Nature:  Image and Object
Nature Journal Assignment:  Week III
Due:  Wednesday April 16 9:00 am
1.  Locate the cardinal directions of your site (north, south, east, west).  You could do this by looking at a campus, city or regional map.  You could use a compass.  Check out a compass at Lab Stores on the second floor of Lab I.  Draw a map of your site that indicates some major landmarks or vegetation features and includes a compass rose to indicate direction.  If you have already made a detailed map of your site, then just add the compass rose (counts as 2 drawings).  Example maps are in Hinchman, p, 13, 95, 109, 116.

2.  Situate yourself in one spot so that you are facing north, south, east or west.  Make two drawings of the view facing each direction (total of 8 drawings).  Label each drawing (e.g. view facing north).   Make notes about what you see.  For example how do the landforms or vegetation change with direction?  What side of the trees does the moss grow?   One of your drawings should be a landscape.  The second should be a detail (plant, area of a log, person, etc.).  Example landscape drawings are in Hinchman, p. 93, 96,  and 33.   Examples of close-ups are on pages 111, 105, 101, 89,  and 51.  Don’t worry about shading at this point.  We will work on that next week.  If you have time, you can embellish your drawings with watercolor washes. (See Hinchman, p. 47, 102, 122 and 52.)  Add quick gesture sketches of any visitors to embellish you work.

In these drawings, begin by making a gesture drawing in light pencil.   Choose a unit of measure and lay out the vertical and horizontal marks.  Don’t forget to close one eye when you are doing this. Check your measurements (horizontal and vertical).  Use plumb lines to line things up. Correct your light gesture drawing within the measurements. Once you have the correct proportions, make a contour drawing over the top of the gesture drawing.  Use a softer pencil or pen to do this. Leave the underlying marks.