My go to resources for nature journalling includes some lovely books I picked up from various charity shops - Oxfam is a great place to pick up nature books. The books are quite old and the pictures are not particularly brilliant and perhaps a little dated, but this is why I like them - they are so charming!
This list is a good starting point and most of them can be seen in the picture above.
Pens:
Sailor Sakura with fine nib and converter (any colour you can get)
Lamy Alstar fountain Pen with extra fine nib and converter
Sailor Sakura Fountain Pen - Fine nib.
Inks:
Atrementis Document Ink
ROHRER & KLINGNER Sketch Ink
Waterproof fountain pen ink - don't use India Ink!
Sketchbooks:
Moleskine Japanese Accordion Sketch Book
Leather journal and field notes with biro.
Moleskine Japanese Accordion Sketchbook.
Paints:
Winsor and Newton Cotman Watercolour Waterbrush set.
Sostrene Grenes watercolour set.
Sostrene Grenes Watercolour set includes some metallic watercolours and is an inexpensive set and comes in a lovely tin with water brush.
Stockists:
Purepens.co.uk
Cult Pens
Penfax – in Hexham (an actual shop!)
Sostrene Grenes
Art Discount
Seawhite of Brighton
Paper Republic
My little leather pen case from Pentax in Hexham.
And some tips:
Draw using pen – not pencil. Why, well this will help to develop a spontaneous and confident drawing technique. With pencil you can change your mind and rub things out all the time. This means that you can get bogged down with trying to get things perfect. Nothing is perfect. Your only audience is you and your best drawing is the one that records your memory and thoughts. When you look back at these drawings and you see something that you have captured honestly and with feeling you will be placed back into that place.
You will make mistakes – remember jazz is made up of mistakes that eventually fit into a pattern that makes a sound. Your drawing is made up of small riffs that make up the whole sound.
Work small and finish each leaf, berry or bird before moving onto the next one.
Give yourself a chance – choose something easy for your first sketch. Drawing a bird head on is quite tough but drawing it from the side is easier.
Pay attention to the detail – it is all about looking. A leaf isn’t flat so when oyu draw it look at the shape and where the shadows are. Draw the blemishes and the veins, the crinkles and the textures. Sometimes oyu may think you know what soething looks like but if you really look at the detail you may be surprised that it is different from what you thought.
The concertina sketchbook format is cinematic and this can open up a different way of composing your pictures. Each panel is only a part of a wider panel. You can blend images across folds and beleed them off the top and sides and bottom of the paper.
How good is your drawing – better than you think – always. Each small drawing is only part of a wider and bigger composition. So fill the whole page and the layout will take life.
Define the edges – a thicker line around the edges of your subjects will make the drawing pop off the page. Varying the line thickness adds drama and including texture adds depth.
Enjoy making a mark – don’t hurry or scribble – drawing means “drawing” the pen or pencil towards you so take care with your mark making.
Captions can be interesting, personal and can become a personal narrative that is personal and yours. It is not just a scientific recording of a subject – although it is this too. Remember – include date, place, species, habitat weather etc. When you look back over time you can copmpare the first date you saw a swift arrive and compare it year on year.
Subjects are all around – clouds, weeds, birds and insects are all over. But if you can walk locally and regularly this will help you to see things that are there all year round but not all the time.
Watercolour is called so because of the water. So add a small amount of pigment to your drawing and add water which lets the pigment flow into the water. Use splashes of water from the brush.