Book Rec. - “The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling” by John Muir Laws
If you're looking for inspiration, practical techniques, and a fresh perspective on drawing and journaling in nature, The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling by John Muir Laws is the perfect book for you.
And if you're not actively searching, perhaps this article will inspire you to try something new!
Although the book is only available in English, it is written in an accessible and easy-to-understand language. It impresses with a ton of ideas that are approachable for any nature and art enthusiast.
Step-by-step illustrations and exercises guide you through depicting animals, landscapes, skies, and—most intriguingly for us—plants.
Table of Contents
Nature Drawing
Media-Specific Techniques
Visual Thinking and Displaying Information
About John Muir Laws
John Muir Laws, often called "Jack," is a passionate naturalist, artist, and educator.
His mission is to help people perceive nature more deeply and develop a profound connection to it—through drawing and journaling.
His goal is to encourage you not just to observe nature but to actively engage with it.
Through initiatives like the Nature Journal Club and the Wild Wonder Foundation, he creates platforms for shared nature experiences.
Nature Experience Over Perfection
What makes The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling stand out is its holistic approach.
It’s about experiencing and capturing the entirety of nature.
This means:
Depicting plants, animals, landscapes, and even weather.
Taking notes to document observations—What stands out? What’s the environment like? What colors and shapes do you see?
Playfully experimenting with various media such as watercolor, graphite, gouache, and more.
Even if you’re primarily focused on botanical drawing, this book is a valuable source of inspiration and guidance.
The book provides simple techniques to improve visual memory and learn to draw what you see.
It also includes lessons on drawing wildflowers, trees, fungi, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, landscapes, seascapes, and skies.
The key takeaway? Take the pressure off and simply enjoy observing and documenting!
Contents of the Book
Acknowledgments | vi
Why Keep a Nature Journal? | 2
Observation and Intentional Curiosity | 4
Projects That Focus Awareness | 18
Methods of Deepening Inquiry | 42
Visual Thinking and Displaying Information | 58
Your Journaling Kit and Materials | 70
Nature Drawing | 84
Media-Specific Techniques | 126
How to Draw Animals | 154
How to Draw Wildflowers | 220
How to Draw Trees, Near and Far | 250
How to Draw Landscapes | 266
A Final Thought | 299
Notes | 300
References | 300
About the Author | 303
My Highlights from the Book
With such a comprehensive work, it’s natural to have favorite chapters.
Here are my personal highlights from The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling:
1. Nature Drawing
"Drawing deepens observation and strengthens memory.
It fundamentally changes the way you observe and is a powerful complement to writing, mapping, and other note-taking skills.
Like all skills, it is learnable and improves with practice."
This chapter focuses on how drawing helps us perceive nature on a deeper level.
What I found particularly exciting:
Note-taking Skills: Combining sketches with small notes helps solidify understanding and memory.
Techniques like Blocking In (the rough division of a sketch), Showing Depth (creating depth in an image), and Composition are explained.
2. Media-Specific Techniques
"You do not need to master every type of drawing medium. Find materials that you enjoy and practice with them.
You will come to know how your pencils or paints will respond. Handling the medium will become second nature.
Then, when you take notes in the field, using your materials will not be an obstacle to describing what you see."
This chapter introduces various drawing and painting media—from water-soluble pens to gouache, and familiar materials like graphite and watercolor.
It encourages you to use the materials that bring you the most joy and experiment with them playfully.
3. Visual Thinking and Displaying Information
"The interaction between observation and recording in your journal slows you down and gives structure to your thoughts.
Paying attention to the organization and layout of your journal pages will help you retrieve information from your notebooks and help future readers scan and understand your observations.
The choices you make about what elements to place alongside others will change the way you think about them.
A varied and playful approach to placing elements on the page also stimulates creativity."
My absolute favorite chapter!
It explains how journaling stimulates creative thinking.
What I found particularly fascinating:
Nature’s Blueprints: John suggests looking at technical drawings to better illustrate plant structures (like cross-sections).
Elements on a Page: On page 63, there’s a box listing various elements you can include in your journal for inspiration, like:
Date, time, location, weather
Questions
Funny or thoughtful quotes and comments you’ve heard
And more!
The Page Organization Helpers—such as titles, icons, frames, and speech bubbles—also offer practical tips for making your journal both functional and appealing.
My Summary
The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling provides simple, approachable methods to help you ease into drawing.
What I like most is that the book is very comprehensive and will be a long-term companion for journaling—no matter your preferred subject matter.
It is written in a very straightforward and accessible way and impresses with its countless illustrations.
The suggestions for creative page layouts are fun and encourage a relaxed approach to journaling.
Whether you’re an experienced artist or just starting out, this comprehensive, accessible, and inspiring book is sure to enrich your creative journey.
And if you like to know more about the other or where to buy this book, please find links below.
Book Details
First published: March 1st, 2016
Publisher: Heyday
Hardcover: 368 Pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1597143154
ISBN-13: 978-1597143158
Extras: A vast amount of illustrations and examples
Where to Buy
JohnMuirLaws.com (US):
Publisher Heyday (US):
Your local bookseller:
ISBN-10 : 1597143154
ISBN-13 : 978-1597143158
Amazon: “The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling” von John Muir Laws
More About John Muir Laws
If you’d like to learn more about the author, here are some useful links:
Website: www.johnmuirlaws.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/johnmuirlaws
Facebook: www.facebook.com/johnmuirlaws
X (Twitter): www.twitter.com/JohnMuirLaws
Youtube: www.youtube.com/@JohnMuirLaws
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