In my nature journaling project for 2025, I am following the Japanese calendar of 72 microseasons (little ‘seasons’ of about 5 days each). I am painting a journal spread for each microseason I identify and writing a little description to accompany it. This year, I am using only art in this journal to convey the changes through the year, no dates and no words on the pages themselves. This is forcing a creative and responsive artistic method, new to my nature journaling practice so far.
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Season #8 (30 January – 3 February): The First Sun of the Year
The first sunny day of the year, walking north by the roadside, a bright flash of yellow caught the corner of my eye and drew my face around. There, growing from a crack against the wall, warmed by the midday sun, a yellow star. Celandine is one of the earliest plants to bloom in East Devon, often beating even a snowdrop or primrose.
Each year, watch for that first celandine flower, a single gem before they later proliferate. That first flower is always in a sunny but sheltered spot, a harbinger of the sunshine to come, and a balm for those looking for the flush of spring in winter’s grip. Although there are many days to pass before the day’s warm and evenings draw long, the first celandine is a smile and a reminder that brightness is on the way.
The Page
The Process
One of my favourite techniques in nature journaling is the use of natural materials to recreate a subject. In the leaf pressings of a few microseasons ago, the pressings themselves were used to make a literal representation of each plant on the page. This time, I used lots of pressed celandine specimens to build up the image of the flower.
On a sunny day in March, I gathered around 50 to 60 individual celandine flowers from a vigorous patch in my back garden. After two weeks in the flower press, the specimens were removed and individual petals plucked from the flower heads.
A background texture was painted in Derwent Inktense with highlights of rose gold Skrim watercolour (you use the code ALEXBOON at checkout for 15% off all Skrim products). Using EVA glue as the base, the petals were pressed into the ready-painted background, gradually producing a scale-like pattern. Finally, a realistic painting of the leaves was added over the top of the underpainted background layer.
The Video
You can watch the process of creating this flower design, plus other pressed flower and leaf techniques in this vlog. A special pressed flower and leaf tutorial is available to purchase from the Nature Journaling Circle website.
Want to have a go yourself? The Nature Journaling Circle membership is a welcoming space for you to learn field sketching and other nature journaling skills with me. There’s a monthly live tutorial and a social session, plus access to all my pre-recorded video courses and a community of lovely nature journalers from around the world. If that’s something you might be interested in, consider joining us here.
