Mary McAndrew's Nature Sketching and Painting

NEW HOME for my BLOG!!

2009-05-15T16:39:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone, just letting you know I've successfully moved this blog over to my website. You can now visit my galleries, read more about my art and visit my blog all in one place. Please sign up there so you can get updates from that site now.
Many of my friends here have never seen ALL of my artwork and may be surprised at the variety. I encourage you to visit. www.marymcandrew.com I have a new blog post up there too.

Free Talk and Demonstration on Nature Sketching!

2009-04-01T10:37:00.003-04:00

This coming Saturday April 4, 2009, I’ll be giving a free talk and demonstration about nature sketching in the field. It’ll be held at the Iroquois Wildlife Refuge from 1pm, at the refuge headquarters building, 1101 Casey Road. I’ll be showing my personal sketchbooks, art supplies I use in the field, how I carry things and demonstrating some basic drawing techniques along with how to make a simple field sketchbook for yourself! Please come and meet me and see my sketchbooks and be inspired to go drawing in the field after!

Here’s some links to past entries from this blog about hikes around the Iroquois Wildlife Refuge.

http://marymcandrew.blogspot.com/2008/08/swallow-hollow-iroqouis-wildlife-refuge.html

http://marymcandrew.blogspot.com/2008/07/iroquois-nature-refuge-5-25-08.html

http://marymcandrew.blogspot.com/2008/06/spring-birding-at-iroqouis-5-17-08.html

There is also a link for the preserve there you can go to their site to have a look around. I hope you join us!

"Everlasting Valentines Bouquet" 2-23-09

2009-03-01T16:57:00.007-05:00

A Valentines Day bouquet from your sweetie is very nice...smells so sweet, warms your heart..but doesn't last forever no matter what you do. Unless you get out your paints and do some studies! After a week of enjoying the blooms...then watching some slowly fade, I picked out the freshest ones and moved them into another vase up to my studio. As I did the tulips dropped their petals in a flourish, woosh...all over the table. I picked some up and looked at them, thinking how beautiful their individual forms and colors were.

I decided to do studies of the petals and laid them on my paper with a strong little lamp above me. I should have titled this post "How to Paint Through Pain"...that is, how to cope with painting while in pain. I painted these on the floor, my lower back has been hurting and sitting in a chair was too much to bear. So, I put it on the floor and kept moving around...kneeling, laying on my stomach...what ever I could. I got a bit messy with some areas of these studies, but then it was hard to concentrate! I started each with a basic gesture of the shape very lightly drawn with pencil. The shadows were the most fun to paint, studying the colors coming through the petals. A tip here, to keep the petals fresh until you're ready to work, put them in a ziplock sandwich bag with a sprinkle of water, then put them in the refrigerator. Tell everyone NOT to eat them!!

Oh yes, the other thing is I did them with just my waterbrush...see above picture. You can see the petals laying on my paper and waterbrush in my hand. (PS. this was really late at night...actually I think it was 1am!)
So now I can look at the little study and always remember my Valentines surprise bouquet! I wish I had time to do more studies..I had planned to, but you know how that goes!

"Derwent Water Marina" 9-13-09

2009-02-22T20:06:00.014-05:00

Today I'll take you to the Marina at Derwent water where I stayed overnight at The Derwent Hotel. It's a gorgeous place to stay all newly refinished, the bedroom was just sumptuous! And oh yes, I really liked that they had internet so I could catch up with the folks at home and let them know I wasn't lost somewhere in the English countryside!
This is the front lobby, coming down in the early morning to have my oatmeal made with cream and oh boy was it rich!

Then I made my way across the street and just down a driveway and there you are...the marina. A small, uncomplicated, peaceful place so early in the morning. http://www.derwentwatermarina.co.uk/Walking toward the water...I took note of birds I saw, almost all were new to me, how exciting!

I love when the mist is lower than the mountains around it, the puffs were making their way up each 'valley' from the lake. Small coots were chugging across the still water looking for fish...I did some small sketches of birds and wrote my bird list on the sketch page shown below.

Click the page to read my notes.

These are simple sketches done while walking around, this is typically how I draw birds in the field. Not much to them, just identification notes, and I had my Altoids watercolor kit with me and did some simple coloring. I think one of my favorite birds was the wood pidgeon; with a flash of white on his wings when he flew from the deep trees where hidden. They are quite big compared to 'our' rock doves or pidgeons.

Later in the day I walked up the hill behind the hotel. It was very chilly and damp as I sat and worked. I did a small sketch of the lake view over the hotel, trying to get some color notes on it so I'd remember how it looked. I think my friend Gary arrived just in time though as my fingers were getting quite stiff! Time for hot tea!

I just finished the sketch,(back home in the states) working from a dull photo because it was a dull day. I sat in a coffee/lunch area in the grocery store on a nasty snowy day and worked on it...then finished it in the comfort of my studio. I perked up the color a little trying to keep in mind the original colors I had on the paper. I signed it Lake Derwent before I learned that it's called Derwent Water. By the way, I did the entire painting using one waterbrush and my travel palette. I'm trying to practice using the waterbrush so it'll come naturally in the field.
I think it's a nice little painting!

