And encouragement to try it yourself.
The 4" box of watercolours that I bought in 1996 and keep refilling, is second only to my husband in importance as a companion for globe-trotting. It's been from New Zealand to France, along with coloured pencils, a fine-point ink marker, and a sketchbook. If things get slow on the travel circuit I have an hour or two of entertainment ready at the drop of a hat.
This blog project has got me unearthing archives that I forgot existed. I've dug up travel sketches I like, and others I'm not proud to claim, but they're all memories of a particular place at a particular time. Here are some I remember with a smile.
France, in 2005 with my friend Corinne, when my hair was dark...memories of Monet's garden at Giverny, a picnic by an ancient stone house at a vineyard, drawing the roman aquaduct at Pont du Gard, a charming cottage where we stayed. The roses got a little out of proportion, they were actually quite small, but no problem in a sketchbook.
Fiji and New Zealand, in 1996 with our children... and seashells we collected glued on the frames.
Croatia, in 2016... painting the shoreline from the boat that carried our bicycles on a Bike & Boat tour.
Fernie, British Columbia, 2019, the Three Sisters Mountain, painted from a living room window when I was too worn out to go skiing.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 2019... sitting on a bench in the early spring across from the Bessborough Hotel. I gave this to my friend Glenna D., who misses Saskatchewan.
Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan, 2016, not quite plein air, this pastel landscape was done from the front seat of our camper van.
Ha! A real oldie I found, Paris, in 1980... I really was in front of the Louvre, drawing grumpy tourist ladies with sore feet. The closest I've ever come to doing caricatures.
If you want to give travel sketching a try, as I've said before, go for it! It's not that hard. No risk, no one knows you, especially in a foreign country; there are no high expectations if you're gentle on yourself; sketchbooks are small and easy to hide from prying eyes. Nothing life-threatening about it, and paintbrushes do not require a permit to use.
Whether or not you love the result isn't really important. The fun is sitting outside in a sunny spot, being (or pretending to be is fine) an artist. Just keep a lid on the natural tendency for self-criticism, is my advice. I've heard that the mark of success in the beginning is just not giving up.
Art stores in any city have adorable little paint boxes and lovely bound sketchbooks that are fun to buy. Libraries have step-by-step watercolour books, Google has ideas and encouragement under Urban Sketching and Plein Air Painting and Pinterest has plenty of styles to copy.
Think about it. A new world may open up.
