Friday, June 15, 2012

Sketching in Yellowstone


When we are in Yellowstone all too often when the action is happening I’m photographing.  No time to sketch. I draw later from my photographs.  
Other times nothing much is happening and I look around for something to sketch.  So much of my best ‘on location’ sketching has no story.  Today’s post will be a series of these sketches ... and will give me a little time to finish up the art and photos for what is to come.  Soon I’ll start a three part series on Broken Toe, a sandhill crane we have watched in Yellowstone for several years.  

Two sandhill cranes at Blacktail Ponds.  We always look carefully at each crane we see at Blacktail Ponds, hoping we’ll see Pegleg again.  Pegleg is a crane who has just one foot -- two legs, but missing one foot.  We first became aware of her in 1997 and last saw her spring of 2011.  We didn’t see her this spring.
I like sketching bison! They are big and often close to the road and often moving slowly.







In some areas of Yellowstone’s northern range virtually every tree that has succeeded in growing out in the open, succeeded because one or more boulders offered just a litter more protections than the open sagebrush.
More bison
I was waiting, hoping pikas would make an appearance amongst this tumble of rocks.  Friends reported they had seen them here and we have in years past.  No pika for me on this day, but it was just warm enough to sit outside and sketch.
I look forward to every full moon.  I went to bed before it rose on the night of the full moon, May 6;  but I got up early enough on the 8th to watch it slip behind Sepulcher Mountain when it set.
Getting up early on another morning was rewarded by an encounter with two white-tailed jackrabbits.
We often see marmots in this classic pose, watching their world.  He can slip into the rocks in a moment when danger appears.  
Way off in the distance this red-tailed hawk had a nest.  When he perched in this nearby snag I worked on this sketch, sketching him with binoculars.


12 comments:

  1. Hi,Elva,
    Your art work and post are always great! Thank you for sharing them all!!
    Kind regards, Sadami

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  2. So good to have you back. All the sketches are wonderful, but I especially love the owl's nest.

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  3. Fabulous nature sketches Elva. I just love 'traveling' with you.

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    1. Hi Teri ... Both the owl and the red-tailed hawk were done in the sketchbook you gave me -- and the raven on my last post. I love how heavy the paper is.

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  4. I too enjoy this trip...we love Yellowstone. How great to have the opportunity to sketch the buffalo! I love those creatures we saw up close and personal. (safely from the car of course)... all your drawings are wonderful to see. Thanks!

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  5. I have been here to look at your wonderful art before but my monitor has been wonky lately so color is off or how about blue... Now I can see it better. So good to see your Art back in blogland. I love seeing what you do. We are on Critter duty here for a couple weeks. Very busy.. but its fun. :)

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  6. Oh and I LOVE your first painting. Its wonderful!

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  7. I'm so glad to have re-discovered your blog. Love these sketches.....what pen DO you use?

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    1. Mostly I sketch with two Pelikan fountain pens. One has an extra fine nib and the other a fine and flexible nib. The first is expensive and the second is really expensive. I like how quickly ink flows from a good fountain pen; and a fountain pen nib gives me more variety of line width. There are lots of fountain pens that are cheaper.
      See also my Jan 2012 post: Thoughs on Pelikan fFount Ink; and my Dec 2011 post: Christmas Came Early

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  8. These are amazing sketches and watercolors! I'm currently at Big Bend National Park, so I can relate to your post. Blessings!

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  9. Thanks for sharing more of your sketches. I love reading your commentary about keeping a sketchbook, and very much relate to either having not much or too much going on. It will be fun to see what else you put together about your yellowstone trip...I can't wait!

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