I think the painting will always mean something different to the artist who painted it in the field. As I sat and sketched, then painted...I absorbed all around me. My eyes studied the colors, my ears heard wrens and thrushes singing, the wind blowing through the pines, my fingers felt the cool rain drops and mist, my face felt the breeze and my nose smelled the wet leaves and mosses in the undergrowth behind me...and the smells of the kitchen below. As I look at that little painting...I can remember it all! THIS is what makes painting outside in nature so rewarding, and it's why I do it. I hope you'll join me someday in experiencing this feeling.

"My Travels from Grasmere and Ambleside to Derwentwater" 9-2-09

2009-02-22T14:42:00.014-05:00

River Rothay in Grasmere, a wonderful little town in the Lake District.

I'll tell you from the start, this post has NO drawing in it! I feel a bit guilty but what can I say? I loved my travels between the places I stayed while exploring the Lake District and I wanted to share some of the photos with you. I must declare here and now, I fell in love with England when I visited the Lake District! It has swept this artist's heart away and I won't be truly happy until I return! Happily that'll be soon, as I plan to return to England this Summer for more exploring and painting. I also hope to teach some outdoor nature sketching classes while there.

I thought this was a Merganser but here they call it a Goosander, it was working it's way up the river fishing...turning around in circles sometimes then diving. What a beautiful bird!

Wonderful Celtic crosses in a churchyard right in town. I love the different colors from the moss and lichens growing on them.

Another wonderful thing I discovered in England was flapjacks. When I went with my friend Gary to buy goodies for our journey he said "how about some flapjacks?" I looked at him like he was crazy...how rediculous! Who carries flapjacks around with them?? haha....To the American a flapjack is a large flat pancake you eat with butter and syrup for breakfast, you don't take it in the car to nibble on. (Though I have been known to nibble on cold ones for a snack from the fridge!) He kept pointing to stuff in the bakery case and I kept looking for the pancakes! Well, to the English a flapjack is a wonderful healthy snack made from oats and whatever you want to put in it like raisins etc. It's like a chewy granola bar. So in the picture, here I am enjoying my first flapjack! Just check out those hills behind me; the reddish color is from the Bracken turning color in the fall.

Me taking some shots before we moved on, it was hard to leave this spot it was so beautiful.

A farm in the valley where we stopped.

This is in Ambleside, the "Bridge House" set right over the river or "Stock Beck" (Norwegian name for river is Beck); this was to escape the land tax at the time. It was used as an apple store and at one time had a family with six children living in it!

That's a Jackdaw on top of it; Jackdaw's are a common bird much like our House Sparrow or Starlings are...both came from England originally by the way. So as I was excited to see the Jackdaw about everywhere, no one payed any attention to them. It's something to remember, things in your own backyard can be really fascinating to others. So take a closer look at what you've got and appreciate it.
Hmm...that could have meaning on several levels ;-)

"Rydal Water Hike" 9-11-08 painted pg 1

2009-02-20T12:57:00.005-05:00

I've been trying to go back into my sketches I did on my trip to England and add some color or finish what I've started. On this little sketch I scribbled it out in 5min....and added some notes on color right on the page. So to keep practicing with my waterbrush and watercolors I added some color while looking at a photo I had taken that day. It's different using the waterbrush alone and not an assortment of brushes. You have one tip to work with and a different kind of flow of water. I'm liking it more and more, but it still has it's limitations, most especially when wanting to lay in a large wash of color. You have to mix a puddle of color first on your palette, squeezing the barrel to make drops of water come out.

Here's the sketch as it appeared in my original post about my hike. To read more about this hike go to my post: http://marymcandrew.blogspot.com/2009/01/rydal-water-and-cote-how-bb-9-11-08.html

"Another Snowy Day" 2-1-09

2009-02-17T17:29:00.006-05:00

The cardinals I did looking at the little feeder that is stuck to my studio window. I wasn't concerned with a fantastic drawing, just practicing the gesture sketches of it. I added a touch of color with a waterbrush and watercolor.
Then I decided to take my sketchbook, watercolors and a simple waterbrush with me when I went out to feed the chickens. It was really cold and windy, so it was hard to draw, but I donned the flip top mittens and went to it! Ok..it was worse trying to paint, but I did some simple color studies. It's very hard to sketch chickens as they move so much!

Then I headed outside the barn and set my pad on top of a tripod that I attached a piece of wood to, it was very windy! The mount isn't a very strong one, it loosened up sometimes, but it allowed me to set everything down in front of me. I'm always experimenting with ideas.

Above you can see the some chickens that were roosting in the rafters. I painted them with Chinese ink...from a dry cake I keep in a tin; it used to be liquid I just let it dry and can use it like dry watercolors. Below that is the little landscape study with some notes. The hawk sketches I added today actually. I saw a hawk through the window and tried to do a sketch using my binoculars. I'm pretty sure it's a red tailed hawk.
My landscape was pretty far away from me, but I was after the colors of the field. You can see the picture below. Oh yes...and then there's Ginger, always waiting for me to walk on somewhere else! haha....

That's it for now...stay tuned for more updates about my trip to England, sign up your email in the box in the right column. Bye!

