Nature sketching

By Julie Haan

A storm from Canada ripped into Colorado with fierce, cold winds. Soon the billowing clouds from the west joined with the black clouds from the north to drop a cascade of water that wouldn’t quit. This was the evening before the Nature Sketching class offered by the Colorado Mountain Club. Of course.

As I headed to Boulder for the class the next morning, the sun peeked out, and a full rainbow formed in the west. It didn’t last long, however, and the clouds took control of the skies once again.

While I waited for the others, I looked around Eben G. Fine Park. The myriad shades of green were muted in the gray morning air, and my thoughts were just as gloomy thinking about the class to come.

I never know what to expect from an art class. I’ve found it can be very intimidating and quite painful. Often, instructors have an agenda, like promoting a show, a book, or another class they are teaching; something else that will get them some personal gain. Worse are those who teach subjectively, with a judgmental eye and firmly cemented ideas of right and wrong. This has a tendency to tie a tourniquet around students’ confidence and creativity. And then, there are those who are just plain weird.

Hence, I had no idea what to expect from this nature sketching class in Boulder. I tried to squelch my nervousness while everyone gathered in the parking lot. I was somewhat surprised to see how many people had braved the damp cold to attend the class. As I looked around the group, my apprehension and fears began to fade. I saw no blue hair, no funky outfits, and no faces loaded with jewelry. Surrounding me were “normal” people, men and women, young and old, who showed up to get some pointers on how to do quick sketches while hiking. Yet, I wasn’t completely comfortable because I still had to meet the instructor and find out what kind of teacher she’d be.

Nyla Witmore is a watercolor, acrylic, and oil painter whose specialty is French oil landscapes. She teaches Lifelong Learning classes in the community school program through the Boulder Valley School District. She led us to the picnic shelter, which was a large, open building, its tall sides covered with huge, rounded rocks. We sat in the dark structure at oversized picnic tables with high benches that nearly left our legs swinging. With Boulder Creek roaring behind us, our lessons began.

Witmore quickly eased my anxiety. First she asked how many people had a background in art, and only a third of the students raised their hands. Then she wondered if we thought that what others put on their sketchpads was always exceedingly better than what we sketched ourselves. We all agreed.

She passed around some art books, showed some good tools for nature sketchingÑeverything from handy, pocket-sized sketchbooks to different types of pens and a lightweight, portable chair. She explained that sketches can be done very quickly without a lot of details. At that point I felt that she had a good handle on how part-time artists function and was eager to teach us. She went so far as to show us “what to do and what not do” using an example of her own work. She wasn’t above showing everyone her own “mistakes” permanently etched in pen and watercolor in her sketchbook. She encouraged us to keep everythingÑespecially what we think is terribleÑto use as learning tools and a gauge of our progress.

Witmore began with a lesson on what is called “value,” which is simply different degrees of lightness and darkness. She gave us each a value scale, which measures those degrees gradually, going from white to black. Passing around pictures of the creek and surrounding area, she had us draw the scene with just four shapes. We then found the darkest values, filled them in, and continued with the medium and then light values. A sense of depth and recognizable shapes arose from using only shades of black. Next we learned about composition and focal point.

Witmore had the rare ability to teach all levels without intimidating or judging. She kept the lesson interesting while giving simple instruction and clear when explaining more complex ideas. When she walked around to observe our work, she didn’t point out what we did wrong; she showed us a better way to do it.

Thus, armed with sketchbook, pencil, eraser, and newly acquired knowledge, we set our class out to conquer nature.

The rain had stayed away, but the breeze was biting, and thick clouds hovered, trapping the cold air near the ground. Shivering, a runny nose, and frozen fingers made the practice sketching more of a challenge, but I fought through it as I tried to find the perfect spot along the creek to begin a masterpiece. As I walked along the river, it occurred to me that neither the class nor the instructor was intimidating, but nature sure was. There was so much going on that is was almost overwhelming. Finally, I found an interesting spot and began my sketch. The endless foliage backdrop was distracting as I tried to concentrate on a small area. After sketching for a while, I became curious and walked around, looking over shoulders at what the others had drawn. The very talented students produced remarkably realistic sketches, while I had some big blobs on my paper that looked nothing like the tree, rocks, and water I was trying to capture. I was not deterred, however, because this was my measuring stickÑI figured I had nowhere to go but up. My most valuable tool is my eraser, which got a good workout that day. I was amazed by how people were doing wonderful sketches in penÑeach stroke in permanent ink with no underlying pencil.

I chatted with some of my classmates and found that they also were pleased with the class. Nova Nyberg, a very talented artist, had been glad to learn that the CMC offered things other that “just mountain climbing.” Nyberg added that it was nice to do something that was a little more social, and she expressed an interest in taking similar classes. Very pleased with the instructor, she revealed that she’d been drawing her entire life, and thought she “knew it all,” but in one hour of instruction from Witmore, she learned eight or nine tricks that she immediately put to use.

We gathered for our last lesson: how to add color. The key is to keep the color minimal and use it to distinguish foreground and background. I learned that adding yellow, orange, or red to the green in the foreground will pull it forward, whereas adding blue or purple to the background will push it back, giving the sketch depth.

As the class ended, the sun began to break through the clouds and the weather began to warm up a bit. Of course. P

Joyce Haan lives in Lakewood and is a freelance writer and graphic designer who also enjoys running, reading, drawing cartoons, and hiking.

Editor’s note: The next sketching class will be offered on October 18. Call member services for more information.