Summer Adventures in Your Botanical Sketchbook: a New Online Class

Last Friday I mentioned I was working on a new online class.

It was my focus for most of July, never far from my thoughts even when I wasn’t working on it.

Pounding flowers and leaves creates beautiful imagery for our sketchbooks

Last fall I created an autumn themed botanical sketchbook class, knowing I wanted to make a series. Next came a class about botanical sketchbooks in winter, then in April I released a spring class. All the while I kept thinking about a comment from a student who wished to see me sketching in my garden. I knew summer would give me a chance to do it.

copying shadows on our sketchbook pages is a fun and easy way to warm up

As you probably already know, summer is my favorite season. Everywhere I look I find inspiration for my art in my garden. But I also love summer because it feels apart from the other seasons. Everything is alive. Everything is colorful.

I can (and do) spend as much time outdoors as possible in the summer, often eating breakfast, lunch and dinner out on our patio. Although we don’t usually take summer vacations, I like to imagine summer feeling like a vacation.

I wanted to capture that feeling in this class.

Fern and Queen Anne’s Lace Cyanotype Prints

Like summer, sketchbooks can feel apart from other art. They’re a place to experiment and play and have fun. Without judgement. Without worrying about the outcome.

Much of this class was filmed in my backyard. The exercises are all simple to do; many share ways of creating directly with and from nature as well as in nature.

I want each lesson to spark other ideas. I want my students to follow their curiosity and find joy in creative play.

You can create imitation cyanotype prints with blue and white paint

So often we can get stuck in a rut when creating. It’s boring to face a blank sketchbook page and think we have to do the same thing we’ve always done. It can keep us from creating anything at all. I want this class to be an antidote to that. A vacation from boring.

In one lesson I even share ways of sketching off the page. Sidewalk chalk, embroidery,

you can sketch with thread embroidering simple botanical designs

temporary tattoos.

a temporary tattoo created from a sketch of a borage plant

Creating this class certainly got my ideas flowing. I love the thought of sharing the inspiration, of spreading the creativity as one idea leads to another and another.

Won’t you join me?

I’m giving away 10 free seats in this class. Simply follow this link to claim your place.

Otherwise you can join me in class with your premium Skillshare membership or a free trial.

And for even more sketchbook inspiration, I’ve created a free sketchbook guide to help you get started with your own sketchbook adventures:

Wishing you many summer adventures!

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