"Spring 2009 Nature Sketching and Painting Classes"

2009-02-14T19:40:00.015-05:00

photo courtesy of John Rusak-Clarence Bee News, teaching at the Burchfield Nature and Art Center Spring 2008, 5th grade class

Indoor and Field Classes

Join Naturalist Artist guide Mary McAndrew in sketching, painting and experiencing nature through art.
Mary McAndrew (716) 741-4544 mary@marymcandrew.com

Free talk and intro lesson! April 4, 2009 1pm
For full article go to this entry: http://marymcandrew.blogspot.com/2009/04/free-talk-and-demonstration-on-nature.html

Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Alabama, NY

Mary McAndrew, naturalist artist guide, will be giving a FREE introductory talk and lesson on "Nature Sketching in the Field" at the Iroquis National Wildlife Refuge. Please bring a sketch pad and pencils; the time of the program is 1pm at the refuge visitors center 1101 Casey Road. To read more about the Iroquois Wildlife Refuge visit their website: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/iroquois/ mary@marymcandrew.com

My students trying watercolors for the first time, it was so much fun!

"Rydal Water-Last Day" 9-12-08

2009-02-05T09:30:00.012-05:00

In the morning looking out my window, I was greeted by an unusual sight, sheep in the courtyard! I guess it would be very frustrating to have a garden here as the sheep kind of wander where they like, especially if their gate is left open. The owners of Cote Howe B+B told me it was hard to protect the garden and they try to put fencing around it.

This morning I was leaving Rydal Water, I was sad to say good-bye. I went out behind the B+B to wait for my friend Gary to come, it was chilly and damp. I climbed up on top of a big wooden gate with huge stone posts and did a balancing act as I swung my legs to the other side. The stone wall is fascinating in itself to study, notice the huge cap stone at the end on the left...I don't know how deep it goes into the ground, but I'm sure it goes down a few feet at least. This is how the stones were set for Stonehenge and the other stone circles around England and Ireland. The big stone here is used as the post, the wall being built up against it and also gates can be hung on it. The wall has a niche in it, I forget what the owner told me it was for? Does anyone know?
Above you can see some beautiful forms of fungus's and moss. It seems anything that wasn't moving in England this fall, was covered with mosses! I'll try to identify these later from my field guides, if anyone has some good identification, leave me a comment please!
There were sheep in the field, an occasional hiker and just a beautiful view looking towards Rydal Water and the path I took yesterday for my hike. I sat and sketched the sheep and pathview, the bunny is from when I was standing by the garden and saw him there. I added a short video clip at the end of this post showing the sheep I was sketching, I was sitting so still and quiet that it came to eat right under me! When I started to talk it got suprised and walked away. That's the neat thing about sketching in nature, you sit so quietly engrossed that wildlife will come around you.
Below you can see my original page, this is what I did as I sat on the fence, I painted it in while looking at the photos on my computer screen, using my tiny altoids watercolor kit and just one waterbrush. You can see my tiny color tests in the spiral area of the paper.

"Rydal Water Hike" 9-11-08

2009-02-04T08:57:00.005-05:00

Not too long ago I posted about my hike around Rydal Water in the Lake District of England. I did sketches as I went, some being quick as the day grew short and chilly. Below is a sketch I did with a permanent micron pen, I just couldn't resist the view. I wrote notes on it about how I felt and even some abbreviations for color notes.
Last night, quite late actually, around midnight I found myself in front of the computer with a photo I had taken on the spot up on the screen. I used my tiny altoids watercolor kit and one #8 round brush to color in the sketch. I went over the words in a heavier line because they started to get lost. I think it's a bit distracted looking if that makes sense, I think because I was in a lot of pain (neck and lower back! ohhhh!). But I wanted to do this up...I may go back into it with a micron pen to scribble in more forms. But at least I practiced with my colors and what I could produce with my tiny kit.

I have another post coming soon that I colored after also, of some sheep, a bunny and a little view of my path.

"Robert Burns Day and his poem "To a Mouse"

2009-01-25T10:57:00.009-05:00

I hesitated to put this study up, it's nothing gross to a naturalist, a dead mouse. Some people would say "oh, gross!" but all through time, man (scientists and artists in particular) has learned by studying from dead creatures. I love animals and things of our natural world and have a great respect for them even when dead. This mouse was very beautiful and being the curious naturalist that I am, I studied it, sketched it and painted it. It's fur was soft and shiny, and it's tiny paws amazing. Someday I'm going to have some pet mice again, (had them when a teenager) then I can study and paint them all I want.

The top painting was done first with a light pencil gesture sketch then I used watercolors, his whiskers being added with a Chinese white watercolor and tiny brush. The bottom left study was done with a brown micron permanent marker and the right one was done with non permanent brown ink, that I touched with a waterbrush to create value washes.

And now about Robert Burns, he was a poet from Scotland and they commemorate his life by having a Burn's Supper on January 25th, there are formalities of speeches, whiskey toasts and haggis. Here's a link to Wikipedia to learn more about it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns_Day

And why I mention Robert Burns...Scottish poet? I heard a poem on Robert Burns day (Jan. 25th) and it was about a mouse and it went with my mouse study; here's a link to UTube to listen to a reading of his poem "To a Mouse".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTUHBhZZJwE

I like that he calls the mouse lucky, because he doesn't look back at his past or worry about his future, he lives in the here and now unlike man. Sometimes when I'm feeling overwhelmed or stressed out, I'll look at my dog rolling in the grass, trotting freely around the yard and think...how lucky you are! To be as simple as an animal and live for just this moment.

