Drawing nature in autumn is often a matter of collecting items while outside and drawing in the comfort of a warm and toasty home.
What to Gather to Draw in Autumn
I like to gather these things to draw.
- nuts and acorns
- leaves
- seed pods and seed heads
- berries
- twigs and branches
- dried grasses
- dead insects
- “weeds”
- different maple tree seeds
- different oak acorns and leaves
Other Subjects for Drawing Nature in Autumn
- bare trees
- bare shrubs
- hibernating insects hidden just beneath the soil surface
- conifer and evergreen trees
- the birds that are year-round residents
- migrating hawks (maybe with help from a book – Hawks from Every Angle: How to Identify Raptors In Flight – has good photos of hawks the way you usually see them, overhead)
- make bark rubbing by taping a sheet of paper to a tree trunk and rubbing with a crayon
- leaf rubbing – use bark rubbing technique on leaves
Birding By Ear in Autumn
I like to sit quietly on a bench, tree stump or on the ground and just listen. Sometimes I hear the call of a Blue Jay but not see the bird. Or a bird flies by so quickly, I can’t identify it. I just can say in was as big as sparrow or a crow.
This is when birding by ear comes in handy. Birding by ear is listening to the sounds birds make and identifying the bird by the distinctive sounds or calls. This skill is useful not just in the summer when the trees are in full leaf and hide the birds. It is useful to learn calls in autumn and winter. Songbirds sing in spring to attract a mate. In summer the birds are quietly raising their young. In autumn and winter birds communicate with each other by sounds and calls, rarely do they sing,
Books for Drawing Nature In Autumn
If it is too blustery outside you can always stay in inside and practice you drawing skills. I created a list of some of the best drawing books for nature journal keepers. Best Books for Nature Journal Keeping and Drawing.
I hope this is helpful and gives you some ideas. Feel free to leave a comment below.
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