Yellowstone National Park

I've been pretty busy with work the last few weeks in a way that made me not very interested in revisit this super fun, relaxing trip, but now I can finally get back to telling you about the sketching I did while we were on our super socially distanced road trip.

First of all, Yellowstone was amazing! It is so easy to drive through it and stop anywhere and see something gorgeous. This was our first stop, at Yellowstone Lake, and the shape that the lake made at that spot really spoke to me so I made this quick sketch with watercolor and ink.

These are two separate scenes. First we stopped at one of the many places where you find stinky, gurgling mud. But the stinky, gurgling mud is so cool! I didn't even know how I would sketch all of the steam - a white gel pen came in handy there.
Next we stopped to see a buffalo near the water where we also saw ducks and geese and maybe swans - we saw swans somewhere but might not have been this stop. I love using a black pen and a brush pen to quickly sketch a scene.

I sketched this scene in watercolor at Artist Point (it really is singular - I just looked it up), but it was pretty crowded there so we didn't stay long. 

This one was so much fun to sketch! It was such a challenge because again, how do you sketch gurgling mud and steam?! There weren't as many people at this spot so I was able to take a little more time to figure it out, but it was still a pretty quick sketch.

We stopped to eat our picnic lunch next to this pond full of fairy flowers. I don't know what they were, but they were magical - some of them moved up and down like they were magical. And I was totally stumped as to how to capture the scene in a sketch! 

I was a little sad as we were heading back towards the park exit because I didn't feel like I was done yet. Then we happened by a beautiful view of the lake, so I got one more sketch in. It was cold and windy and I was sitting on a concrete curb - and it was perfect! I knew I had one more sketch in me, so this was very satisfying.

I made all of these sketches in a Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook (8.5" x 5.5) with a black pen, a brush pen, and watercolors. I spent this day doing the things I love most - driving around with my husband and stopping to look at things and sketch them. My sketching thrives within the constraints of time, weather, and (dis)comfort. The sketches turn out better when there's no time to think!