Tag Archives: Stillman and Birn sketchbook

Celebrate with a hike!

“You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot prevent spring from coming.” – Pablo Neruda

Marking another trip around the sun and celebrating spring, I tried a new hike, Brink Rd Access Loop near Newton, NJ. It was easy to follow, with great views from the ridge portion. I only saw 2 other hikers, and got to see 2 fluffy white tail deer.

There were plenty of vignettes to sketch, so I took lots of photos, and these small images were a result of quick lines and color to reflect what I most enjoyed here. I hope you enjoy them too.

Appalachian trail (AT) shelter

Fun with fungi

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It’s been a while since my last post, summer got busy and focus on sharing my art was lost. Now that autumn (and even some snow!) has arrived, I’m working on getting that focus back. Art Safari is still having their Thursday sessions, this week was fungi. Mushrooms are delicious and a healthy diet addition. Also, they’re very fun to study and draw!

Here are 2 pages of small sketches in a new Stillman and Birn alpha sketchbook. I started adding a background to a couple, but stopped, as I’m not sure they look better with or without. What do you think? With or without backgrounds?

With background

Without background

Art toolkit palette and Stillman and Birn sketchbook

Back to local travel

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Back home, I decided to try a trail that was new to me. Monkey Run loop near Ithaca, NY. A really nice walk in the woods, it was quite muddy in places, and no one else out, but surprise, surprise, lots of mosquitoes! Apparently my bug juice wore off, and they (skeeters) really began to feast on me. I was close to the end, so I picked up my pace, annnd missed a turn that would’ve taken me back a bit sooner. It was supposed to be closer to 3 miles, but it ended up 4, but the good thing was it only took me 2 hours. I’m definitely not a speed hiker, but the bites gave me some incentive to hurry!

Not much for views, the best part followed Fall Creek, so my eyes were drawn (hehe) to what was on the ground, lots of fungi and berries. Sketched at home AFTER I was safe from the skeeters.

I choose this one!

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I’ve decided to give overnight backpacking a serious try. There’s lots of gear needed, and even gear that you’d prefer not to think about! (ahem, toilet stuff) One necessary item is a shovel, so I went online to research. After reading these rave reviews, I just knew I had to have this one! 😁.