Do you sketch/draw/paint/do art when traveling?

Hi Pam,
I have taken watercolors, paper & a couple brushes on trips with the intention of painting some quick landscapes. My supplies included a small 3x5 palette of Daniel Smith watercolors, red, blue, yellow, black & white along with 2 brushes in a cylindrical toothbrush carrier and a rather heavy 5x7 tablet of Bee watercolor paper, everything packed into a zip lock bag.

What I discovered is that I can't sit still long enough to paint when I'm out touring and I can not abide anyone looking over my shoulder. Then there is the thing about pencils. I have a brain freeze if I pick up a pencil to sketch but have no difficulty at all with sketching with a paint brush. Irrational, yep, therapy indicated. lol

Painting in the evening when back at our accommodation was tempting but honestly I was so tired after all day walking that I never got around to it. My creative process evolved to painting at home from photos while remembering the day's adventure. Absolutely love painting Scotland with its moody landscapes. I'm self taught but have been really studying You Tube videos from Javid TaTabatabaei.

This is an interesting topic. Thanks for posting it!

I will put in a plug for Kolbie Blume's watercolor tutorials and also her books -- very easy to follow and lots of fun. Love her approach and enthusiasm!
A few years ago I bought a small kit from portable painter (https://www.portablepainter.com/product-page/portable-painter-classic) and filled the pans with my favorite colors. It's great for travel, though I use it almost exclusively at a table, rather than outside in the field. It's nice and lightweight, and has the water wells if you need them. I bring a few of my own brushes, and a small watercolor sketchbook, like a 5x8 landscape size, plus several small pieces of good watercolor paper that I've cut from a pad or block.

I grew up in a family of artists and had a lot of exposure as a child to design, color, composition, various media, opinions and criticism etc. I think I made an unconscious decision at a young age not to compete with my parents or siblings in the art world. I became a crafter and have done every kind of fiber craft from spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting, to needlepoint, quilting, sewing, doll making. When I started to get arthritis in my hands, I stopped almost everything. Lately, I have been wanting to try sketching so this thread was very timely for me. I had bought an sketch pad and dug out some of my dad's old pencils to take to Alaska with me in April but I didn't use them. Now I think I'll try Jean's trick of 10 minutes a day while waiting impatiently for next April's trip to the UK.

Pam, I've never attempted to sketch or paint while traveling, but I guess the idea must have intrigued me at one time, because I bookmarked a blog post about portable watercolor sheets. The concept was new to me, and I liked the idea of carrying small quantities of paint in such a lightweight form: https://www.kerriewoodhouse.com/blog/portable-watercolour-sheets

Pam, where to in France? We leave for our first visit to the Loire very soon. My wife will bring her art supplies as always. One can see a glimpse of them in that poolside portrait of her that I took, shown in our new Calabria/Rome TR (i.e. our Tropea rental villa).

There's another shot of her experimenting with watery painting at a Hong Kong museum in our old China TR. I should also find the ancient shot that I once snapped while she took lessons from Turkish-marbling star artist Barut in his Istanbul guesthouse, the one-star hotel where we stayed during our very first trip together.

My mom was both a traveler plus a pro artist. For decades, I tried to convince her to finally approach publishers with a mind toward them doing a book based upon her countless overseas sketches. Unfortunately, her stubborn nature kept her from moving beyond the talking stage.

Btw, on our last visit to Venice, there was a painting group doing their thing on the street of our Dorsoduro rental. One of the painters was a Jersey gal who revealed how her home had just survived the recent hurricane while the rest of her neighbors' houses were destroyed.

I am done. the squirrel-hair brush

Thanks for all the responses! Fun to know many of us are interested in creating memories while we travel.

@Hannah…yikes! Challenge accepted!

@Diane - Totally understand not having enough energy in the evenings. I tried to do a little in Scotland this summer but some days I just had enough energy to shower and fall in to bed!

@Milgreen - That is a nice looking palette. I appreciate the lead on the artist you follow. I’ll take a look tomorrow.

@Katiecem - I think the 10 minute “rule” is a good one for a variety of things, lol!! While you are doing trip research you can keep an eye put for things to sketch! And, fun to take your Dad’s pencils with you to AK even without using them. AK is so big!

@Gregg - I’ll be in Paris for a couple of weeks, then down to Carcassonne for a 2-week long small group tour to the area, then back to Paris to “rest”, haha!! I will have to go back and look at your trip reports! Very cool that your wife paints on your trips! And that you were staying in a spot scenic enough to attract an art group! When I was in Edinburgh in July I came across a group of sketchers in the Princes St gardens and another group in the National Museum of Scotland. That made me want to join them!

In a bookshop in Edinburgh I picked up a small book of doodles/designs. On the plane I pulled it out and used the watercolor pencils to shade in one of the geometric design pages. That was a good way to get away from screen time on the plane.

I expect as a beginner I will have more trouble restricting myself to a few colors than a person who is experienced!

I don’t think anyone else has mentioned this …

A waterbrush might be very useful for your watercolor sketching kit. This unique paint brush has a water reservoir on one end and a paint brush on the other. Sort of like an old-fashioned fountain pen. Although you would need to refill the reservoir eventually, I can paint a small sketch without an additional water source. I use my Sakura Koi round brushes with watercolor pencils and with palettes. Sold individually or in sets of graduated sizes, you can pick up Sakura Koi or Pentel or other known watercolor supply brands at art supply or craft stores. I’d be leery of cheap, no-name waterbrushes - the brushes shed (ask me how I know).

