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Poison Ivy Nature Journal

Every artist should have a nature journal.  Sure we are taught to keep a sketch book at all times, but this is different.  I have sketch books devoted only to nature.  Anything that catches my eye when I’m out and about goes into my nature journal.  It could be an interesting weed, or a cool iridescent bug, or a dead dragonfly (I have the wings of one in one of nature journals), or just leaves from a tree.  Usually I draw the subject, colored with watercolor or colored pencil and then I pick the subject and glue it onto the facing page.  On this page, my husband and I were staying at a cool place at Pacific Grove right on the ocean and the wild unkempt undergrowth mesmerized me.  It was September and the leaves were turning a bright red and orange.  I found this interesting weed with red leaves that was so pretty.  I drew it, painted it, took note of the details intending to look up the weeds name and genius later when I got home.  Then I picked it and glued it to the page.  Later I found out I had picked poison ivy and glued it to my book!  Imagine my surprise.  Especially since I wasn’t itching and scratching at all.  I must have stumbled on the one time a year its poison oils were more dormant.

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What do you think?

Written by Paintdrips

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