Sketchbook tour: Santa Cruz Island

I went on a trip to Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park in late January and experimented for the first time with bringing along a watercolor sketchbook to do a mix of nature journaling and general outdoor sketching.

It was really fun! I sketched with a pen so I wouldn't obsess over perfection and added color with a travel watercolor set and water brush that I got for my birthday.

Here is a quick tour of what I sketched on that trip.

a loose ink and watercolor sketch of a ferry docked in a marina

I tried a loose sketching style inspired by Toby "SketchLoose" while standing in line waiting to board the ferry to the island.

back, top, and side views of a mystery flower and a view of a curled leaf

This page was my first try at nature journaling! I was first captivated by a spider holding a fly it had caught on the back of this flower, then decided to sketch it from a few angles.

I learned that I notice a lot more about flowers when I sketch them than when I take a photo of them. With a photo, I shoot and move on. With a sketch, I look a lot more closely at all the details.

a small island in the Channel Islands, shaped like a pyramid

On a long hike, I saw this island from different angles throughout the day. My eyes were continuously drawn to it. When we took a break, I decided to sketch it.

various sketches of a fox foraging and two foxes facing me

We saw several Santa Cruz island foxes on that long hike. I sketched one foraging, then two later that we ran into on the trail.

I was pretty proud of the way I approached my foraging fox sketches. I kept waiting for the fox to pause and look up so I could try to draw its face, but it kept its head low because it was digging most of the time. Finally, I asked myself, "what is it doing? What behavior are you actually observing?" and drew that behavior.

an ink and watercolor sketch of a pot on a camp stove, two bowls, and a thermal scope on a picnic table

Our hike ended up several miles longer than expected because we missed a turn. While my boyfriend cooked us dinner after such an exhausting day, I felt compelled to sketch the scene. I wanted to remember that dinner after the day we had!

ink and watercolor sketches of an allen's hummingbird (female) and island scrub jay, medium detail

This one was a sketch I did once we returned home. I listed the birds we saw during breakfast that morning and then left a space to draw an Allen's Hummingbird and Island Scrub Jay because they were the most common birds we saw around our campsite each day. I based these sketches off of photos I took during the trip.

ink and watercolor sketch of channel islands but it's dark

On the final morning of the trip, we hiked up to a high viewpoint for sunrise. When we arrived, it was still the blue hour and I felt inspired to sketch the dark shapes we could see below.

As it got lighter, I had to push myself not to add more and more detail. I wanted to represent the scene as I saw it in the pre-dawn light before we arrived.

a line goes back and forth a few times at the bottom of the page, then arcs high up before shooting back down

My last sketch of the trip was a bit different! I was lucky enough to see a male Allen's Hummingbird do its courtship display and I attempted to draw and describe the motions it made.

I had so much fun and I definitely want to make nature journaling and outdoor sketching part of my regular practice when I am out in nature.