Sonoran Desert Nature Journaling Retreat
At the end of March and into the first week of April I attended a Field Arts Bootcamp put on by Roseann and Jonathan Hansen. Roseann Hanson is such an inspiring artist, writer, explorer, teacher and entrepreneur.
Aravaipa Canyon Ranch was out of cell reception and did not have internet access. This immediately made our group of about 20 much more intimate. Throughout the retreat I got to have a meaningful conversation 1:1 or small group conversation with all the other participants. I learned just as much from other participants as I did from the mini-workshops. Overall, I would highly recommend a retreat with Roseann!
The largest game changer for my personal art process was learning about Lexington Gray Noodler’s Ink from Irme. She let me use some of the ink in a new refillable TWSBI Eco fountain pen. I ran the pen dry in a few days! I had been using Platinum Black Carbon Ink for all my inking. I still love this ink, but the gray ink makes the line contrast a value shift lighter allowing you to still add a dark black to an illustration for additional effect. The Noodler’s ink also stains and dries almost immediately with no reactivation when doing watercolor washes.
We went on many hikes around the ranch and I was able to get away for a few trail runs on the endless ranching roads and washes.
The trip was so fun and inspiring. I got to spend 1.5 days in Tucson rambling around on foot seeking out art stores, parks, public art, and of course tacos!
I made a 16 page mini-zine after the trip based on my field sketches. The original zine illustration pages ended up in our 1 Year Anniversary Show at Darmera
A few pages from my 3.5x5.5 sketchbook.
I will do a more comprehensive write-up soon