I asked my art teacher, Ms. Renoir, the best way to get better at drawing. She said, “Go outside! Look at your world, learn to see shapes and light and most of all, take your time.” I’ve put my favorite drawings on this page. I hope you enjoy them and maybe you’ll feel like going outside to look at the shapes and light around you!
These first three sketches are from Armstrong Redwoods, a state park near my home.
I guess you can tell why this is called the Dinosaur tree! It really is covered in moss. It’s a favorite thing to see along the Pioneer Nature Trail.
There was a big fire that came down into the woods a few years ago. It was pretty scary. We had to evacuate our homes for a few days. Smoke was everywhere. The fire burned many trees in the park, but, redwood trees are pretty strong and most of them survived. Phew!
These two trees just seem like partners to me. I visit them whenever I’m in the woods. If you ever visit Armstrong Woods, see if you can find them along the road leading back to the picnic area.
I like to go for walks with my Aunties and Zephyr. These are some of the things we’ve seen.
This is a banana slug. It’s like a snail without a shell. They like wet, rainy weather.
You probably know this is a fern. It was in a planter box at the golf course. The funny thing is, I didn’t notice that it’s a fake fern until I went back there!
Auntie Elizabeth and I saw this cat as we took a walk in Monte Rio. We call it the hapless cat. Hapless means unlucky. I hope it’s not!
Zephyr and I were walking down Watson Road one day and met a man who told us to look for salmon as we gazed into the waters of Fife Creek.
This odd plant thing is near Auntie Kathleen’s house.
For awhile, this canoe was outside the Rio Theater. It was painted pink in honor of the Barbie Movie. I made up different colors for around the canoe. Auntie E calls that “taking poetic license.” Ms. Renoir calls it “serving your artistic vision.”
Here are some drawings of trees in the neighborhood.
I don’t have much to say about this tree, but I like it’s shape.
We call this the Complicated tree. It’s actually a Magnolia tree.
This is a Wisteria tree in winter. It makes wonderful, fragrant violet-colored flowers in the spring.
I call this the Palomino trees. I normally like colorful pictures more than black and white ones, but I’ll leave it up to you to decide which you like better.