Welcome to my first edition of Field Notes.
In these seasonal notes, I’ll be sharing encounters with nature, my new artwork collections, and what’s inspiring me.
I’d love to see you at one of my Green Sketching workshops or an exhibition opening sometime!
More importantly, I hope you find yourself drawn away from phones and to-do lists, and towards the places and practices that help you come alive.
Nicky
EARTH MEETS SKY ART COLLECTION
I love walking Mangemangeroa – a coastal bushwalk near my home.
2026 has been a time of transition for me and walking helps me process.
On one morning walk, I was surrounded by nature but my mind was elsewhere, thinking about my new studies and some personal challenges. I was very much in my head as I climbed the hill.
Thankfully, I know this spot well and I paused - as I always do – where the track opens up at the top to reveal a view of the estuary. I stopped to take it in, listening to the chattering piwakawakas.
Suddenly I am out of my head and in my body.
My eyes are drawn to the skyline, where the earth meets the sky and to silhouetted seedpods rooted in the earth, reaching upwards.
I am reminded of my own feet rooted on the earth. Breathing deeply, I take in the beauty and potential of the dancing seedpods and the light-filled sky.
Be here now. There is always hope, even amongst chaos.
This moment of encounter became the inspiration for my new artwork collection Earth Meets Sky. Back in the studio I worked on several pieces at once – playing with watercolour, acrylic and pastel to explore the textures and colours of Mangemangeroa.
The process takes time as I let the layers settle. The paintings speak and let me know what they need.
They are companions and touch points, reminding me of the encounter with the deep earth, light-filled sky and dancing seedpods, inviting me to return.
The painting Quiet Hope reminds me of this moment in nature, connecting me with hope during a time of great change.
When viewing these paintings, I invite people to remember what it is like when we take unhurried time to be in nature. May it draw you outdoors into your own experience of aliveness.
Or perhaps you may like to choose a piece from Earth Meets Sky to have at home or in your work space. Gazing on a nature painting can invite a contemplative pause and offer soul nourishment.
If any of the paintings seem to have your name on it, please contact me.
WHAT I’M READING
This year I have been studying Creative Arts Therapy and I’m loving it. This practice brings together my love of creativity and companioning people through their life journeys.
I know in my bones how sustaining creativity is. It has been life-giving for me, bringing hope and joy. I want to support people in experiencing these possibilities for themselves.
Shaun McNiff’s Imagination in Action was the first text I read this year. He reminds us that creativity is not reserved for a select few but is part of being human — participating in ‘the truly universal pulse advancing life everywhere’.
He writes that the point of creativity is not always to make something, but to be involved in poiesis — the act of making or bringing something into existence that did not exist before.
I’m noticing his influence on how I paint. He reminds me to move — to make first, then harvest. To work things out through making, rather than by thinking. To trust the process.
When I’m facing a blank canvas, moving my body before making my first mark helps me get started. I might stand, go outside, use my whole arm or listen to rhythmic music.
In my Earth Meets Sky collection, the work has been bigger and more gestural than my previous paintings, allowing me to move naturally as I create.
OUT AND ABOUT - WHAT’S INSPIRING ME
Olive May Tonkin. Kohekohe (c.1940). Watercolour on paper. University of Auckland Art Collection.
Exhibition: Evergreen: the art and science of plants
In August I spent a happy hour or two among the delicate botanical watercolours of Olive May Tonkin, painted around 1940, and the scientifically accurate Brendel botanical models, made in Germany over a century ago.
The exhibition was presented by He Māra Mahara, Cultural Collections, at the University of Auckland's General Library.
The natural beauty of the plants captured in watercolour and sculpture is timeless. I never get bored of seeing more botanical work. The natural world holds infinite wonder and beauty, and each artist offers a unique interpretation.
Curious to learn more, I signed up for a guided walk of some of the taonga plants in the university gardens with a botanist.
I hadn't realised how rare and precious some of these trees are, or how important their whakapapa is to scientific research. Many are critically endangered. I felt a deep sense of sadness about what we are losing.
By the end of the day, I was touched by this meeting of art with science - both complementing each other and deepening my experience of nature’s beauty - in art and in life.
Photographs of Evergreen: the art and science of plants, presented by He Māra Mahara, Cultural Collections, University of Auckland. Photographs by Nicky Scoltock.
JOY-SPOTTING
At the heart of Green Sketching is Joy Spotting — the simple practice of letting nature catch your eye and delight you!
I am loving my morning walks to Cockle Bay with Asha - with the bonus of coffee from Mitch at Coffee Reborn. On the path down to the beach an exuberant kowhai tree has burst into life! Joy rises as I pause to take in the abundance of golden flowers against a bright blue sky. Tuis swoop in and out of the canopy as I walk, chortling with excitement. I feel the energy of spring and its promise of possibility.
COMING UP
Nourish yourself this spring by taking time to connect with your creativity, with others and with nature by attending a Green Sketching workshop. I hope to see you at one of these locations!
Nicky Scoltock is a contemplative artist, Green Sketching guide and Soul Companion living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Inspired by a deep connection with the Sacred Wild, she explores creativity, grounded spirituality and our relationship with the natural world. You’ll often find her wandering the shorelines and bush trails near home with Asha, her trusty walking companion — or back in the studio making art, with good coffee and her Mary Oliver poetry book close by.