Wild Ozark Nature Journal
I’m slowly scanning my nature journal entries and adding them to this blog.
Some of you may have already seen these, because I started this a few years ago and then let it get lost among the other things I am trying to do. Now I’m reviving the effort. Most of these are compiled in a picture ebook for Kindle.
Now I’m reorganizing and gearing up to get back into the habit of daily journaling. Once I make new drawings enough to fill another ebook, I’ll publish the second volume.
The Nature Journal Idea
When I first started this project, the idea was to take my sketch pad and go outside each day to make an entry.
The idea was NOT to be concerned with perfection. The idea was to capture a moment with a sketch and paragraph or two.
It was so hard to stay true to the intention!
Each time I sat down to make the sketch, I became more and more concerned with getting it right. The color wasn’t exact and I didn’t have the entire box of pencils with me, so I couldn’t fix it on the spot.
The lines didn’t meet up just so, or perspective was wrong.
So many ways it didn’t look perfect.
Eventually, it began taking so long to make the sketch turn out the way I wanted it to, that I quit doing it altogether because I didn’t have that much time every day.
Now I’m reviving my nature journal, and I’m making a stronger effort to focus less on perfection and more on experiencing a moment and capturing that moment.
So if the drawings seem unfinished to you – well, that’s because they are. I’m not trying to finish them. I won’t come back to the house and finish them either. At least not right away. I might work on them at a later date when I have more time or if one in particular seems promising.
But the idea is to capture a moment in time, not to produce a work of art.
You’ll find the index of days below. If you want to do this too, leave a comment here where I can find your blog!
Want Your Own Nature Journal?
If you don’t have a nature journal, I created one just for that purpose. It has pages with the top half blank for a sketch and the lower half lined for writing journal entries. You can find it at Amazon or use the link below to pick it up.
Community, Support and Encouragement
If you like this project, please share it so others can join in to share their nature journal posts!
More Resources
If you want to learn more about nature journaling, John Muir is the most influential nature artist for me. I love his work, love how he lived his life and admire his art.
The Index
Day 1  |
Day 2  |
Day 3  |
Day 4  |
Day 5  |
Day 6  |
Day 7  |
Day 8  |
Day 9  |
Day 10  |
Day 11  |
Day 12  |
Day 13  |
Day 14  |
