Hello, and thanks for reading my newsletter on the things I’ve noticed, enjoyed, and spent time drawing lately, according to the seasons.
I send these letters out every fortnight (every three microseasons, if you want to get technical), with about six newsletters a season. You’re reading the fourth installment of Spring - the Equinox period, or the Japanese season Shunbun.
I enjoyed a chilly market day in Portobello this weekend, which explains why this newsletter is coming out a little later than normal.
Field Notes
It’s been such an excellent few weeks, largely of sunshine - this week, the temperatures have risen to a balmy 16 - I hung the washing outside and was surprised to feel no inkling of cold-ness. Of course, this has been followed up by a disappointedly chilly remainder of the week - I’ve been caught out in too-optimistic clothing a few times - but it nonetheless feels like a threshold moment in the year.
I’m of the opinion that April is one of the best months of year - lots of folks disagree with me on this - to them I point them to this average rainfall graph:
But, that’s a bit of a tangent. I’d say that March has risen in my estimation this year - a rather under-appreciated month for all is hope and greenery.
Flora
I’m dedicating this section to the flowering Magnolia - one of my first seasonal discoveries back when I started this project a year ago. Magnolia, I’ve learned, is not a single type, but a family of trees that I’m not very skilled at identifying between. The best I can say is that I recognise it from it’s upturned buds and blossoms. I prefer the white varieties to the pink - a topic we’ll return to when I confess I don’t like the colour of cherry blossoms (I’m sorry in advance).
I paid a visit to my favourite local magnolia this weekend - its strange how some trees become keepers of memory - I seem to remember this one was first in bloom years ago when they unlocked the park after the lockdown in 2021.
Honourable Mention: The few-flowered leek, which each day grows more prominent, has flowered on the Water of Leith. I’m fond of these, though they are invasive and have widely crowded out the wild garlic it’s often mistaken for.
Fauna
The chiffchaff (Philloscopus Collybita) has officially arrived in the UK and has made its way up to Scotland. Well, most of them have! I learned that migration patterns are changing, as increasing number of these birds are wintering in the UK due to changes in our climate.
I find the chiffchaff call one of the most recognisable - it is the thing that distinguishes them from all other warblers, who typically have quite ambitious birdsong (see the Blackcap, for instance). If my weird descriptions are of any help, I find the Chiffchaff sounds like dripping tap.
Honourable Mention: The first chiffchaff is an important indicator of spring, alongside the first bluebells and Cabbage White Butterflies - I saw my first of these this season too!
Art updates
These past few weeks, I’ve started to dream up some ideas for another calendar. I’ve been a bit low on energy and creativity, though, so this has mainly taken the form of colour swatching and play. I find playing with colour a perfect antidote to creative lulls and indecision.
Colour experiments were really important to my process last year - I ended up limiting myself to fives paints and a selection of coloured pencils to keep everything looking cohesive.
My hope this year is to expand my materials a little - making use of my markers and pastels - but also continue to create a sense of cohesion between the months and seasons of the year. Here is what I’ve come up with as a sort of proto-palette in traditional and digital swatchcard form.
Now comes the daunting step of transforming this colour palette into the first panels…