"Hiking on my Land" 1-23-09

2009-01-24T10:15:00.020-05:00

Today as the sun shone and the temperatures climbed to a balmy 30 or so degrees, I felt a very strong urge to just grab my field kit and go for a hike with Ginger. I notice whenever I go out field sketching or work on a painting in the studio, it's like having a visit to the therapist! I feel like I've just had some kind of adjustment, and all is right in my world! Troubles melt away as I stop to catch my breath and listen to the wind gusting through the trees. Today was no different. (click on any picture to see enlarged view)

First small sketch done with a micron 05 permanent marker, it's along the path that's called "Long Lane" on my farm. To warm up and to see if drawing with my fingerless mittens would feel comfortable, I did the top of a small oak tree, then turned and looked down the lane where Ginger was disappearing down, and did a quickly scrawled sketch. It's ok that it's not beautiful and meticulously drawn, I can remember the scene in my mind just be looking at it. Sometimes the field sketch can have more movement and show more excitement than a carefully executed studio drawing. I also find that being able to work loosely in the field keeps my studio painting fresh and lively looking.

Just me in my dad's old wool hunting coat that I treasure, using the fingerless mitten ok. I picked up this pair in England at a regular clothes store at the mall, I made sure they had wool in them, and I like the dark brown color (to hide the dirt of course silly!). At this point I think my fingers were cold, sometimes I worked with the top pulled back and sometimes closed. I'm using a waterbrush here and watercolors, I put my kit in a new bag to try out, an over the shoulder binder type thing, but no room for apples or water bottles. Extra things had to go in the back secret pouch on the hunting jacket, made for carrying dead birds that the hunter (dad) would shoot. It's actually a handy pouch...I slid my sketchbook in there when I would get moving on my hike.

This is a page with a simple color study of the red bark on bushes and the little fern heads coming up through the snow. Their forms, almost silhouette because they're so dark, are wonderful to study.

The photo above shows a leaf I found in a tiny birds nest that was tucked into a tangled bush. It's small things like this that if you take time to notice the subtle beauty your enjoyment of the natural world and simple walks would be much more memorable. This leaf is a simple shape, but I love the mixture of subtle colors, there's a promise of green there that makes me think of spring, it's almost as if the green was frozen from the fresh times of summer. The pattern of the veins and cells is really something too, the wet sheen on it's surface reflecting a cool light.

Then turn the same leaf over and it's a whole other leaf! This side has a network of raised veins showing, like fine meshwork netting and the contrast of the color of vein to leaf is at once noticed. The fall like colors are not showing on this side. When you pick something up, turn it over and explore everything about it; if you draw it, you will study it deeply, noting it's every interesting detail. Sometimes this is good to do once you get back home and can sit in the warmth and take time to study it.

Here's another nest I found that almost looks like it has an ice cream scoop for an egg waiting to be hatched by the warm spring sun. (It'll have to wait awhile still!) Walking in winter is a good time to look for birds nests, just look at bushes or trees for clumps of dark areas, usually made by leaves and small branches. It's fun to look closely at them, how the tiny branches are laid criss cross and woven, and imagine two birds picked up ever single twig and made that. Some nests are tiny things..some larger and could even be for grey squirrels. I don't ever disturb the nests...I feel they are there to be used somehow by other creatures, mice, bugs, etc. and I just let it alone. I will carefully pull some leaves out of a nest to see what the cup might look like.

Now this page has notes you can read, but I'll explain a bit more. I went to a part of my land that has huge old oak trees on it, and one in particular that is dead. This dead tree had all kinds of funguses growing on it and was great to study.

I learned something new that I didn't expect, there was an interesting type of fungus growing on the underside of all the large branches. It was a beautiful natural yellow with some orangey colors in it, but very muted. The funny thing was I noticed the snow beneath it had yellow spots following the branches, NO Ginger didn't do that! haha...but as the snow piled on top of the branches melted, the yellow color in the fungus was dripping down to the ground. I wonder if the Indians or settlers used that as a color for something?

Here's a close up, if anyone can help me identify this I'd be grateful. I looked it up in my mushroom and fungus books but can't find it specifically.

This fungus is as far as I can tell, a "Redbelt" shelf fungus. I did a painting in the field while looking at it and looked it up when I got home. (The painting is below). The odd thing was, as closely as I thought I looked at this, I still missed something interesting. When I got home and uploaded my photos, I noticed on some close ups there were little blackish bugs crawling all over the place!! Ewww....I have to admit, I like studying bugs, but the idea that there were bugs all over this fungus and tree and I didn't know it kind of made me uneasy! But the fascinating thing was that there were bugs out doing their thing in the middle of the winter! You would be surprised at what you'll see on a mild winter day!At this point, at the end of my hike after being out two hours, my toes were frozen and getting numb. This is when the idea of hot cocoa creeps into my mind and Ginger's happy face asking, "Can we go home yet?" starts to distract me.

