity Through Nature Journaling.” Read a PDF here. Read More
5 Minute Landscape: Watercolor Pencil
Watercolor pencils are great tools for fast sketching. Start just like a pencil sketch and then add a little bit of water to blend some of the strokes. Three big tricks to help Keep it small. Thumbnail sketches can be just as satisfying as big landscapes and they take less time. Just use one color Read More
Sketching with Ballpoint Pens (video workshop)
On a recent trip to Rwanda, I realized that I would fill my sketchbook long before returning home. I usually sketch with soft pencil and leave the opposite page blank so that facing pages will not smear each other. To conserve paper, I gave up the pencil and started sketching with a ballpoint pen. Within Read More
Yosemite Landscapeito: making quick watercolor sketches in the field
Landscapeitos are little landscape drawings or thumbnails that are easy to finish in the field and fun to paint. The secret is to keep them small. This drawing was only about an inch and a half wide by two inches tall. If you double the size of the drawing, you quadruple the area that you must cover. The Read More
Field Sketching Basics (video)
So you want to keep a nature journal and try your hand at field sketching but have not picked up a pencil since elementary school? This workshop is geared for the raw beginner who is terrified of sketching and is convinced that they can not draw. You can learn to draw. This workshop will show you Read More
How to draw fish I (video workshop)
Learn how to draw fish including critical morphology for the artist, arranging scales, important proportions or measurements, and capturing the iridescent shimmer of light. In this workshop we will focus on the lateral (side) view to create a classic scientific illustration. Understanding anatomy will dramatically improve your fish illustrations. In this workshop I distill the essential anatomy Read More
Journal Wrangling (video)
The way in which you hold your journal makes a big difference in your ability to sketch in the field. Test these techniques with your journal to see what works best for you and the size of journal you carry. Read More