Learning to draw birds can do wonders for your ID skills! The combination of close observation and sharp drawing/sketching skills can help your brain hone in on the small details that separate species. Don’t think your art skills are up to snuff? No worries! Anyone can learn to draw, and this staff favorite is a perfect starting place.

From publisher Heyday:

Artist Molly Hashimoto has appreciated trees all her life―they have shaped her as a hiker, outdoors lover, gardener, traveler, and artist. She pays homage to them through her art, working in many different media, each revealing different aspects of these stalwart companions: crisp lines, imposing silhouettes, and the subtle–or sometimes brilliant―hues of foliage. Hashimoto also delves into the process of creating art, discussing the mediums she used in the featured pieces and the reasons she chose them, as well as sidebars with tips and techniques.

As in her popular Colors of the West and Birds of the West, Hashimoto emphasizes her personal experiences with nature, telling stories about her encounters with trees everywhere from her backyard to national parks and forests throughout the West. She focuses primarily on native trees, rather than cultivars, with a special interest in 46 major species found across the region, ranging from the stately Coast redwoods to the diminutive but distinctive Fishhook Barrel Cactus.

Rooted in place, trees offer endless opportunities for observation, admiration, relaxation, and inspiration. Trees of the West invites us to pause and appreciate these sentinels in all their quiet glory.

Learn to observe, sketch, and paint nature from an award-winning outdoor artist and art teacher.

Colors of the West explores wild places through the lens of watercolor “en plein air” painting, a French term meaning literally “in the open air.” Steeped in the natural world, award-winning artist Molly Hashimoto has sketched in the outdoors and worked as a plein air artist and teacher for more than 20 years. In that time she has filled more than 40 sketchbooks with landscapes, vignettes, studies of flora and fauna, and natural history notes―all created while visiting some of the West’s most stunning landscapes.

This new book is organized by color, a unique approach to teaching both intermediate and budding artists how to really see color in the outdoor spaces around them, and then apply it to journals, other art projects, or simply beautiful memories. The average person can see 17,000 colors (!), so Molly explains the concept of palette, that is the range of colors that unites elements of geography, geology, and the different kinds of light created by atmosphere, season, and latitude. Molly’s own hand‐drawn sketches and paintings of familiar Western landscapes help convey these colors, along with sidebars and insets on individual species (trees, birds, mammals, and other flora and fauna) and historical notes related to the park or site she has sketched. Tips and techniques for outdoor journaling and painting are included throughout.

From the green hues found on Cascade Head on the Oregon Coast and in Yellowstone’s quaking aspens, to the reds that highlight the rocks in Arches National Park and the the giant sequoias in California, readers and artists of all levels will learn a new appreciation for the colors of the West―and how the details of natural beauty can be revealed when we stop, observe, and pay attention to the outdoor world.

An essential item for your next spring hike!

This portable guide covers 60 of the most common wildflower species in California, including perennials, annuals, and biennials, both native and naturalized.

If you’re curious about birds and interested in learning more about them from an artistic angle, this is the book for you! Covering sketching, watercolor, printing, and other mediums, as well as a wide variety of common birds and habitats, there’s something to learn on every page of this gem.

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Birds accompany us in our daily lives with their songs, flashes of bright color, and energetic activity. Even people who don’t consider themselves birders notice them; from urban wetlands to wilderness trails, we follow the sound of a distant twitter or song.

Award-winning artist Molly Hashimoto captures birds through different media, from quick sketches with pen and wash to more carefully planned block prints. Each medium has a unique way of revealing different avian qualities–elegant lines or imposing silhouettes, a delicate bill or brilliant plumage. In Birds of the West, Molly shares this range of artwork as a way to encourage readers, whether artists or not, to observe more closely the feathered friends around us. Through her art and words, she explores specific Western habitats providing the natural histories of birds typically found in each, as well as intimate personal encounters and inspiring passages from others. And she teaches painting, drawing, and printmaking methods throughout the book with technique sidebars designed for all levels of experience.