This last page I finished at home while drinking that hot cocoa; the tree and fungus I did in the field. I brought home a stick with neat fungus growing on it, the leaf I photographed and a dead leaf. This stick was very interesting to look at under a magnifying glass, the black fungus was shiny and the rose colored had a velvety sheen almost. I made a stab at identifying the rose colored as Hypoxylon Fragiforme, any experts out there can verify this? I added color notes too so you could see what paints I used.
I hope you enjoyed our hike today in the winter chill! Sign up your email in the right column to recieve updates when I post new things. Happy Hiking!

"English Wetlands" 1-19-09

2009-01-19T13:31:00.005-05:00

Today I painted this miniature watercolor of some wetlands in England. It measures only 2.25" x 4.25", yes it's a wee tiny thing! I have some pictures from England I want to work from sitting on my kitchen table; so this morning as my oatmeal and coffee got cold, I did this little painting.

Here's a picture of one of my tiny travel kits, this one is set up with my 'Altoids' watercolor kit. I have small watercolor brushes that I cut the handles off of so they are short and fit in my kit. The watercolor kit or box is stuck into a metal pencil case that I can use to mix my colors and hold the paper and watercup at the same time. It's a great little set up, and I like keeping it handy at the table. I did the Snowy Egret in the last post using this kit, but just drew with my inktense watersoluble pencil, not watercolors.
This painting will be up for sale soon in my Fine Art Gallery Blog, please email me if you'd like to make an offer for it unframed, ready to mail!

"Snowy Egret" 1-17-09

2009-01-19T12:35:00.004-05:00

This is a miniature painting of a Snowy Egret done in Inktense Watersoluble Ink Pencil, black. It's very small, 2.25" x 3.25" and I used just water and a small brush to wet the pencil as I worked. I wanted to keep it fresh looking with pencil scribbles showing and blotches of ink. I like the dynamics of that, reminds me more of nature sometimes rather than a perfectly and meticulously painted peice.

When you work with inktense pencils you can either rub at the lines with a wet brush to eliminate the pencil marks or brush lighter to leave them there. Also if you draw on wet paper be forwarned it will draw very dark and quite permanent! The properties of these pencils are such that if you let the worked area dry it will be more permanent than watercolor pencils or watercolor. You can work over it without lifting the colors. I enjoy their boldness and the mixture of water media and dry media.

Nature Sketching and Painting Classes

2009-01-17T22:02:00.014-05:00

Indoor or Field Classes

Join Naturalist Artist guide Mary McAndrew in sketching, painting and experiencing nature through art.

Mary McAndrew (716) 741-4544 mary@marymcandrew.com

Come explore nature with me as we work indoors or out from real nature subjects and photos. Whether it's a weekly class or one day workshop we’ll learn drawing from life techniques that will improve your artistic skills in the field and how to draw from photos in the studio. We'll learn how to identify subjects in nature and how to draw them. We’ll learn foundation drawing skills and how to use pencil, color pencil, watercolor pencil and watercolors. I’ll also introduce NEW materials on the market (water soluble graphite and the waterbrush) and how to use them. This is a fun class that will teach you how to capture nature on paper and help bring your skills to a new level.

I can offer my class to your group, whether it's school children or retirement homes, everyone loves my classes and has a good time learning! Please call me if you'd like to talk about the possibilities of what we can arrange.

What we’ll do in class:

Create your own Nature Journal (mostly for field classes but we can do this for indoor class also).
Create your own Art Kit.
Work with pencil, color pencil, watercolor, watercolor pencil, ink, watersoluble graphite.
Learn how to do studies of plants, flowers, birds, leaves, trees, clouds, bugs...you name it!
Identify local wildflowers, plants, birds, trees and more from our sketches using field guides.
Introduction to landscape drawing and painting
Learn basic drawing skills– value, shape, texture, gesture, shadow and light
Learn how to see “Simple Shapes” + use “Comparative Measurements”.

my email: mary@marymcandrew.com

Adults and Children Welcome in ALL my classes!!

email me to inquire, I'd love to talk to you about our next adventure!

Mary

"Rydal Water and Cote How B+B" 9-11-08

2009-01-13T11:54:00.015-05:00

After a long night time drive from Muncaster, I arrived at Rydal Water and settled into my room at Cote How Bed and Breakfast. I had only one day to explore as I spent an extra day under Muncaster's spell. I spent the entire day hiking, taking photos, sketching, talking to people and video taping. Every few steps I had to stop and exclain "wow"..."oh!"..."beautiful!"...I couldn't stop taking pictures. I wish I had a week so I could really go out to draw and paint. I'll do work from the photos in the studio and try to return there perhaps to teach a class as we hike around the lake?

After a wonderful breakfast at the Cote How b+b, I came down a path and this is the view of the lake as I approached. The day had a promise of rain; I had my rain gear in my backpack, some snacks bought on the way to Rydal, bottle of water, and extra art supplies. My video camera was hanging from my waist in handy reach, 35mm around my neck, and my art kit hanging from my waist also. Umm...I felt a little like a pack horse but believe me I tried to keep it light! I always try to not carry too much, my back just can't take it.

Sometimes the path veers away from the lake but always followes along through woods and over hills. Every gate I came to was set in a different scene, mood and lighting. I saw wooden gates and metal, all attached to ancient stone walls with lush green moss on anthing that wasn't moving!

Once I got out and walked next to the lake, I did a really quick sketch looking across to the other side. I put color notes on the sketch and wrote about some nice walkers I met along the way.

