I'm still watching this video, pausing a lot to take it all in (I'll probably savor it over a few days' time!); but I just wanted to say I loved it when you said, "You see more because you're looking more" when nature journaling. That is so true. I really love your vibrant acrylic paintings in the beginning, as well as the colored pencil and watercolor work you do. Also, what nice handwriting you have! 😊
Thank you, I just wish I hadn't changed camera angles so much in this video. I'm glad my video making skills have improved now! 😄 Hope you continue to enjoy it 🙂
I am just recently getting into nature journaling, and have been binge-watching the videos on your channel. I have really enjoyed watching your walks through the woods, seeing how you draw and organize your spreads, and the soothing combination of your voiceovers and the music. It was lovely watching your progression through nature journaling, and your 2019-21 journal is such a work of art. It really opened my eyes as to how I might lay out and organize my pages. Beautiful work - thank you for sharing with us!
Absolutely stunning and inspiring progression! I was already doing watercolor plein air sketchbooks when the pandemic hit. I almost immediately lost my job and have had a really hard time. My creative soul just died. I was envious of people who found a release for the anxiety theough creative activities. Only in recent months have I started to feel that part of me come to life again. I’ve switched to nature journaling and from watercolor to ink and colored pencil so your approach is extra meaningful. I’ll be checking out your other videos and thank you for sharing!!
Thanks for sharing your story. The pandemic had the complete opposite effect on my creativity; when all the work stopped from my editing job, I put all my energy into art and nature journaling. Helped with the difficulties of the time. I am very happy to hear you are refinding your way creatively. If you haven't already, you can get a free nature journaling guide by signing up to my mailing list at alexboonart.com 🙂 Good luck with all your journaling 😊
The 2019-2020 journal is so beautiful! I see you have an Etsy shop, I was wondering if you’ve ever thought of self publishing that journal? It’s something I would love to read and I’m sure others as well 😊
Thank you, yes have been thinking of it. I feel I need to build a bigger audience first then get upfront orders to be able to pay for it but it is on the to-do list for sure!
Your journals are absolutely lovely and so inspiring. I’ve been thinking of doing this where I live and perhaps I will! Thank you for sharing, I will watch this again 😊
Thank you so much for this channel, and your flip-throughs! I started following you a couple months ago after I saw your interview with Marley Peifer but didn't watch this video until now for some reason. I have to say how very validating it is to see your first journal, where you've left many blank sections waiting for a painting, but how you've moved on and found a process and a habit that worked for you. I've been nature journaling for a few years, or trying to--I would take photos while out in nature, take notes, and transcribe them later in my journals with the intention of illustrating them from my photos…but get more and more behind with both the notes and the art. It felt like I could never journal what I was currently seeing because I needed to get caught up first. Finally just a few months ago I decided to make a change and start in the middle of the book, drawing and writing directly from what I'm experiencing in the moment. It's been hard to change my habits, but rewarding as I now finally feel like I'm nature journaling for real! But those blank or partially-filled pages in my books are still giving me a lot of guilt, and I've been hoping/planning to go back and fill them with art from my photographs. However, seeing your unfinished pages and the way you've carried on, while still valuing that work, makes me feel so much better and helps me reframe my own process as progression toward a nature journaling method that works for me.
Thanks so much for the lovely feedback 😀 Yeah, I think we can get into a bit of a trap with that and all that "playing catch up" means we aren't out experiencing new things, which is the whole point. I also find it really hard to work "out of season", like I can't be comfortably writing about January in April (for example). At some point you just have to start afresh, and think honestly about how the process needs to change to allow you to stay with capturing the events unfolding right now. Best of luck with your new journal 😊
So enjoyed the journey through your nature books, and seeing how your style has evolved with time. I love the border compositions in the second journal. I've been keeping nature journals for a while, using pencils, coloured pencils and watercolours. Now I have retired from teaching art in Adult Ed there is (allegedly!) more time to walk, to draw and paint, and just be in nature. I am in NE Scotland, quite different to lush Devon (have relatives near Bideford), and more weather! Looking forward to watching your videos, and have signed up for your newsletter. Thanks for sharing your beautiful books 💖
Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Next year, I am going yo be making a new journal in the same style as that second one 😊 I really hope to visit Scotland one day, I've only been once, to Edinburgh for a wedding. I bet it is beautiful, so wild and dramatic. I wish you the best with your retirement and journaling 😊😊
Your journals are breathtaking. Thank you for sharing them with all of us. It makes me want to look more seriously into my own journaling and allow myself to truly explore and describe this beautiful world.
