October 20, 2025

Nature Journaling in the National Forest

Lisa Spangler shares her nature journal from a field day exploring Allegheny National Forest with two Forest Service botanists.

By Lisa Spangler

A nature sketchbook open on a bed of leaves and ferns. The pages feature colorful drawings of plants including an orchid, wild cranberries, and other local flora. Captions highlight different plants and their characteristics, with annotations about the Allegheny National Forest Field Day event.

I was honored to be the artist-in-residence at Allegheny National Forest (ANF) in Northwest Pennsylvania for three weeks in September. This meant so much to me as I spent summers camping in the forest with my Dad, where he taught me to look closely and notice all the little things that most people would probably pass by without a thought.

From finding interesting mushrooms and cool rocks, to admiring spiderwebs, listening to the birds, and even watching storms roll in, he made public lands an adventure. Dad instilled a deep love of wild places in me that has come to influence my art. I’ll be forever grateful to him for that. After moving away from the area after college it felt so good to get back to my roots, and back to the forest!

On a “small world” note, when I told the Art Toolkit team about the upcoming residency I learned that Cole Morreale, Art Toolkit’s Outreach Coordinator, also spent summers in the Allegheny National Forest when they were growing up! How cool is that?

A sketchbook open to a drawing of a dish labeled "Turkey Tacos" rests on a mossy surface, surrounded by fallen autumn leaves. Next to the sketchbook, a palette of watercolor paints and a set of colored pens are arranged neatly.

As part of my residency I got to go on a field day with two Forest Service botanists April and Hannah, and they took me to see so many cool plants. I just had to document them in my nature journal after I got back to the cabin and everything was fresh in my mind. Nature journaling really helps me to learn and remember, and I thought I’d share my process with you.

Tips for Starting a New Journal

I purchased a new journal for my residency, Hahnemühle’s square format 100% Cotton Watercolor Book, and to break it in I sketched a simple maple leaf on the first page. I recommend doing something easy and fun for the first page, and leaves are my favorites!

Vibrant autumn leaves in shades of yellow and orange, shimmering in sunlight among tree branches with rough, textured bark.
Sunlit maple leaves nearly obscure the sky!
A colorful, painted autumn leaf in shades of orange, yellow, and green is displayed on a blank white page. Surrounding the page are scattered brown and gray fallen leaves on the ground.
A single maple leaf, in my journal.

Check out this Falling for Fall live demo recording I did with Maria a couple years back, and learn more about how I sketch leaves. Bring some art supplies and paint along!

Sometimes I’ll just fill the first page of a sketchbook with swatches of the colors in my palette to overcome the blank page—and sometimes I just skip it and fill it in later. The main thing is to crack open that sketchbook and get your brush moving.

With my Duotone Forest Pocket Art Toolkit, 100% Cotton Watercolor Book, Folio Palette, and an assortment of my favorite sketching tools, I was equipped to capture the plant life from reference photos after our hike through the forest.

Orchids and Cranberries

Our first stop on the field day was a bog near the Ranger Station, and I was so excited to see ladies’-tresses (spiranthes) orchids! I did a quick sketch of them using my black Pentel Brush Pen and then added hints of color.

Two delicate white flowers, resembling spikes, stand amidst green and reddish foliage, with blurred grass in the background.
It was so amazing to see orchids!
A vibrant sketch depicting an orchid with the text "Allegheny National Forest." The layout includes a close-up box highlighting the orchid's details, surrounded by colorful brush strokes and earthy tones.
I had to do a closeup sketch of an individual flower to try and key out the orchid species.

Close-up photos of the flower are used to ID the species of orchid, and it worked! Wild cranberries were growing near the orchids, and I tasted one to see what it was like. It turned out to be really tart and really good!

Red berries among green moss and small plants, set against a natural forest floor background.
My first time tasting a wild cranberry.
A watercolored nature journal page featuring sketches of plants and berries. It includes text labeling "Field Day" with names April and Hannah, notes about identifying plants, and illustrations of wild cranberries, star moss, sphagnum moss, and tiny plants. The date is noted as September 27, 2025.
Wild cranberries are super tart!

Turkey Tail Lichens

I spotted some turkey tail lichens on a mossy log and knew they would be fun to journal, so I took plenty of reference photos.

Colorful shelf mushrooms growing on a textured tree log, surrounded by green moss and small leaves.
A watercolor illustration of mushrooms, featuring various shapes and colors, set against a vibrant green background with hints of earthy tones.

I made sure to vary the colors of the moss, adding different greens. My go-to color mix is Phthalo Green and New Gamboge, adding in bits of Azo Yellow and Indigo to switch it up. I also did some dry brush work for the log.

Watercolor illustration of turkey tail mushrooms on a bed of green foliage, with "Turkey Tails" elegantly written in red on one page. Surrounding leaves are in fall colors.
This was so fun to paint!

I can’t wait to turn this into a larger watercolor painting.

Birch Trees

I love the papery bark of birch trees, so of course I had to include one in my journal.