Another gate, this one is for the cows who are lazily lounging along the lake. I put a video clip at the end of this post that shows this view with the wall. Can you see the other side across the water? That's where I'm eventually headed, this hike today will take me around the entire Rydal Water lake.

Ok...no one said the hike was super easy! This is one part of my walk that took me up the mountain on the other side of the lake. Sometimes I was following a dry creek bed for a path.

After that part of the hike I smartly decided to sit and have lunch, maybe it was a cover so when people walked by they wouldn't notice my heavy breathing! haha...I sat and did a micron pen sketch of the gate on the path. I added notes about color and things so I could remember later if I do a painting. Just as I finished the sketch my favorite little European Robin landed on the gate! I had to sketch him in.

I'm on the other side of the lake now...looking back and down the valley at the sheep in the fields. They were everywhere, wandering about even on the paths were I was walking.

Along the way I met all kinds of nice people, this is a group of photographers from Scotland. I knew they'd be friendly if I chatted with them, I have friends in Buffalo who go shooting and they love talking shop. As we talked standing along the valley stone wall, a friendly European Robin came and started looking for handouts. One of the group put some crumbs out and we became instant friends with the little bird! Here's a picture taken with my tiny camera on zoom, not so great for clarity, but it works!

I love when you're hiking along and if you keep your eyes open, really take notice of what you see, you may see something almost underfoot, literally! I was chatting with an older gentleman while up on the far side of the mountain, a good thing to do to catch your breath. I pointed out a dung beetle crawling along on the ground. I took lots of photos...it's just great to look at later and notice all the cool things you don't see at the time. His feet had long 'toe' parts, his antennae were a beautiful color with several parts to it, his legs a gorgeous deep purple. When I looked at him from above he was just like the ancient scarabs the Egyptians used in their jewelry. Ok..yes, he's still a dung beetle, as I studied him...he crawled directly across the path and found..umm...dung! I spared you the picture of that!

This I did while up at the highest point, looking down at the b+b I came from. I stradled a cold, damp stone wall and tried to sit on my coat. I had to hang one leg over the side towards the valley, it was a pretty big drop off. People passed by and I just tried to do my best with my small set of oil pastels, smearing the clouds as the weather changed and mist came in.

This quick sketch was done on the fly...the weather was changing and I was a little worried about how long it would take me to finish my hike. I did take pictures so I could do a little color study later, if I can I'll post it.

And this is the last page of my sketchbook for today that I wrote while at the Badger Pub. After my hike I freshened up at the b+b then walked the back path to cross over the bridge to the pub. The dinner was excellent and when 9pm rolled around, we were invited to go out back of the pub to watch the badgers get fed! I counted at least nine of them! It was really cool, my only experience with badgers was when I was a zookeeper, his name was Boris! You had to keep a shovel between you and him to keep from being nipped!
I hope you enjoy the video clip below of the lake from my hike. It was a fantastic walk that has filled my memory with wonderful things. I hope you come along with me on the rest of my journey in England!

"Muncaster Castle Day Three, The Owl Centre" 9-10-08

2009-01-11T13:20:00.002-05:00

My third day at Muncaster was so full, I did two posts to cover it, this is the second half!

The following pictures are all from the World Trust Owl Centre at Muncaster Castle on September 9th in the late afternoon after a busy day filled with hiking and exploring the castle. At the end of my day I walked around the owl yard and sketched a little...I was quite tired so I didn't sketch too much! It was raining gently so I limited myself to a few brown watercolor pencils and watersoluble graphite pencils, a brown micron pen and a sepia micron pen. I listed the owls of England on my sketchbook page; Long Earred Owl, Short Earred Owl, Little Owl, Tawny Owl, White Breasted Barn Owl.Above is a Buzzard that is being brought out to take part in the Bird of Prey show they put on everyday behind the castle.

This is a Buffy Fish Owl, they have a funny sort of look with their 'ears' flopping out to the sides many times.

This is a Mackinder's Eagle Owl...the Eagle Owls are some of the largest owls in the world. I just love the sleepy look of this bird...I really want to do a painting of this one!

This gorgeous bird is the Oriental Bay Owl; I just love it's patterns and colors! I feel another painting coming on!

This is a video of Red Tailed Kites flying around in their pen. Such a beautiful bird, it's centres like this one that help educate people about Birds of Prey so they won't kill them in the wild or take their eggs.

"Muncaster Castle Day Three, Morning Hike and Castle" 9-10-08

2009-01-11T01:20:00.020-05:00

I started this busy day by meeting my host Patrick and spent the entire morning walking the property with him. We left my backpack in a tiny little room with a tiny door to the outside of the castle and a spiral staircase that went up. Here he is standing in front of the castle looking out over the valley.

Below is the view we had that morning of the valley below the castle.

We went out into the garden, then into the woods and followed many paths and sometimes left it for the woods, Patrick knew it all like the back of his hand. This 1800 acres was his backyard!

A beautiful magical path.

Above a most gigantic Sycamore tree, the trees here are old and immense. Their canopy spans huge areas that Patrick said was a problem for the Rhododendrons trying to get light from below!
Below Patrick showed me that to tell the type of Rhododendron you flip the leaves over and look at the underside! His Rhododendrons are from all over the world and he keeps records of all their growth habits, failures and successes. He is a true master gardener.

