'Short Cut to Nature Journalling' with Steve Pardue 

Have you wanted to create a nature journal but don’t know where to start or how to do it?

This workshop will - hopefully - fix that. I will take you through the process I follow for creating my journals which are really an expression of the joy I feel when out and about in the woods or the river. I will be using my own journals of nature captured over the last 5 years and show how you can create a body of work by simply recording in your own way the things you see every day. I now look back on my earlier journals and can not only see how my artistic style has evolved and changed but more importantly I can look up the dates when I first saw sand martins arrive for the summer, or when the last swift left, or when the first chiff chaff … well chiff chaffed!

And it is so easy - no rules - no great artistic skill required - just observation and a daily habit of drawing. I will show you the materials I use and the techniques I employ. Weather permitting, we can spend some time outdoors looking at the nature around us and we can then come back indoors and draw our observations.

 I will provide a small kit of materials which will include: 2 fineliners  ~  My Shortcut to Nature Journalling guide ~ A blank concertina nature journal , all of which are yours to keep.

I will also have a variety of fountain pens and journals available to try and buy.  

9.45am – 12.45pm or 1.45pm to 4.45pm  

£40 inc. inc a fresh coffee , home made biscuits.
Material Charges: £15

 Dates for this course - see the table below to book:

Thu 17th April  2025  AM and PM sessions

Note: Typically this course runs with around 8 students.  Suitable for Beginners & intermediates.

Please bring: A simple set of watercolours and brush. Your £15 materials money for your journalling kit, and clothes suitable for exploring the Quirky gardens at the beginning of the course.

About the Artist    I am an artist and designer, living and working in Northumberland. I combine my love of walking and nature with my art and fill my notebooks with poetic and immersive responses to nature and the world around me. Often my work includes words from music and literature … as well as my own words that spring from nature. I work mainly in fountain pen and watercolour.

My daytime job is delivering public art commissions and design for outdoor spaces through my design agency from my studio in Hexham.