:: blog ::

Sketched nature journal entry showing top-down views of street tree root crowns. They look like brain dendrites.

ArborApril 08: Roots

[08] Today’s prompt is Get to the Root of ItSketch, question, measure the root system of a tree. Sometimes the congruence of the world sneaks up on you, and next…
Nature journal entry of Japanese black pine.

ArborApril 07: New to Me

[07] Today’s prompt is New to MeDraw a tree you’ve never seen before, identify it, learn and note down both the common and botanical names. I was walking out on…
Image of sample tree-drawing workshop pages and two portraits of the workshop facilitators.

ArborApril 06: Let’s Draw Trees! Live Workshop

[06] Today’s prompt was actually a live oneline workshop, woo hoo!Cathy and I had a "tree-mendous" time drawing trees along with 95 participants at the live online class hosted by…
Sketches and writing about a juniper tree.

ArborApril 05: Old & Wise

[05] Today’s prompt is Old & WiseJournal an old tree in your neighborhood. I'm pretty sure this tree has seen a lot. It's part of an allée of six Chinese…
Nature journal visual of the peeling bark of a Strawberry tree.

#ArborApril 04: Bark! Bark!

[04] Today’s prompt is Bark! Bark!Focus on the delicious textures of bark. Consider making a texture map. This tree's amazing peeling bark calls to me. Each tendril curling up like…
Watercolor sketches of leaves from three California native trees: California buckeye, Arroyo willow, Coast live oak

#ArborApril 03: Leaf Study

[03] Today’s prompt is Leaf StudyFocus deeply on a single leaf, or make a comparison or montage.. A Treefecta of California native trees! Each tree has leaves (or leaflets!) with…
Image of oak tree in watercolor with text describing the process of journaling the tree.

#ArborApril 02: Go Monochrome

[02] Today’s prompt is Go MonochromeSketch a tree using values of only one color, or play with using a non-local color. Meet the Oak who lives at the Terminus. This…

Let’s Draw Trees! An Online Workshop

Whatcha doin' on Sun, Apr 6? Come to Let's Draw Trees, a free session on ways to celebrate trees in our sketchbooks. Led by Urban Sketcher Cathy Raingarden and me,…

#ArborApril 01: Out the Window

It's official! Today is budburst for #ArborApril 2025 with Cathy Raingarden and the Wild Wonder Foundation! Join in for a month of drawing and journaling trees! [01] Today’s prompt is…