Thank you for sharing with us your nature journaling journey. I am.learning much from you. I'd love to sketch outdoors like you do but that's a problem here in the Philippines because there are mosquitoes that carry viruses so I take photos and paint indoors. Love your channel
Beautiful journals. So inspiring to see. I find keeping a regular nature journaling practice so tricky. I'd love to know how you have created a habit of going out with your journal?
Hi Agnes. It really is just years of doing it, and obviously this channel is the biggest motivation this year! My approach is to have one journal for going out with and recording (which can be VERY messy) and another to be more artistic and an ongoing project concern. The motivation to create an end product is important for me, and the outdoor sketchbook/writing journal is necessary to achieve that goal. But I think motivation will vary for everyone. Hope that helps.
Hi from Western Australia Alex.🙏 Shame on me but I just wanted to go back to the start and really watch your first video. I remember skipping through it at the time as my time was limited and I was just exploring RU-vid. I must say if I didnt before that your art work is exquisite. You mentioned that you went on to do more 'art work', is there a site to see that? I ask without looking yet, do you have an Etsy store? Thankyou for taking the time to show us all your work. Its good to know that we all start out enthusiastically then sometimes our intentions fall by the wayside for a while. I did start a journal in Tasmania a while but I wasnt in a good place and it turned into a diary, a place to vent. But when I get this year (2023) sorted I will give it another go. We have just signed another 12 month lease in our rental and there is so much to see in the south west of WA. Right now I just enjoy sitting on my verandah out ofvthe heat taking photos to draw of flowers and birdlife. We have a park right behind us too so Im sure I will find enough here and in the surrounding region to make note of. I have to get out of the mind set of doing art to sell, then when it doesnt I get a bit despondent...I need to remember to do it just for me. During Covid lockdown I became a bit obsessed and ended up with many many acrylic paintings I now cant get rid of, but if I do watercolours I cant afford to frame them. So nature journaling sounds like a grand plan, thanks for the inspiration. Cheers Jenny
Hello Jenny, thank you for your update. My other artwork is mostly found on Instagram now and at my page on Devon Artist Network (type this and my name into Google to find it), as my focus is now 100% nature journaling rather than art sales. I also don't have an Etsy store for this reason, but a few bits should be available on my website soon. Your place sounds lovely, hope you continue to enjoy it. I didn't like making art to sell either, it just didn't suit the way I like to engage with the world. I think I am 100% more a teacher and inspirer than a marketer and retailer. You have to be such a salesperson to be in the world of selling art...it wasn't for me! Good luck with your nature journaling!
Such an amazing ,beautiful thing to do and to be so dedicated to all that you love. You are an incredible artist one that I am in ore of . Having worked in pen and ink just now and again ,I appreciate how much time and effort that has done into these fantastic journals. This was the first video of yours that I have found , so much looking forward to seeing more and more . You are Natural Star . Have subscribed . Please may I ask ,what is your go to colouring pencils ? Thank you so much for sharing your art . 🙂
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. I do laugh at how bad my old videos are but they do show the work I guess 😅 My favourite coloured pencils are Derwent Procolour 😊
My problem is I really dislike my handwriting on the pages I’ve illustrated - it’s never level. Both your paintings and writings compliment one another beautifully. Do you have any tips for this or similar struggles bringing the two together to make beautiful pages?
A few ideas are covered in my online course, it's currently on Patreon but will be on my website too very soon (probably next week fingers crossed). In terms of page layouts and constructing beautiful pages, this is a huge topic and is something I plan to make a course for at the end of this year. Again, my courses are always on Patreon first before entering general sale. Making handwriting level is a matter of practice and training your eye (either that or drawing out loads of lines with a ruler but that is very boring!) so can be practiced over time in your "messy book" (I discuss these in the course too). Overall, it is just patience and practice. You won't make beautiful pages right away unless you have some background in art/illustration, but if you keep trying over the years the skill will develop 😊
Thank you. My favourite for pencil and colour pencil is Midori MD, my favourite for inks and watercolours is anything with Khadi papers (cotton rag). I plan to make a video all about sketchbook/paper choices early next year 😊
