Nature journal tip learned at the 2014 FNPS conference Nature Journal Workshop

My demonstration page - complete with clear contact paper!

One of the things I love about facilitating workshops and classes is that we all learn from each other.  In mid-May, seven participants joined me for a 3-hour nature journal workshop at the annual Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) conference at Florida Gulf Coast University. 

We normally start out getting to know each other and talk about what we’d like to get out of our time together.  We had a great group of people, some who had very little sketching experience and some who were looking to brush up on rusty skills.  One of our group was Dr. William(Bill) Hammond, professor emeritus at FGCU, and long-time visual journal keeper.

During our time together, Bill shared a tip he’s been using for years in his sketchbooks.  When he comes across a plant he’s unfamiliar with, either to identify or to learn more about, he flattens it out on the page of his sketch (or the page opposite) and seals it to the paper with a piece of clear contact paper.  What a great idea, and one I wish I’d tried years ago! 

Two months later!

Bill donated a bit of clear contact paper that I used on a sprig of winged sumac that served as my subject for a demonstration sketch during the workshop.  Even though flattening the plant against paper doesn’t allow for the play of light through and reflected by the leaves, it does allow for a general color reference, accurate measuring, and a record of the shape, number, and placement of leaves. 

Now you’re wondering, how does that leaflet look since two months have gone by?  Answer: as good as the day I mounted it!  The clear film seems to darken the colors a bit, but they are still vivid.  This is a great tool, especially for those times when you’re only able to get in a rudimentary sketch.

A few marks describe the habit.

The demonstration plant is Winged (or Shining) Sumac, Rhus copallina, which was growing alongside a nearby road.  On my sketchbook page, I typically note the date (sometimes the time), and the context of the sketch.  The context here was the FNPS workshop in Palmetto Hall at FGCU, and I included the weather (hot! and windy).  On the page opposite my drawing, you can see that I was showing how to mix and test out colors. 

I like to quickly sketch in the habit of the plants I’m drawing: whether it’s a tree, shrub, vine or herb including quick color notes.  In this case, most of the shrub was green, only some of the leaflets were bright red/magenta.  As I washed the leaves with a watercolor wash, I attempted to show the shininess of the leaves by drawing up pigment with a clean, nearly dry brush. 

Variations in color bring it alive.

If time permitted, I would have completed the entire leaflet, but now that I look at this page after the passage of time, I like the look of just the few leaves in color.  At the time I also wondered about the bright red coloring of some of the leaves – I noticed that the nearby area had burned, perhaps causing the coloring that I associate sumac having in the fall and winter. 

Looking at my sketch again brought all of these memories back to me.  This is one of the reasons I love keeping a nature journal!  Seeing my drawing and reading my notes brought back a vivid recollection of creating those two pages.  I can almost experience again the hot wind and the bright sun when I collected this specimen.

By the way, clear contact paper is now a staple in my sketch kit!

The sketch was done in my:

Aquabee Super Deluxe  spiral-bound sketchbook
9x6 in, (22.86 x 15.24 cm), 93 lb. paper
Sakura Micron Pigma pen 01,
Daniel Smith watercolors.

To read more about Winged or Shining Sumac:

Floridata 

Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida factsheet  

Shining sumac

Shining sumac, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Rhus copallina

This is one of my favorite woodland shrubs. I usually see shining sumac on the edges of habitats, in the ecotone or transition zone.  Shining sumac is also called winged sumac or red sumac. You may not be able to tell from my quick sketch, but there are little “wings” along the leaf stem (rachis).  This one has very small wings, but in some  specimens they are more pronounced. Shining sumac has pinnately compound leaves that alternately spiral along the main stem. The individual leaves (or leaflets) are about 2 to 3 inches in length, but you can see that they're variable in size. This sumac caught my eye because of the gorgeous colors.

Shining sumac has quite a range in the eastern United States, throughout Florida and as far north as the south of Maine. In the south it reaches into Texas.  Although the berries are favorites of many birds, this specimen had none to show. It's situated along a trail, so it may have been trimmed back while in flower or fruit. In the past, the fruits have been used by humans to make a cooling, tart lemonade-like beverage, and as a dye. The roots are reported to have been used to treat dysentery.

Sumac is deciduous, so next time I visit this trail the leaves may have dropped.  Another species of Rhus is poisonous, aptly named poison sumac. The leaves, stems, and roots contain the same irritating allergen as poison ivy, urushiol.  Luckily, this species grows a bit further north of southwest Florida in damp or wet locations, while shining sumac prefers drier conditions. This is good news for me, since I seem to attract poison ivy just by setting foot outside my car! Sumac belongs to the Cashew family, Anacardiaceae.

The genus name Rhus is thought to come from the old French, meaning red, or from the Greek reo, meaning “to flow,” thought to refer to its spreading habit. Another source claims that Rhus is a derivation of rhous, an ancient Greek name for sumac. I found only one source that states that copallina means gummy or resinous, but doesn’t list the language or country of origin. I believe that the common name of shining sumac refers to the shiny leaves of this species. The leaves I sketched were somewhat shiny, depending on the age of the leaf. The new leaves were glossy in spite of the recent cold snap, a beautiful light red with almost a bronzy overtone.

I spotted this shining sumac along the trail at Rookery Bay that leads to the Conservancy’s boardwalk. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my sketch and reading a bit more about this common but often overlooked native shrub or small tree.