1) Draw a scene, with trees in your yard, in pen. Then, add some color with your watercolors. Write about your experience, in one sentence, on your page . . .
Now, go for a little hike or walk. Stop at a place that appeals to you, and draw some of the trees in ink. Write about where you are, and then add some color with watercolor -- either on the spot, or after you return home. . .
2) Draw a bird's-eye view of a plant -- either a houseplant or a plant in your garden. Draw this in pencil, and then add some color with colored pencils. . .
Do another bird's-eye view of a plant -- this time, draw a contour drawing in pen . . .
3) Draw one or two trees, like fruit trees. Simplify the shapes -- draw clumps of leaves and not individual leaves. Add values with shading, to get some depth. Draw some with pencil . . .
This time, try drawing a tree with a ballpoint pen . . .
4) In ink, draw some plants in pots or planters, on your deck or patio -- or a friend's plants. Place special emphasis on the leaves, rather than the flowers. Paint in a little color, and remember to note where you are, on the page . . .
5) Draw a tree, concentrating on the trunk and the branches, and any cast shadow that you see. Try to ignore the leaves. Use a black ballpoint pen for this one, using cross-hatching and line work for your light/medium/dark values, and write a little something about where you are . . .
Now, draw another tree -- this time in pencil. Draw a frame around it, letting some of the branches spill out of the frame. . .
6) Draw a leafy plant, with a black ballpoint pen -- start with a contour drawing, and add a little cross-hatching for your values. Then, write a few sentences about your day, on the page . . .
7) Draw some palm trees, in ink. Add cross-hatching for the shapes that are in the shade. In this drawing, just have two values -- the white of the paper for all the shapes that are in the sunlight (plus the sky), and a middle value of cross-hatching, for all the shapes in the shade.
If, like me, you don't live around any palm trees, use a photo -- one you have taken on vacation, or one from a magazine. . .
8) Do a contour drawing of a plant, with a black felt pen -- no pencil first, and no cross-hatching. . .
9) When you're camping, or on a hike or walk, find an interesting piece of petrified wood, or a stick, or some driftwood on a beach. Draw this with a black felt pen that is NOT waterproof (or a pen called "Elegant Writer"). When you are through with your drawing, use a wet brush on some of the lines, allowing them to bleed -- a great way to add some shading . . .
Using this same pen, draw a scene with trees and bushes, near your campsite or picnic site, or in your backyard . . .
10) Gather some leaves from your trees -- and draw them in pencil, within a skinny vertical format. Overlap the leaf shapes, and be aware of the negative shapes that you are creating. Try to make these negative shapes interesting and varied . . .
