Hydrangea bouquet on Westport River, Westport. MA

It is officially mid-summer. Wow, time is flying. Maybe it is the sensation of coming out of a lockdown pandemic and feeling free to roam. Free to go to a restaurant, a concert, visit with friends in their home, move about without a mask. It all seems to have happened so quickly. With two shots in the arm and five weeks of waiting, all of a sudden, we were out of jail. At least some of us. 80% of the Vermont population is vaccinated which is a really an accomplishment.

All this is good timing with summer arriving on our doorsteps with a bit more time, hopefully, to enjoy this new freedom. With warm weather, the blooming world, gardens to tend and appreciate, books to read in the hammock, lakes to swim and paddle in. I soak it all in.

We just returned from a trip to visit friends and family in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Our son and his family, the ones we were so close to during the pandemic, moved to New Jersey in the end of May. When we visited, we shared so many summer things with them and two and a half year old Jack…swimming in a pool and the ocean waves, lighting sparklers on a warm July night, eating ice cream cones, watching fireflies.

Grays Mill Pond, Westport, MA, sketching with Liz

I have been carrying around a small sketchbook since last March and it traveled with me on our recent trip. My friend and noteworthy author of many books on drawing in the natural world, Clare Walker Leslie, re-introduced me to the idea of a small, portable sketchbook and drawing and painting side by side with a friend…like an art making play date. Clare and I met in March and set up a mini studio inside our cars and drew and painted snow-covered fields and a maple sugaring operation in full swing. In a compact bag I now carry a sketchbook, colored pencils, drawing pencils, drawing pens, watercolor brushes, a water container, and a travel watercolor set. It sounds like a lot, but even if you only have a little sketchbook and a few pens, you can still draw! These additions start to make it more fun and add more possibilities.

Another COVID inspiration has been Karen Abend and her Sketchbook Revival two-week extravaganza. Every year in the spring, she hosts artists who lead online workshops based on what they each do in life, two a day for two weeks! Karen hosts this event every year and it is free. I highly recommend it. Among the artists that Karen featured in March were Danny Gregory, founder of Sketchbook Skool, who led us in drawing a sneaker, changing media every minute!, Karen Stamper, from the UK, who taught us how to make a concertina sketchbook, and Shari Blaukoph, who led us in painting a watercolor of a Province doorway. All of these accomplished artists and authors have exciting websites with abundant resources, workshops and classes.

Another wonderful companion along the way is Koosje Koene, from the Netherlands, who co-founded Sketchbook Skool and now leads workshops and teaches online and in person. She was one of Karen Abend’s featured artists during Sketchbook Revival. Almost every Tuesday, Koosje hosts Draw Tip Tuesday videos that are all archived on her Youtube Channel. She is friendly, inviting, encouraging, and a very good teacher. She always posts the materials that she uses and that is helpful.

This is a COVID silver lining…all these offerings online, that were there all along, but who knew? I did not. I discovered them and, thankfully, feel as if I have a whole group of new friends. I have loved watching artists post their work with a sketchbook or small canvas held up against the landscape or still life that they are painting, so I started to do that too.

Drawing and painting are ways to slow down and truly be present in the moment wherever you are. It is wonderful to draw side-by-side with children, friends, and family, to share materials, time together, discoveries, and joy. I say, just do it. You won’t regret it. Take a look at this blog post and also this one, for more ideas and encouragement!