Nature Journaling: When the World Wakes Up, Sunday Morning Series
Six Autumn Mornings at Bass Lake
"You don't need to know how to draw. Nature journaling isn't about making perfect pictures. It's about becoming curious about what you're seeing and finding your own way of recording it."
There is a particular hour in the morning when the lake is waking up.
Join Jennifer at Green Forest Gallery on Bass Lake for six early autumn mornings of drawing, observation, watercolour, coffee and curiosity.
Nature journaling isn't about making perfect drawings. It's about learning to notice.
Over six weeks, we'll slow down and observe the changing landscape around us, exploring birds, plants, trees, water, weather, autumn colour and some of the tiny things we normally walk right past.
Each morning we'll explore simple ways of recording the natural world using drawing, watercolour, written observations and questions. We'll work outside around Bass Lake whenever the weather allows and move into the studio when it doesn't.
No previous drawing or painting experience is required. This course is designed to be welcoming to complete beginners as well as people who already enjoy drawing, painting or spending time observing nature.
This is not six separate art classes. Over six weeks you will be documenting one landscape moving from late summer into autumn: the changing light, leaves, birds, weather, water and seeds at Bass Lake.
ONLY 6 PLACES PER MORNING. A minimum of 4 registrations is needed for a series to run. You register for one six-week series, either Saturday or Sunday mornings, not individual drop-in classes.
Sunday dates: September 20, September 27, October 4, October 11, October 18 and October 25, 2026, 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM.
What you will create and explore
- Week 1, Learning to See: slow down, look closely and record what you find with simple drawings, words and questions, using the practice of "I notice, I wonder, it reminds me of"
- Week 2, Trees and Plants: leaves, grasses, branching patterns, textures and botanical detail, without worrying about perfect botanical illustration
- Week 3, Birds and Movement: observing and quickly sketching birds and other moving subjects through gesture, simple shapes, proportion and behaviour
- Week 4, Gratitude and Gathering: our Thanksgiving weekend morning on autumn abundance, seeds, fruits, changing leaves, migration and harvest, finished with a Thanksgiving breakfast together
- Week 5, Tiny Worlds: bark, moss, fungi, insects, seeds and stones, experimenting with texture, scale and close observation
- Week 6, A Morning at Bass Lake: choose your own subject and build a complete journal spread, then share journals and a final morning coffee together
What is included
- Six two hour small group nature journaling sessions
- Your own nature journal to use through the course and take home
- Use of drawing, watercolour and studio materials
- Coffee and tea each morning
- A special Thanksgiving breakfast during our Thanksgiving weekend session
- Indoor studio space when the weather does not cooperate
- Outdoor nature journaling around Bass Lake when conditions allow
What to bring
- Warm layers and shoes you can walk the shoreline in
- A folding camp chair if you have one you like
- Curiosity, everything else is provided
What a morning looks like
Coffee, curiosity and two quiet hours at the lake
- 7:00 AM · Arrive & Notice
Come in, pour yourself a coffee or tea and settle in with your journal. We'll begin each morning by noticing what is happening around us: the light, temperature, sounds, weather, water, birds and whatever else the morning brings.
- Look Closer
I'll introduce the morning's theme and demonstrate a few simple ways of observing and recording what we see. Depending on the week, we might work with pencil, pen, watercolour, written observations, diagrams or quick sketches.
- Journal in the Field
When weather allows, we'll head outside around Bass Lake to find something that catches your attention. You'll have time to draw, write, wonder, add colour and follow your own curiosity. I'll move between participants offering individual guidance and helping you work through anything that feels difficult.
- Gather & Share
Toward the end of the morning we'll come back together, warm up our coffee and look at some of the discoveries that found their way into our journals. Sharing is always optional. There is no expectation of a finished or perfect page.
By 9:00 AM, the rest of your day is still ahead of you, but you may find yourself noticing the world a little differently.
$265 CAD
$265 plus HST for the full six-week series. 6 of 6 seats still open.
Payment is handled securely through the studio shop. Small group, so seats are held in the order they are booked. Questions first? Email jen@boxofpaints.ca.
From the studio
About Jennifer
Jennifer Claveau is a Canadian painter working by Bass Lake, inspired by the shorelines, lakes and wetlands of Oro-Medonte and Muskoka. Her practice moves between wildlife portraits, landscape and experimental colour and soil work, and she teaches the same way she paints: close observation first, then permission to push the colour.
Read more about the artistGetting here and access
Ground level studio at Bass Lake with parking at the door. Outdoor sessions stay on level ground close to the studio, and you are always welcome to work indoors instead.
Cancellation policy
If a series does not reach the minimum of 4 registrations it will not run and you will be refunded in full. Cancel more than 14 days before the first morning for a full refund. If you need to miss a session you may join the corresponding morning in the other weekend group when a space happens to be free, though make up spaces cannot be guaranteed.