#notabird

Where have I been this week? Lake Anna State Park with the rest of the DCR VSP Natural Resource Management section, helping clear trails from the various ice/wind/snow storms that ravaged the Park the last few weeks. Chainsaws, polesaws, Bobcats, and just plain old dragging stuff off the trail were the tools of our trade. The trails at Lake Anna should be open to the public again just in time for a race this weekend! Also a few photos of other neat things I saw while working there.

My outfit is by Carhartt, Elvex, and Stihl. Featuring special guest Clementine, the Kubota UTV.

More art soon, when I’m done sleeping for awhile!!

#ilovevirginiastateparks #virginiastateparks #vadcr #workoutside #carhartt #stihl #elvex #kubota #orangeandgreen #myfavoritecolors #safetyisalsomyfavoritecolor #notabird #notart #naturalresourcemanagement
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZhqR5GOWYJ/?utm_medium=tumblr

More squishy, damp, hairy mammals. (Some wetter than others.)

#mammalsketch #artistgrowth #notabird #naturestudy #fuzzydrawings #naturesketch #graphite #redsketch #colorepencilsketch
https://www.instagram.com/virginiagreeneillustration/p/CY6tNjPL05U/?utm_medium=tumblr

Sketchbook photo #study of a #whitetaileddeer from a few days back.

Drawing mammals is an interesting experience for me. I am innately drawn to reptile and avian forms–the bunching repetition of scales, the arched curve of talons, the smooth gradient of feathers sliding over feathers–but drawing mammals just doesn’t hit the same way much of the time. There’s a… goopiness? to mammalian creatures. Wet noses, sweat glands, and irregular fur/skin distribution. Mammals are kind of soft and damp and messy, where birds and reptiles are hard and dry and angular. For some reason, my brain latches onto the latter with more gusto. I still enjoy drawing mammals (especially cats) but it’s not the same exercise. It requires a kind of careful, intentional observation that’s basically automatic for me when I am drawing a bird or a lizard.

This probably means I should draw mammals more often. Hmm… What are YOUR favorite mammals to look at?

#mammalsketch #drawinganimals #inksketches #deer #buck #naturesketching #notabird
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYrQGiLLziE/?utm_medium=tumblr

I LOVE MOUNTAINS!!! So much so I sometimes go into them and don’t come out for awhile!
The last few weeks have been full of action, but one highlight was being able to attend the Leadership Training Institute with Virginia Recreation and Parks Society. I met wonderful people, learned a lot about myself and effective organizations, and was extremely bad at various ice-breaker party games. I also got to visit Wintergreen for the first time, and WOW. The views! So grateful for the experience and opportunity. (And if you’re following me now from the conference–hi and welcome! I’m really glad to have met you.)
I also did a smidgin of art–about half an hour of plein-air sketching with watercolor pencils (limited palette) in weather just above freezing, and a quick comic story about an Encounter I had the first evening I was there.

#art #outdoorartist #vrsplti #virginiarecreationandparksociety #leadershiptraininginstitute #mountains #wintergreen #watercolorpencil #pleinair #sketch #comic #bearencounter #probablyabearanyway #notabird
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdN5dXULC7T/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Anyone who’s seen my workspace in real life knows it’s covered in “motivational” post-it notes, with reminders, schedules, and various pithy quips ranging from scripture to Stoicism. Sometimes I’ll pick one and do a meditative rendition as a warm-up for my brain in the mornings.

This one concerns training for the pack test–as I make choices during the day, it helps me reflect on how those choices will impact my success when I need to perform. It’s coming next month, and I will be ready!

#stronger #faster #meditation #drawing #ink #handlettering #art #illustration #stoicism #discipline #dandelions #talkaboutdetermined #fromafewmonthsago #notabird #artist #artistoninstagram #growth #intention
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTfmAC9LZkb/?utm_medium=tumblr

Q. Where have I been this week?
A. Chainsaw training at Hungry Mother State Park! I learned how to fell, limb, and buck trees safely the DCR way, and got to stay in one of HMSP’s awesome (haunted) cabins! It was a lovely week with a lot of new info, some of which I have captured in an illustrated diagram that’s now on Patreon. (I will likely share it here too at some point.)
Thanks to the wonderful people in District 6 for the excellent teaching and company, and an extra shout-out to the jumping spider who ran all over me and my computer while I was trying to go through the supporting PowerPoints. And the bathroom deer.

#chainsaw #training #ilovevirginiastateparks #vsp #notart #notabird #hungrymotherstatepark #dcr #vadcr #growth #learning #addingnewskills #itsphysics #spider #deermount #felling #limbing #bucking
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTHddXzrWa5/?utm_medium=tumblr

Sketches of trail work from this past week at Green Pastures, a park newly under the Virginia State Parks umbrella. Green Pastures is a treasure with a rich history–it was one of the only natural spaces available to black Americans in Virginia during the Jim Crow era.
I am lucky to be a part of caring for it now! We’re fixing steps, building creek crossings, and clearing logs and brush from the old trail.
Drawn from my memory of each spot. (IE more of an impression than a direct portrait!)

#hiking #trailwork #newparkland #virginiastatepark #greenpastures #sketch #sketchbook #watercolor #ink #study #nature #park #illu #art #illustration #mixedmedia #notabird #learnwithsfc
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSuypwgLEnr/?utm_medium=tumblr