My Walking Sketch Journal

8/15/24 Maple Leaf

My walk-sketch fitness program has become such an integral part of my life (for five years now) that it comes almost naturally. The cold/wet weather days ahead, though, are always a challenge. An additional motivator since I began trying to get back into a sketch journal habit is that whatever I sketch on my walks becomes an easy journal entry for the day. I usually add a written observation (or sometimes thoughts I don’t share that are easy to crop out somewhere on the page), and it’s done. That’s so much easier than sitting down with my sketchbook at the end of the day, trying to think of something to sketch retroactively.

8/24/24 Maple Leaf

Once the rain sets in, I have to think of new ways to maintain the habit. There’s always the waterproof Field Notes Expedition and my rainy-day sketch kit. But another thing I might try is to continue thinking as I always do when I walk/sketch during good weather, looking for things that catch my eye, but instead of sketching on the spot, I’ll snap a photo to sketch from later. Knowing I have that photo to work from would make that end-of-day sketch journaling so much easier. (I know that’s probably a no-brainer work-around for most people, but my auto-mode is so strongly tuned to urban sketching that I have to constantly remind myself that using photo references is another option.)

These walk-sketches from August and September were all done on location.

9/4/24 Ravenna and Green Lake

9/5/24 Maple Leaf

9/12/24 Maple Leaf

9/21/24 Maple Leaf (This was only my second sketch with my new fall palette, but I already didn't like the green I chose for the sunny side of trees... it's too cool. I've switched back to my favorite warm green Caran d'Ache for the next one.)

9/22/24 Maple Leaf