I envy you and Sue Clancy for your beautiful drawings in journals. I'm a writer and occasionally "records" thoughts in poems. Their brevity helps me describe a scene and experience along with a feeling in just a few words. My drawing and watercolors, however, have not developed much past blotches defined by a few strokes of black ink. You have inspired me to dig into my very old stash of art supplies and do what you do ... quick sketches with a note or two. Thank you.
Hi Sue, actually what you do sounds just beautiful. Describing scenes in few poetic words along with a few strokes of ink. I am so happy to inspire you to take the drawing part to another place but it really sounds so lovely to me.
I absolutely LOVE that you share your early pencil sketches here (and in your books, too)... it's hard to remember that first stage (especially when you're getting back to a practice after twenty years!) that it doesn't look like it will by the end and to stay grounded in the patience of the process... Thank you for the inspiration, as always!
I've only just stumbled onto your blog. Can't believe how inspired I am. I just assembled my travel kit and leave Friday for 2 nights in Paris and then Ireland for 3 weeks. I am SO lucky that my best friend happens to live in Ireland half of the year... Thank you for sharing your beautiful work!
This was awesome! I'm planning my second travel sketchbook for an upcoming tripa nd there were some great tips in here namely the light pencil notes, and i love the use of the accordion notebook! I havea ctually made my own sketchbook to take as buying a watercolour journal is a bit too expensive and inaccessible to buy in my region. I'm super excited and it's such a great way to remember and enjoy the trip also!
This was so fun to read! I just finished up some travels and my "mistake" was that I brought out my whole watercolour set with me. I did have some really pretty sketches for when we were sat down for 1-2 hours at a time, but after reading this post I should have just brought my pencil/pen and colour the sketches on the flight home. Nevertheless, this is very useful for future travels. I still remember how you sent me some tips for sketching while travelling when I asked you last year. So fun to follow your adventures, Samantha!
There is no right way. Some people don’t use a pencil at all and just paint and therefore my method wouldn’t work well. I am so happy to inspire tho so to leave more room in your bag, and more time for the looking and experiencing. I also rarely sit still when we travel. But some people take a vacation and sit on the beach for hours. In that case bringing all the paints works well...
This was perfect. As I may have said, I am off to UK for a month. And though I am busy sight seeing and attending a festival for a week, I have been trying to figure out how to manage my daily sketching. LOL, I love your work and assumed it was gets done in the 'moment'. So, I really appreciate what you outlined here in this article. It makes total sense to outline, sketch, notate, and photograph for reference and come back to it later. Yay. Thank you. Oh, will check out your new Skillshare class.
Thank you for sharing your travel journal tips! I’m off to Japan in the fall, and have been planning what to take. I think I’ve decided on an accordion sketchbook - 8 days x 8 spreads feels much more reasonable than my usual 80-page sketchbook that I was originally planning! Now to decide on the materials... you make a great case for pen and watercolour
I envy you and Sue Clancy for your beautiful drawings in journals. I'm a writer and occasionally "records" thoughts in poems. Their brevity helps me describe a scene and experience along with a feeling in just a few words. My drawing and watercolors, however, have not developed much past blotches defined by a few strokes of black ink. You have inspired me to dig into my very old stash of art supplies and do what you do ... quick sketches with a note or two. Thank you.
Hi Sue, actually what you do sounds just beautiful. Describing scenes in few poetic words along with a few strokes of ink. I am so happy to inspire you to take the drawing part to another place but it really sounds so lovely to me.
I absolutely LOVE that you share your early pencil sketches here (and in your books, too)... it's hard to remember that first stage (especially when you're getting back to a practice after twenty years!) that it doesn't look like it will by the end and to stay grounded in the patience of the process... Thank you for the inspiration, as always!
You’re so welcome! So happy to have you here, Jennifer!
I've only just stumbled onto your blog. Can't believe how inspired I am. I just assembled my travel kit and leave Friday for 2 nights in Paris and then Ireland for 3 weeks. I am SO lucky that my best friend happens to live in Ireland half of the year... Thank you for sharing your beautiful work!
I am glad you stumbled on my work! Have so much fun in Paris and Ireland. Sounds wonderful - always the best when you can stay with friends abroad.
This was awesome! I'm planning my second travel sketchbook for an upcoming tripa nd there were some great tips in here namely the light pencil notes, and i love the use of the accordion notebook! I havea ctually made my own sketchbook to take as buying a watercolour journal is a bit too expensive and inaccessible to buy in my region. I'm super excited and it's such a great way to remember and enjoy the trip also!
I’m so glad you got some good tips out of this! Enjoy your travels.
This was so fun to read! I just finished up some travels and my "mistake" was that I brought out my whole watercolour set with me. I did have some really pretty sketches for when we were sat down for 1-2 hours at a time, but after reading this post I should have just brought my pencil/pen and colour the sketches on the flight home. Nevertheless, this is very useful for future travels. I still remember how you sent me some tips for sketching while travelling when I asked you last year. So fun to follow your adventures, Samantha!
There is no right way. Some people don’t use a pencil at all and just paint and therefore my method wouldn’t work well. I am so happy to inspire tho so to leave more room in your bag, and more time for the looking and experiencing. I also rarely sit still when we travel. But some people take a vacation and sit on the beach for hours. In that case bringing all the paints works well...
This was perfect. As I may have said, I am off to UK for a month. And though I am busy sight seeing and attending a festival for a week, I have been trying to figure out how to manage my daily sketching. LOL, I love your work and assumed it was gets done in the 'moment'. So, I really appreciate what you outlined here in this article. It makes total sense to outline, sketch, notate, and photograph for reference and come back to it later. Yay. Thank you. Oh, will check out your new Skillshare class.
Hi Angela, wonderful! I am happy this was helpful to you. Have so much fun in the UK. A while month is amazing.
“Paris is perfect in any weather.”
That is the truth.
Thank you for sharing your travel journal tips! I’m off to Japan in the fall, and have been planning what to take. I think I’ve decided on an accordion sketchbook - 8 days x 8 spreads feels much more reasonable than my usual 80-page sketchbook that I was originally planning! Now to decide on the materials... you make a great case for pen and watercolour