Nature Spots 2023

Be it a flower, butterfly, amazing rock formation or magnificent mountain, nature spots are a great way to document a subject without taking up too much time.

Fill up a journal to document a hike or time spent at a special location. They’re a satisfying way to scratch that itch to paint, yet so simple that you can do them in five minutes tops.

Making color spots helps me connect with nature in a way that snapping a photo just can’t match and I wanted to find a way to share this joyful practice — so the Nature Spots ebooklet was born!

One of the best things about Nature Spots is that they need so few supplies — you can always have them with you!

Here’s what I have in my kit:

• Pocket or Demi Palette from Art Toolkit. Fill it with your favorite tube watercolors. I like to switch up my paints with the changing of the seasons or if I know I’ll be visiting a certain place.
• Paper or sketchbook. I like the mini Hahnemühle zig-zag book as the paper is thick enough so the you can use both sides without the color spot warping the paper. You can also make your own book.
• Waterbrush. A water brush is a game-changer! If you haven’t heard of a water brush you’re in for a treat. It’s a brush that has water in the handle — nifty, right? A light squeeze gets the water flowing. I like the large size by Pentel. 
• Paper towel or shop towel for cleaning the water brush.

Join me for the Nature Spots challenge! It’s super simple: just do a nature spot each day and post a picture with hashtag #naturespotchallenge on Instagram, or add yours to the Padlet below.

Here are some ideas to get you going: do the color of the sky each day, tree bark, birds, rocks, landmarks — anything you like! The goal is to spend 5 minutes reconnecting with nature. Hope you’ll join me!