“When you draw something, you get closer to it and know it better.”
–Jim LaMarche
Even before I put my colored pencils to paper, this statement resonated with me. It just made sense. It made so much sense in fact that I found myself buying notebooks and colored pencils and telling the kids we were going to, “go outside and draw stuff.”
Clearly, our entrance into the world of nature journaling was not very professional or polished; we just kind of tumbled our way in. But I knew from the start that we had come upon a study method that does indeed have the power to draw us closer to the wonder of God’s creation.
In order to draw something accurately, you must study it with incredible attention to detail. You must look, look again, and look yet again as you mine the subject for fascinating details that would easily be missed in a once over observation. The goal isn’t necessarily to end up with a super accurate or amazing work of art (though it is super fun when that happens). The learning and the wonder is in the process of observing and putting pencil to paper, not in the final product.
The source of the quote that launched our nature journaling adventure* is Jim LaMarche, author and illustrator of The Raft. In the forward, he shares how memories from his own childhood were woven together in the creation of the story and how he, like the main character, Nicky, came to experience the power of drawing the natural world.
As we journey through the summer with Nicky, we observe his transformation from apathetic and a bit ornery to a true “river rat.” As animals were drawn to the raft, he became drawn to them and their quiet ways, all the more so when he began to draw them.
The illustrations throughout The Raft are exquisite and pair perfectly with the gentle prose which wraps around the themes of grandparent/grandchild relationship, the love of nature, and summer adventure. As the words carry you along, you can almost feel the bob and sway of the raft as it floats along the river on a lazy summer day.
The Raft has been a source of beauty that we have pulled off the shelf and enjoyed again and again. Every time it makes me want to reach for my color pencils, gather the kids together, and “go outside and draw stuff.”
*For tips on how to get started nature journaling, see this post at rebeccalevake.com
- Pie: A Tale Full of Sweet Inspiration - November 6, 2024
- The Raft – and the Art of Drawing Close - October 23, 2024
- “The Luck of the Buttons” and the Love of Iowa - September 18, 2024
Leave a Reply