Travel Sketching
Travel sketching is a passion. It is a habit I began while solo travelling and encourage everyone to adopt. This practice forces you to slow down; absorb the sights and sounds of a new location; to truly see what you are looking at whether the unique quality of a sky’s light, the saturation of colours found in an orchard, or the fine details of the local architecture. It is an invitation for the curious; a dialogue-opener for passers-by who you might not otherwise meet.
My solo travel adventures began one January when I booked a spontaneous trip to Barcelona and found myself one week later mesmerized as a rainbow of colours played over my feet in The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. Barcelona is a glorious city filled with grand boulevards, old-style cafes, an Olympic stadium, diverse architecture, museums, and galleries. That city opened my eyes to the extraordinary imaginings of Catalan modernist architect Antoni Gaudi; the contemporary art of the Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramicist Joan Miró; and, surprised me with its unique collection of early works by the Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and theatre designer Pablo Picasso. I still remember the impact of seeing his huge oil painting ‘Science and Charity’ which he completed at the age of fifteen. Painted in an academic style of the old masters, it is a far cry from the abstract and cubist pieces that he became known for later in his life. That trip to Barcelona gave me confidence to undertake more adventures in Canada and abroad. But, the next time, I took along my sketchbook.
My favourite sketchbook is an 8.5” x 5.5” Stillman & Bern softcover from the Beta series. Its size allows me to carry it within my small daypack and sketch on location unobtrusively. The extra heavyweight, cold press paper gives me the option of using watercolours and pasting in the ephemera I collect (e.g., event or train tickets). I favour the fine tipped Pigma Micron pens or Faber Castell’s Pitt Artist Pen fine liners as I tend to write as much as I sketch in what may be better termed my travel journals. I travel light, but do manage to fit a tiny travel set of watercolours in my knapsack on occasion (e.g., Koi Water Colors Field Sketch Set).
What subjects do I capture? They vary as much as the places I travel to and the time available. If you open one of my sketchbooks you may find:
The sands of St. Andrews West Sands beach in Scotland with the town above and people and dogs below cavorting in the water on an unusually hot day (not common in the North Sea!).
The ornate hands of the huge clock rising above the Piazza del Campo in Siena, Italy.
Hurried sketches of the motley crew of fellow passengers I encountered one flight delay.
The canal homes of Burano, a gondola, a wine pitcher, a coffee cup and cello; images captured after a magical day spent visiting the islands off Venice, Italy and returning to hear a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (although I nearly missed it getting lost in the maze that is Venice).
Jugs, coffee tables and patrons in a tiny café perched high up in Oia in Santorini, Greece where the waitress told me I had a special gift and could heal her country (too much wine perhaps?)
Travels closer to home may include backcountry camping or hiking (with a 2” x 4” sketchbook) and visits to cottages. Then, the imagery turns to silhouettes of distant islands, white pines blowing in the wind, a wooden dock, a tent or sleeping bags drying out after a torrential downpour!
Sketching while travelling felt less intimidating for me as, in many cases, no one knew me. The daily practice helped me build confidence and identify areas I needed to strengthen such as linear perspective!
While today we are restricted in our travels, we still can work on building a daily practice, sketch locally when the weather permits and learn new skills including through on-line art courses. In 2020, I took courses in visual arts, perspective drawing and even travel journaling with Maya Hum who I highly recommend. She is a well-regarded independent artist, art educator and illustrator located in Ottawa.
In a future post, I look forward to introducing you to other courses including those experiences you may explore abroad such as sketching in Rome or learning to print in Florence, Italy.
In the meantime, please do get in touch and let me know about your own travel sketching adventures. Where do you go? What subjects do you capture? What materials and tools do you use?