A Forest Discovery

At noon we took our sack lunches on a short trek to Buster Brown field. We spent a wonderful afternoon sketching in the meadow. On the return hike Sylvia and I discovered a bracket fungus growing near a woodpecker hole.

We have some growing on our birch trees, too. I actually saw and heard the northern flicker who made the holes in our tree when he did it.

The fungus in the N. Cascades National Park looked like a set of steps and with the moss covered "porch roof" over the hollow spot, reminded me of a fairy tale house that a tiny gnome might live in.

I added the sketch to my nature journal page for the day along with some swirly gnome-like writing. During lunch I sat on a fallen log, shared by some big black carpenter ants. I'm not sure yet if I'll add them to this spread.

Bracket fungus, lichen and moss share the bark on this tree in the forest.

A Seasonal Turning Point

The end of November and beginning of December creates a shift in the landscape here in the Pacific Northwest. The North Cascades Pass is now closed until May. Fall colors fade and disappear under new snowfall as the snow line comes down lower into the foothills.  (View and comment on Instragram) Watch live on Periscope at 4:30 today for a watercolor demo of similar scene.

As I sorted through my studio yesterday, I picked up this half sheet watercolor and decided to make a few adjustments. Not a lot, just a few refinements and then signing it. The contrast of soft, rough and hard edges is a challenge to ones watercolor technique, brushwork and timing. Sometimes it takes a while to allow the initial impetus to fade and to see the painting on its own terms.

North Cascades by Brush, Twig and Pin

Of our National Parks John Muir said, “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. 

The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

It was my pleasure and privilege to teach a watercolor workshop at the North Cascades Learning Center this past weekend.

We made our own watercolor sketchbooks after dinner on Friday.

On Saturday, there was an epic rainstorm! The rain gauge registered almost 4" between 6 am. and 6pm.

We sketched under the shelter near the library, gathered specimens from the woods and brought them inside to paint. We used twigs from the forest to make ink drawings of local mushrooms gathered by the students in the class next door.

The rain finally stopped so that we could go out Sunday morning and paint the mountain views.