Perpetual Journal Botanical Watercolor

I have been (slowly, occasionally) using a perpetual journal to connect with the changing natural landscape that surrounds me.

The idea of a Perpetual Journal was developed by Lara Call Gastinger
It requires an art journal with 52 spreads…one for each week of the year.
The spreads are labeled with dates, starting with January 1-7 on one spread, January 8-14 on the next and continuing through to December 31st. The dates are not tied to a specific year.
Through the year I find items in nature that i want to paint & record. I make a likeness of them on the corresponding spread and next to the image I note the date, the species, and location.
As our travels unfold over the years the book will record the changing seasons or locations where we’ve been.

I have a lot to learn about botanical art, but even though all my images don’t come out the way I’d want, I try to imagine the mistakes and my artistic growth as part of the record and evolution through the years.

Materials

I put together two Stillman & Birn Zeta Softcover square books to create my journal. “Putting them together” required a little deconstruction and re-making of the books. I undertook this process a while ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy on it but I believe I cut one cover off of one sketchbook, leaving a little bit still intact that I wrapped around the spine of the first sketchbook and glued in place. Then I sewed a heavy gray felt cover to encase the two books. It has been working out well so far.

Perpetual Journal Notebook — Two hot press sketchbooks glued together, wrapped in a grey felt cover

My watercolor “kit” has evolved a little bit since we’ve been traveling (and a post with that detail is coming!), I make sure to carry extra fine 0.05 waterproof pens for the botanical sketches. I came across these specific pens while watching one of Lara Call Gastinger’s live Instagram sessions, which she conducts frequently.

The palette is the Folio size from Art Toolkit, which I have continued to absolutely love.

The other items are pretty standard for a traveling watercolor setup.

Micron pen, pentel mechanical pencil, white gel pen
Three travel brushes and one small flat wash brush
A small spray bottle and masking tape
A collapsible water cup and small cloth
A tiny container of white gouache

Watercolor Kit Nov24 — My portable kit size has reduced in the past couple months but I haven’t felt limited by the smaller size.

A few entries

Perpetual Journal Virginia Waterleaf — My first perpetual journal entry. A Virginia Waterleaf growing in the yard of the Madison rental house.

Perpetual Journal Orange Milkwort — The true shape of the flower doesn’t quite come through, but I like it anyway.

Perpetual Journal Sweetgum — Because the leaf painting wasn’t going very well, I decided to use some artistic license and not finish the whole thing.

Perpetual Journal Eastern Red Cedar — This one is really tiny and one of my favorites so far in the journal. I learned that a cedar is actually a juniper!

In person the Partridgeberry was so much more cute & charming than my painting. And the mushroom is unidentified, but I had to give it a try regardless.