We wound our way up the mountain, sometimes catching a glimpse of the valley through the trees, and then before you knew it a gate appeared before us.

This is the gate from the other side...it's called a kissing gate and is designed to keep livestock from pushing the gate open but people can easily swing it one way the back the other to allow them through.

Then I looked up and this is what I saw! The Irish Sea!! Wow, how amazing it was...this part of England looks out to the Isle of Man and past it Ireland. It was such a wonderful surprise to come out of the woods and an open expanse of beaches and water!

This is a road that leads to an old church on the castle grounds.

This is a view looking back down the terrace at the castle, it was extremely wide and immensely long.

This view is looking up the valley away from the castle, it gives me a chill even now to remember how it felt to stand there looking at such beauty.

These pictures of the paintings I actually took this morning as we prepared to leave the castle. Patrick had some things to attend to and I took some shots while I waited. I love portraits and these were incredible, some were by Gainsborough, Titian and Reynolds.

Just look at how dark and rich the colors in this man's face looks! I think he was a Pennington.

"Shooting Star" 1-3-09

2009-01-04T20:44:00.007-05:00

Last night as I walked out to the barn, I paused to admire the stars, it being a clear night with a small crescent moon. My dog Ginger was bouncing around me waiting for me to continue to the barn for feeding time, I had to watch awhile. I watched them twinkling and thought again about how people all over the world are connected when they look up at the stars and moon. I noticed too how the light cast from the barn made the trees glow against the dark sky, the lighting from below was haunting. It was just then I saw a bright shooting star fly over the trees...with bright sparkling colors behind it; it didn't have a long tail, but a very brilliant short one.

This is the painting taped to the table (it's 5"x7"), I used a liquid friskit with the pen tip to quickly sketch the trees on. They are a little clumsy but I meant to do it as a quick sketch, and have some liveliness to it. The stars came out a bit too big so later I had to paint them in a bit.

After the liquid friskit is dry and only then, is it ok to do liberal washes over it. The friskit keeps the paper white, I should have taken a photo to show you how bright and 'garish' it looked when I rubbed it off. My son Paul loved the look, kind of modern but a bit too stark for me. I brushed over the trees liberally with browns and then used a damp brush to lift color around the tree tops...a softening effect to suggest the finer branches and glow.

This is my tiny kit with the Altoids tin of watercolors, I mixed my paints on the metal pencil case. The last thing I did was put a little color in behind the shooting star, I took note of this right when I saw it and that's what I found fascinating about it.
So that's it, a little sketch of a shooting star...and oh yes...I DID WISH UPON IT!! (but I'm not telling! ;-)

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2009-01-02T11:38:00.002-05:00

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Mary McAndrew's Nature Sketching and Painting

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"Eurasian Eagle Owl" 12-31-08

2009-01-01T19:16:00.005-05:00

Another bird of prey you say?? "YES!" say I!

Well I decided that I'd concentrate on birds of prey amongst all the other nature stuff I'm painting. It's great to concentrate on a particular subject for awhile; you'll learn more information as you read about it, visit locations where it can be studied in real life and ask questions of those who know more than you about your subject.

This little (3.5"x3.5") watercolor painting is a warm up for a larger painting I want to do in oil. I am working from photographs by my photographer friend Gene Witkowski (of Buffalo) from when we went to the Sterling Renaissance Festival three years ago. (wow has it been that long??) After that I became a full time artisan there but never had time to go visit the acts and see the owls or joust first hand. So now I use the invaluable photos. The oil painting I'm going to do is a full size pose of this owl named Boo, sitting on the gloved hand of his owner Jenn, who did the bird of prey show.

She told me he was an African Eagle Owl, now that I read about the Eagle Owls, I've learned he is indeed an Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) and that the ones found in Africa would be smaller and greyer as he is. I wondered because as I read about them it says they are brown mostly, and mine was not. Another fact I never knew, our Great Horned Owl is an Eagle Owl, Cool!

Below shows my set up as I worked, I put a masonite drawing board on top of a tv tray table and this is where I plunk myself sometimes to work near the woodstove. Ahhhh, you can't beat that heat when it's freezing outside! I limited myself to my field palette of watercolors and yes, I had to use the reading glasses! An invaluable tool when working on tiny paintings!

"Two Barn Owls"

2009-01-01T15:59:00.013-05:00

In this post I bring you two owls, both are Barn Owls but look very different. The first is a sketch of a Barn Owl from the United States, the typical light heart shaped face and brown markings on the feathers. I think the same species is what you see in the UK, but theirs are slightly different in color or size. I need to research this further! (a note from me...I did put this up in a post back in August, but this shows it scanned in much clearer and the framed version.)

