Meet Theo Mercer
Photographs captured the view. Not the time I spent noticing it.
Observe • Sketch • Remember
Hi, I’m Theo, the founder of HAVORIEL. I began carrying a small sketchbook on walks because the photographs I took kept the view, but lost everything else.
The ten minutes standing still. The branch I looked at twice. A page, however crooked, kept those.
Why a sketchbook
The camera kept the view. The page kept the looking.
A photograph keeps
What was in front of me.
Every detail, in a fraction of a second, whether I noticed it or not.A drawing keeps
The time I spent noticing it.
Only what I actually saw, in the order I saw it, with the mistakes left in.
The first pages
Hesitant, crooked, and unfinished.
My first pages were not good. I kept them anyway, because they were the first proof that I had stopped and looked.
- Study 01A crooked leaf.The midrib went one way and the edge went another. I drew it twice and both were wrong.
- Study 02An unfinished bird.It left before I got to the tail. That turned out to be the first useful lesson.
- Study 03A hillside in four lines.Uncertain lines, and still more of that evening than the photo on my phone.
I kept going. Not to make perfect pictures, but to understand what I was seeing.
What I found
A simple drawing preserves things more vividly than memory alone.
- StructureThe direction of a branch.Which way it reached, where it forked, how the light sat along it.
- MovementThe rhythm of a wing.Two beats and a glide, drawn faster than the bird could change its mind.
- LightThe way evening light divided a hillside.One side warm, one side already gone. A line down the middle of the page.
HAVORIEL grew from that habit: a page that keeps what the eye did, not just what the camera saw.
How the guides work
Nature drawing as small, practical decisions.
My guides organise nature drawing into small, practical decisions, so beginners can observe more carefully, sketch with less pressure and build a personal record of the natural places around them.
Not the goal
Perfect pictures, finished and framed.
The goal
Understanding what you are looking at, one page at a time.
- Observe carefully
- Sketch with less pressure
- Keep a personal record
Four guides · four distinct ways of seeing
Start with the foundations, or with what you want to draw today.
Each guide covers a separate stage. Begin with observation, or go straight to the plants, animals or landscapes that already pull at your attention.
ObserveI
Drawing Nature from ObservationSeeing, sketching and recording.Silhouette, proportion, value and edge, plus a 14-day practice.
StructureII
Trees, Leaves & BotanicalsStructure, texture and plant studies.How plants are built, so you draw the system instead of every detail.
MoveIII
Birds, Wildlife & MovementGesture, proportion and living subjects.Action line first, mass second, detail last, and always from a distance.
ComposeIV
Landscape, Light & Field NotesScenes, atmosphere and a nature journal.Big shapes, three values, colour notes and a journal system you can keep.
Observe · Structure · Move · Compose Look closer. Draw what matters.
What I believe
Nature gives you the subject. You only need a way to begin.
You do not need expensive materials, perfect technique or hours of spare time. A pencil, a small page and one thing worth noticing.
Theo MercerFounder & writer · HAVORIEL
If you have ever come home from a walk with fifty photographs and no memory of looking, these guides were written for you.
Observe wildlife quietly and from a respectful distance. Never chase, feed, handle or disturb animals for a drawing, and do not remove protected plants, nests or natural material where collection is prohibited. Follow local access rules and check the weather before heading out.
Where to begin
Begin with one thing worth noticing.
Choose the guide that matches what you want to draw today, or follow the complete collection from first marks to a personal field journal.
Observe • Sketch • Remember