5 Nature Crafts and Winter Walks for Seattle-Area Families

Pack up some pencils, sketch pads, paintbrushes and a watercolor palette, then head to a nearby wetland or forest to spot wildlife. You may have to sit still for a while before you notice a bird, squirrel, deer or other animals to sketch. It’s a good idea to snap a digital photo of your animal in case it scurries away too soon. Using small, tentative pencil strokes instead of unbroken lines helps create energy and gives a sense of movement and life to your animal.

Bring more life to the sketch with a finish of watercolor paint for both the animal and its surrounding landscape. For inspiration and instruction, look for books by Molly Hashimoto, a Seattle artist who teaches connections with nature by observing, sketching or painting it. Find tips for creating your own work of art by referencing her 2019 title “Birds of the West: An Artist’s Guide.”

Where to go for inspiration: Between Tacoma and Olympia, the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is a sure bet for spotting animals in winter, especially turtles resting on logs and birds such as great blue herons, mallards and bald eagles. Its boardwalk trail loops around the forested estuary; benches placed here and there along the path provide places to sit, sketch and paint en plein air, the French term for painting in the outdoors. The Union Bay Natural Area in North Seattle has a short loop trail to the wetland-ringed shoreline of Lake Washington, with plenty of benches on which to sit, observe and sketch the many dabbling and diving ducks that overwinter here, and the hawks and eagles perched in nearby trees.

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