East Mountains, Tijeras, New Mexico elevation 7,300 ft
February 15, 2023
The design for today’s post was inspired by sketchbook artist Fay. I came across her blog (see link below) while searching for nature journalers who are active in creating art and who also share some unique approaches to page layout and composition. “Littles” is the name Fay has given to one of her unique approaches. This is where she lays out several pages full of empty boxes with the goal to fill up a box a day for an entire month. Not only does this encourage a daily drawing and painting practice, but it’s her way of creating a record of what she’s observed for an entire month. “Littles” reminds me of a hyper-compressed perpetual journal.
After seeing Fay’s blog post with all her miniature drawings and paintings, I knew this would be fun to try, and I had to learn more. So we chatted and Fay encouraged me to give “Littles” a go. And I did …… with a “little” twist! I’ve been thinking of ways to keep a visual record of the birds visiting our feeders during the winter. And I needed an approach with minimal fuss, without feeling each bird needed a detailed description. Ta da!
So here’s my “Littles” page of the bird species that visit our feeders in January. I kept my sketches to less than 5 minutes each; my watercolor pencil paintings took about 10 minutes each. My sketches were done using my own reference photos, and relied heavily on my many hours of observing these species’ poses and behaviors.
Let me know what you think! I just may create a “Littles” page for our February birds. Maybe by March, when all of our snow has melted, hints of new spring growth may appear in a few “Littles” boxes as well!
Oh and …… Follow Fay! Her blog “Made By Fay” can be found at the link below. If you enjoy my posts, I will guarantee you’ll love what Fay does. She is an extraordinary visual storyteller, and enjoys drawing what she sees from her home state of Washington and on her travels about.
https://madebyfay.wordpress.com
a curious nature 
Super illustrations and they work so well as a whole.
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Thanks very much, Denzil! These birds usually play nicely as they crowd around our feeders!
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Fabulous birds, Barb! We have the Spotted Towhee here, too, and I love their luminous red eye – you’ve captured it brilliantly! I just started following Fay recently – I love the “littles” technique! I use a tiny technique where I carry a “tiny journal” 3″ x 4″ on my morning nature walks and I draw 1 thing that catches my eye…5 min. or less!
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I thought you followed Fay! Loved her latest post with mailboxes and Xmas cactus in bloom. Thanks for the comments. Crowding up a single page with so many birds was a challenge, but doing one at a time, and doing them small, really moved the page along. Of course your tiny 3×4” journal is perfect for all that’s Little! And keeping a time limit per page is ideal. I love it.
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Wow! Barb! I’m so honored by your kind referral to my blog. I’m so glad you love doing the little sketches. Your January birds are wonderful. As usual, your sketches draw me in to take a closer look at all the fun details. I find your sketches refreshing and informative. I always learn something new when visiting your site. Thanks again for your kind words. And thank you for sharing your inspiring sketches.
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Wow! Thank you so much for such nice comments, Fay! It was my honor to refer your amazing blog. I really enjoyed creating my birds via “Littles,” such fun too. I’m delighted you liked how I interpreted the approach. And I’m so happy you’re enjoying my posts.
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Absolutely beautiful! You have really captured the beauty and personality of each bird. Love your artistry, Barb. 😊
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Wow! Thanks so much!
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I LLOVE this approach and am astounded at what you accomplish in 5-10 minutes!
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Thanks so much for the feedback and awesome comments, Susan! It’s not too hard to create these little squares with birds ….. small is key to speed! And good thing, because there’s several species that are dash in and grab birds! This was such fun!
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So beautiful and rare seeing birds , gorgeous view 🌹🙏♥️🙏
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Thanks so much for the lovely comment, Thattamma! I love our birds …. I’m sure your birds are colorfully exotic, as they always are in the tropics, but our winter birds are so hardy and so special! Thanks for following!
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All your sparrows have special beauty , they can survive winter ❄️ 👍🏻♥️
Here ordinary birds only can see 😍 Bird park only can see rare birds 👌
Thank you so much for sharing and this beautiful reply message 🌹🙏♥️🌹
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Such a lovely reply, Thattamma! thank you! I’m sure your “ordinary” birds are extraordinary!
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😍♥️🙏🌹
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How fun! Lots of work here, Barb. It’s impressive. And what a great variety of birds.
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Thank you so much, Jean! It was a page well loved!
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