Close-up of a birch tree trunk showcasing its distinctive peeling bark. The texture features layers of thin, curled strips, set against a backdrop of blurred autumn foliage.
Birch bark is a terrific nature journaling study, with a range of colors and textures!
A cluster of delicate lavender flowers with yellow centers, surrounded by green leaves and fallen leaves on the ground.
Bonus fall aster photo—look at them peeking out from the fallen leaves.
A hand holds an open sketchbook in a forest setting. The left page features a colorful illustration of birch tree bark, while the right page displays a detailed drawing of a yellow birch leaf and color swatches beneath it. Autumn foliage is visible in the background.
I had fun trying to capture the papery bark of the birch tree, and the glowing yellow leaves.

I decided to get out my Caran D’Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle Pastels to try to add some texture, and it was so much fun! Adding the shadow to the leaf with a mix of Ultramarine Blue and Transparent Red Oxide really makes it pop.

Sassafras and Chestnuts

As we were hiking along Jake’s Ridge, I happened to notice a spiny fruit on the forest floor, and it turned out to be an American Chestnut.

A cluster of vibrant leaves in shades of red, orange, and green on a background of fallen leaves.
Close-up of a sassafras leaf.
A spiky, brown chestnut surrounded by various autumn leaves on the ground.
Close-up of an American Chestnut.

They might look cute and cuddly, but they’re really spiny!

A sketchbook page featuring illustrations of Sassafras leaves in autumn colors and an American chestnut flower. The left side notes the Sassafras details, while the right side highlights the chestnut with descriptive text and colored circles at the bottom. Surrounding the book are fallen leaves on the ground.
The chestnut fruit looked like it would be soft and fluffy—but it was really spiny!

Nearby were some sassafras trees that were glowing in the light, and I added them to the spread as well, leaving some uncolored and filling others in.

Colorful autumn leaves in shades of orange and green, surrounded by trees with foliage in a forest setting. Bright leaves contrast with the earthy tones of the forest floor.
The light was hitting them just right and they seemed to glow.
A black and yellow striped caterpillar resting on a green leaf, surrounded by autumn leaves on the ground.
It was cool to see monarch caterpillars in the woods!

Monarch Caterpillars

As we were examining some milkweed pods, one of the rangers noticed a monarch caterpillar on a leaf, so I had to add that with the Pentel Brush Pen.

A sketchbook page featuring colorful illustrations of a common milkweed plant with its leaves and flowers on the left, and a caterpillar on a leaf on the right. The word "Monarch" is written in a cheerful font above the illustrations.
I played up the color on this one.

On the opposite page, I added some milkweed pods, playing up the subtle colors using Neocolor II Aquarelle Pastels once again.

Folio Palette Paint List

All of the paints in my Folio Palette are Daniel Smith Extra™ Watercolors unless specified otherwise. They are listed by row and column, clockwise starting at the top left corner and circling around two XL Mixing Pans.

A watercolor palette displaying a variety of colors, with vibrant yellows, reds, greens, and browns arranged in a grid pattern. Some sections show mixed paint, while others are clean and intact.
My current Folio Palette for nature journaling.

H = Holbein, WN = Winsor & Newton, LS = Letter Sparrow

Top row: Azo Yellow (PY151), Hansa Yellow Medium (PY97), Permanent Yellow Deep (PY110), Quinacridone Coral (PR209), Quinacridone Rose (PV19), Quinacridone Magenta (PR122, WN), Potter’s Pink (PR233), Organic Vermillion (PR188), Pyrrol Red (PR254), Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet.

Right side: Deep Scarlet (PR175), Venetian Red (PR101), Transparent Red Oxide (PR101), Piemontite Genuine, Indigo (PB60, PBk6).

Bottom row: Bloodstone Genuine, Vivianite (Blue Ochre, LS), Van Dyck Brown (PBr7), French Ultramarine Blue (PB29, WN), Smalt (PB15, WN), Phthalo Blue (Green Shade, PG7), Phthalo Green (Blue Shade), Chromium Oxide Green (PG17), Peacock Blue (PB15 + PG7, H), Cobalt Turquoise Light (PG50, WN).

Left side: Chinese White *(PW4), Yellow Ochre (PY42, H), Raw Umber (PBr7, WN), Nickel Azo Yellow (PY150).

*Chinese White is different from white gouache in that it re-wets better since it’s watercolor. It isn’t as quite as opaque as gouache and it can make some fun reactions wet-in-went. 

Many Thanks

Special thanks to April and Hannah for an awesome field day that I’ll treasure forever and the whole Forest Service staff for making my residency at Allegheny National Forest so special.

A small blue house with a front porch, surrounded by trees and covered in fallen leaves. A person sits on the steps holding a colorful artwork.
Here I am holding the poster that I donated to the Forest Service as part of my residency on the steps of my cozy cabin in the forest.

Thanks to all of you for following along on this forest walk with me, and I hope this gave you some ideas for your own nature journals!

Lisa Spangler
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An artist sites on a rock, dipping a paintbrush in a Pocket Palette.

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