I Want to Make Adult Field Trips a Thing
A sack lunch, a permission slip, and a comfortable bus. So good!
I went on an adult field trip, and now all I want to do is go on adult field trips
On Sunday, I went on a bus tour of Bull Run Watershed, a gorgeous protected area outside of Portland that is the source for the city’s water. Portland has excellent water, clean and cold and tasty, and now I know why.
This is an area of wilderness around Mt. Hood that is entirely closed to the public. You can only visit if you sign up for one of a very few bus tours sponsored by the Water Bureau every summer. It was the perfect adult field trip: we showed up for the bus at 8:15 sharp, with our sack lunches and our permission slips (okay, they were liability waivers), and we climbed on the bus and as we rode we learned a lot of facts about geology and history and water, and then we arrived at the big beautiful old dam and toured that, and went on some short hikes and some longer hikes, and in the middle we had a lunch break and learned more facts, and at the end of the day we all rode home, weary from the sun but delighted by our adventure.
I would like to go on more adult field trips. The other people on the trip were all lovely, they asked good questions, and the staff from the Water Bureau were all so enthusiastic and engaged with their work that it made me want to work at the Water Bureau when I grow up. (I might work there anyway, as I’m now strongly considering the Water Bureau for my next unofficial artist-in-residence. More on that when I get back from book tour.)
Thanks so much for hanging out with me on Zoom!
I had a great time talking to 100 or so of you on Tuesday. If you missed our virtual book launch party, here’s a link to the video replay.
A lot of people wanted to hear more about the watercolor palette I put together for skin tones, so here it is:
You could use Quinacridone Rose, shown here, or Quinacridone Pink—I found they were about the same. This combination is my attempt to do in watercolor what Anders Zorn did in oil, where he often (but not always) painted people with just four colors: yellow ochre, red, a bluish black, and white. In watercolor we don’t have white, which meant I needed a pink because I couldn’t get it from mixing red and white. Also, these colors are all non-granulating, which means the color is very sheer and you don’t see little specs of pigment in the wash, which I thought might look unappealing on skin.
Also, some people wanted to know more about the Camera Lucida app I used to do the rough sketch of the people I drew. Here’s a very helpful set of videos to explain how it works. This one was particularly helpful for a step I didn’t explain, where I send what’s on my iPad screen to my laptop for easier viewing while drawing.
I know it sounds confusing and complicated! I could do a whole tutorial on this someday if y’all are interested.
Sometimes Publishing Hurts My Head
If you ever want to be reminded how small and insignificant you really are, don’t look up at the stars. Just look at a bookselling industry trade publication, which will remind you that your book is one of 1,254 new nonfiction releases dropping this week. THIS WEEK! Also, a calendar and a tote bag are somehow nonfiction books. Also, I’m pretty sure that graphic novel is fiction. Also, that shark book looks amazing.
My husband interviewed me for his newsletter
Scott and I talked about the similarities between book collectors and tree collectors. You can read it here.
Here’s another newsletter I love
is a legend in the publishing business. He was for many years the highly-respected copy chief at Random House, and he’s the author of Dreyer’s English. I was lucky enough to be in a meeting with him once or twice, and it was all I could do not to ask for his autograph, which would’ve been weird over Zoom, so I guess I’m glad I showed some restraint.Anyway, his newsletter is a delight! Here’s a man who loves language and has opinions about it! He’s funny and smart and wonderfully honest. Go check out
San Francisco Bay Area! I’m coming to see you!
If you’re in the Bay Area, it would mean so much to me if you’d stop by to say hello. You’ll probably be able to meet a tree collector or two at these events! All events are at 7 PM, and most ask you to pre-register for free online just so they have a head count.
Mrs. Dalloway’s in Berkeley on Tues, July 23.
Bookshop Santa Cruz on Wed, July 24.
Copperfield’s Petaluma on Thurs, July 25.
Paid subscribers are looking up at trees
For the last installment of our tree series, we’re painting a view of trees that we, as humans, experience: looking up at them, framed against the sky. These are loose, almost abstract paintings that are fun little experiments anyone can enjoy. There’s also a whole archive of art lessons here, and you get all that for just a few bucks a month. Join us!
The Bit at the End
I’d love to see you on book tour! Many of these events ask that you pre-register.
Order a SIGNED copy of my new book, The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession, from Broadway Books in Portland, OR.
Come find me on Instagram, or see paintings for sale- Right here
Order signed copies of some of my books from my husband’s bookstore, or order my books and many books I love at Bookshop.org
Take one of my online writing or art classes here
Leave a comment! I love to hear from you!
Oh, gosh and for the sake of pete, you're *Amy Stewart*! The penny just dropped (took long enough). Thank you for the lovely and kind words; you make me blush. And I see that The Tree Collectors has just gone on sale. Congratulations! (It's amazing to me how in a mere seven months I've gone from knowing far too much about everything in the house to knowing, appropriately, nothing at all.)
I agree about adult field trips. My senior center offers them and my favorite was when we visited the county recycling center and the Resource Recovery Facility, which burns our trash to produce electricity. Not as beautiful as your pristine reservoir but I found it fascinating. I figure to be a good steward of the earth we need to know the complete life cycle of the products we use and the impact that they make. In both places, the technicians were dedicated and very willing to share their in depth knowledge.
Other field trips I have been on went to galleries, museums and battlefields. All good!