Prologue: See For Yourself xi
Introduction 1
The Perspective 1
Reading This Book 3
A Note on Vocabulary 5
On the Illustrations 6
Different Voices 7
Listen to This 8
PART ONE: PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS WITH NATURE
On Horseneck Beach: First Sight of Drawing Closer to Nature 13
Eden Revisited 35
Do Not Be Afraid 43
I Awoke from This Dream 47
I Was Thinking about Death 54
PART TWO: NOTES TO AN ARTIST
General Considerations 59
On Seeing 59
Beyond Creativity: Authenticity 66
All There Is, Is Creativity 75
Art As a Sacred Conversation 77
Sensory and Imaginative Seriousness 80
Metamorphoses 87
Burning Saplings and Jumper 96
Later That Evening 101
Forensics 105
Materials 107
Space 108
Time 110
Frequency 111
Setting Up Your Studio 113
Nature and the Studio 114
Settings Sights 116
The Process 119
Initiating the Project 119
The First Move 121
The Pursuit 124
When the Fruit Is Ripe 126
Closing In 129
Snatching the Prize 130
It's Over, Almost 131
Further Reflections 133
Talking with Nature 133
Tricks 139
Masquerade 142
In Art, To Win Is Nothing 146
I Had Just Completed 150
Synchronicity? 150
Hope for Everything, Expect Nothing 155
PART THREE: THE STRUCTURE OF AN ENCOUNTER
The Purpose of an Encounter 161
Participants 163
A Ready Student 163
A Trustworthy Teacher 164
Worthy Companions 165
Structure 173
The Setting 173
The Covenant 174
Of Space and Time 175
Matters of Perspective 179
Orientation 179
Disorientation 182
What's the Most Terrible Thing? 183
Proferring the Invitation 186
One on One 188
PART FOUR: ENCOUNTERS WITH NATURE
Encounters with the Prime Elements 197
Aligning Your Self with the Cardinal Points 211
Balance: Finding Your Still Point 219
My Self As Landscape 229
Loving Subtle Things 237
A Glade, a Tree, a Rock 241
A Blind Walk 253
A Natural Sanctuary 261
Forgiveness 267
PART FIVE: MEDIA AND TECHNIQUE
Media 277
Crystallization, Sedimentation, Erosion 285
What about Technique? 297
PART SIX: NOTES TO A TEACHER
A Holistic Paradigm 303
Empathic Listening 313
Who Gets to Draw 317
You Can't Go Home Again, but Homeward You Must Go 323
Not Necessarily a Bad Day 327
Epilogue: Drawing Together 331
Everybody Is Always Waiting for a Miracle 335
Notes 339
Works Cited 343
Acknowledgments 347
Credits 349
