A Visit to Widgeon Point Preserve

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Creating a Journal Page from Photographs

Nature Journal page of Widgeon Point Preserve, ink and watercolor illustrations of pine and palmetto trees plus hand lettering by pam johnson brickell

We checked out Beaufort County’s newest passive park: Widgeon Point Preserve. A real beauty that can be found off of Rt 170, just before the Broad River Bridge when heading into Beaufort from Okatie.

I didn’t bring my journaling supplies with me. This was a day for the dogs. Yes, this park’s a real treat! You can commune with nature and give your best buds a walk through the woods! Do be watchful for gators and snakes – it is just something we need to do here in the lowcountry. Wildlife most always turns tail and goes about their business of living. All we humans need to do is pay attention to our surrounds and respect the animals that call the out-of-doors ‘home’.

photograph of sabal palmetto in front of the sun by pam johnson brickell

These days, it’s rare for me to create a journal page or painting using only photographs. I’m such a junkie for the thrill of ‘immediacy’ when creating from life. This statement makes me giggle, as there was a time when I was a staunch studio painter – the thought of painting or journaling in an uncontrolled atmosphere gave me great pause.

Thankfully, I had my phone with me! I am sooooo grateful for the great phone camera! It’s an added bonus that the images can be enlarged on the computer and still retain a lot of detail! Or at least enough detail to wing it when sketching : ). Tip: It’s all about making the shapes believable.

photography of trail at widgeon point preserve by pam johnson brickell
West side of the trail loop.
photography of pond behind bird blind at wigeon point preserve by pam johnson brickell
Fresh water pond view from bird blind.
photography of tree with double trunks, one of which was cut off to become a seat
Cool tree seat!
photograph with enlarged inset of pine tree with eagle nest by pam johnson breckell
Arrow pointing to Eagle’s next.

When working with photographs, I like to pick 3 or 5 images to use for my journal entries The above 5 pics represented what I wanted to use. Tip: when working with photographs, glean from them what initially caught your eye. You do not need to use the entire image.

My journey of capturing a sense of place began. I was quite taken with the shot of the sabal palmetto against the sun. It was inspiring standing beneath this tree and having the sun highlight the shapes and patterns of the palmetto. Such a lovely memory! Tip: go with the flow 😊 – I guess I was quite smitten with the palmetto, as I drew it really big! Rutt Ro! I did fight with myself a wee bit, but in the end decided to stick to 3 images to capture this day. Tip: When combining vignettes on a spread or single page, they will read better if each has room to breathe. Truthfully, I could have used a bit more space for the lettering.

Ah well. This spread makes me smile as truly, the palmetto against the sun was the highlight for me that day. My heart put on paper what was to be there! The trail and cool tree chair will have to wait for now.