I used watersoluble graphite (graphitint) color pencils to do it, and a waterbrush to blend and make washes with the drawn lines. The property I like about watercolor type pencils is how you can leave the drawn lines if you like, it give a certain texture. If you don't like that, just rub it a little more with the brush tip and it will all go to wash. The original sketch is only 2.5" x 3.5" big; it's already been sold but I do have mini framed prints of it available, note cards and 8x10 handsigned prints.
The original sketch is only 2.5" x 3.5" big; it's already been sold but I do have mini framed prints available (shown below), note cards and 8x10 handsigned prints.
This owl below is an Ashy Faced Barn Owl, an owl I never heard of until I visited the Kielder Water Bird of Prey Centre in Northumberland England. The owner let me take pictures of their owl, telling me it's an uncommon bird even in England. It's a young owl, you can see some of the down poking out from the feathers still. It's dark face contrasted by it's golden feathers were fascinating to look at! I looked it up in my two huge owl books and can't find it in there, time to research this one more also!

This tiny painting was done exclusivly with watercolors and a tiny brush, it measures 2.5" x 3". The original has sold but I have tiny framed prints (shown below) available and note cards. Just email me to inquire: mary@marymcandrew.com

"New Year's Eve Morning" 12-31-08

2009-01-01T11:39:00.005-05:00

This is a tiny little watercolor painting I did on New Year's Eve morning, while drinking my coffee and looking out the back studio window. It measures a mere 2.5 x 3.5". You can see below a photo I took while working, but I put the tin down to take the photo. I painted it while standing and holding this little set-up in my left hand. It's a pencil case that I stick my "Altoids" watercolor kit in using blue tack or sticky tack, and the same for the tiny watercup. I also use the tack to hold two brushes at the ready on the side; I use the metal area under the paint kit to mix colors. This set up works well for small paintings and studies.

"Moon Meanderings" 12-15-08

2008-12-17T08:33:00.005-05:00

It was a full moon a few nights before, so tonight as I saw the glow of the moon trying to come to fruition behind the clouds...I was hopeful of some good moon gazing. Hmmm....no such luck. It started to show promise as I saw a curious yellow glow in the clouds, so I grabbed my tiny Altoids watercolor kit, my reading light and very small watercolor field kit.

I set up in my bathroom where it's extra dark when the door is closed and tried to paint quickly in the dark. I didn't have anything to put my piece of paper on, so I held the little thing in my hand and the watercolor kit also; it was not a great set up but I was in a hurry!

Yes, it was quite dark, I could hardly see the colors I was using but I wanted to really see the moon and didn't want the distraction of the light. So as it slipped quickly away behind a dark veil of clouds, I just painted from memory and it was ok. It's only after when you turn on the lights and let the colors and wetness finish their 'melding' that you'll see what you've got. It's kind of fun! This one is only 3.5"x2.5" on watercolor paper.

"Muncaster Castle Day Two" 9-9-08

2008-12-11T21:39:00.012-05:00

Today was my second day at Muncaster Castle. I've uploaded a video for you to listen to at the end of this post, don't miss it!

I was invited by Patrick Gordon-Duff-Pennington to visit he and his wife Philida for coffee in the morning at the castle, they are the couple who own the stately castle. How wonderful does that sound? I was also invited to bring my sketch book and my prints to share with them. Patrick had to meet with the woodsman who oversees the property so Philida, a wonderful person to share time with, and I sat on a silk covered couch in the library and enjoyed hot tea. We chatted about my artwork and the castle. The picture below shows some of the library, it was filled with wonderful paintings, antiquities and memorabilia. I like the miniature chairs on the table. Since it was before the general public was allowed in, I was left to wander freely about the library on the 'other' side of the rope! I wish I had a whole week to spend wandering around and drawing the interior of the castle.
Below is a little painting I did while up on the balcony of the library. The library is round and if you look up you'll see there is a balcony with iron railings that goes all around it way up above. Well I was given a big old ancient key and told that I could use it to unlock the door to the balcony at my leisure! I did go up there and it was a little scary, you had to watch your step, the floor boards were old and the ramp around was quite narrow! But I'm adventurous...I wanted to explore! About the little painting, I had my painting kit on my waist, my small field palette, little bottle of water, small brushes and held the sketchbook while I worked. I set some things on the window sill and looked out over the valley through the very old and very drafty windows. It was blowing up a gale and very chilly outside, so I was glad to be in. This is a cherub statue with more antiquities and wonderful stained glass. I was walking down the stairs, a wide expanse of marble...and tourists were milling about with wonder in their eyes, and appeared Patrick. Patrick is a talented poet bard...and not shy. He stood on the stairs of their castle and recited one of his wonderful poems to all the visitors. He is genuinely interested in all who visit his castle!
Another view out a window in the great hall, everywhere you turned there were beautiful things to look at.

Then I picked a window just outside the billiard room to draw. I was in a narrow hall way outside it, so people were walking by, but I stood up as I drew this with my charcoal pencils, a stiff brush and tortillion. It was so chilly, but one of the ladies that worked at the castle, Candy, brought me hot tea! How nice was that? Very nice!! The perspective on this window was tricky, you have to remember when drawing NOT to draw what you think, but what you SEE, in the end it will (or should) come together. It's funny how when you stop to draw other people stop and look, wondering at what is so interesting! I like the way the blustery clouds came out through the window.
This last photo is from the Tapestry room and shows a Tudor carved fireplace, it commemorates the victory over the Spanish Armada. I just loved looking at all the carvings throughout the castle. I really do wish I had more time to draw what I saw, but relied on taking photos to use later for drawing.
This is a video clip taken at my window sill which overlooked the owl yard...every morning I was greeted by the song of a European Robin singing.