I tend to do a lot of this type of close observation of natural phenomenon, and the differences between things that look similar but aren’t at all. Most of my sketchbooks are filled with this sort of detail of the natural world, with my comments. It’s like a picture diary, except it’s a nature journal.
trebor61 2:11 am on June 21, 2009 | #
This is what I think sketchbooks are all about. Apart from building up a vast amount of reference material you will be able to look back and identify different parts of your life. I’ve kept a journal for about 25 years and its 1,000,000 or so words have proven invaluable on the many ocassions when I try to remember different episodes in my family’s past. Sketches, in a journal, definitely help. I’ve even got the kids, when they were younger, to add their say.
roseindigo 8:22 am on June 21, 2009 | #
I agree that journaling in one way or another is a wonderful thing, and some day will be a treasure for my children. I do it mainly by my nature observations, and so far I have about a dozen sketchbooks filled with scribblings.
The marvel that I think is most important about keeping a sketch journal is that the day comes back perfectly because it triggers your memory better than any photograph ever will. You will remember the sun or the breeze or the smells, the colors and the people and other critters you met because you were “involved” and “concentrated”. At least I find it to be so.
And I remember watching western movies where a good “tracker” could follow any trail, and wonder how they did that. Well, when you are out in nature and observe things, you do learn to do that. You begin to recognize all sorts of plants even when they aren’t in bloom, and you can find water depending on what grows there. You can “read” a disturbance long before it reaches you and you can recognize tracks and disturbed areas. Not that I’m great at any of that, but now I can see how it’s done.
trebor61 1:37 pm on June 21, 2009 | #
Well said!