Hi Pam,

I don’t paint or sketch when traveling but the idea has crossed my mind.
A few months ago I was searching for something online and somehow found this video about Leslie Stroz, an artist who paints in tiny sketch books and the idea was fascinating to me.
You may enjoy her video(s):
This tiny sketchbook changed my life/Leslie Stroz

Wishing you wonderful trip!

Pam, when in Carcassonne maybe also consider:

-the remote but picturesque (read 'painterly') village Olargues.
-the weekly markets at Carmaux and also Caussade.
-St. Antonin Noble Val.
-Cordes (the obvious).
-the actual town of Carcassonne below the citadel.

Bonne Chance!
i am done. the palette

Thirty+ years ago, when my son was 5 years old we went to DisneyWorld. Upon our return home I found a little pencil sketch in his pack that he had done of the Magic Kingdom castle, the Studios water power, and the EPCOT Spaceship Earth. It is still one of my favorite souvenirs of the trip. Someday I'll give it back to him. . . . .

I am trying to copy/paste what I wrote in the other thread, but it’s choking here. Hopefully, I can format it better later…. My supplies:
1. Talens sketchbook. I have the small black square one that has quite a few pages, a ribbon self bookmark and a black elastic band to keep it closed. I wish it was half the pages but only because I pack very light. Otherwise, the size is great to not be intimidating.
2. Pencils. I have a metal tin with a set of 6. For this trip, I only brought my Faber Castell “HB”.
3. Pens. Pared way back and only brought my black Pilot Precise Rolling Ball, extra fine.
4. Eraser. I cut the typical school pink eraser into 1/3’s and brought one piece.
5. Tiny pencil sharpener.
6.For travel, I switched to watercolor pens. They are less messy but not as versatile. Right now, I don’t need a professional pan set. I bought the set of Derwent Inktense watercolor pens which are nice and choose 6 of them for each trip. For instance, “Teal” comes along when I’m traveling to Puglia. I made the color swatch page as my first page on this sketchbook - very helpful. For the water color pens, you can use them as a regular colored pencil, then wet it slightly, or wet the tip of the pencil and use it as a smuggie paintbrush, or draw heavy lines in a spot on scratch paper, wet it, and dip the paintbrush into it as if it’s paints.
6. I include a thin & thicker paintbrush, but this time I just brought my smallest one.
7. Recently I was at the Tom Bihn store near Seattle, and I wanted to buy something…which turned out as the perfect carrier for my sketching supplies. Pencils, pens, brush in the clear section; everything else in the second zipper.

https://www.tombihn.com/collections/all-organizational-bags/products/double-organizer-pouch?variant=43438737555645

And the hints:

1. Join a Sketchfest! My daughter & I have attended two of the three in Edmonds, Washington, and they are fantastic! There’s also Facebook groups of local ones globally. (I saw one for Bologna today!).

2. Watch a few videos on-line of a style you like. Stephanie Bower’s few videos have been inspiring for the style I like, plus she’s showing places in Europe, i.e. Paris, Sevilla. But also don’t overload. Just a few to get started and then “go” with your pencil.

3. I’m a perfectionist. I had to quickly get over it with sketching! Also, the teacher I had in Bergamo, Italy told me to not include so much - even lines. People’s minds will fill in the missing parts which is interestingly true.

4. Along that line, I used to just sit down and immediately start sketching as if I was completing a photograph. This isn’t a photograph! If I can only draw for 30 seconds, what will be my focus? The rest of the filler is just to highlight or hint at the scene with some foundation & setting.

5. My daughter’s instructor told them to make a sketch each single day and throw it away. What? Yes! It gives you permission & a kick start without intimidation because it’s truly just practice.

6. With my major life change last year, the artist type passions - an hour of playing piano, etc. completely changed into something I couldn’t enjoy. But now those are returning. So, as someone who feels like it’s back to Sketching 101, seriously just tell yourself, “10 minutes & I stop!” I’ve even done a few here in Italy intentionally standing up instead of sitting to reinforce that “short time & stop” feeling. Hopefully that helps others feel less like you’re assigned to create a work of art & more like this could be a sweet memory of that one moment during a trip. : ). I’ve been signing this trips’ sketches with the name my husband gave me during our first trip to Italy, so even if the sketch isn’t perfect, signing that name makes me very happy! ; )

Jean & Pam, thanks for all these great ideas.... OK, I just re-started sketching this week after a few years hiatus and I was literally heading out the door today to do my first live sketch outside, when I saw this thread. Wow. I sat outside at a cafe, wanting to sketch a nearby science building, and quickly figured out I would MUCH rather enjoy my cappuccino while it was warm than sketch! Clearly I may need some more practice time at home. A few thoughts -

1. Someone told me the best photos you take are the ones you take with whatever camera (phone) you have along. I think this goes for sketching too, if you think you might sketch, at least take some paper with backing and a pencil.
2. Practice - I'm trying to make one quick, even 5 minute sketch of something simple, like my fist sitting next to the page each morning. (Fools the eye away from brain's image of what a hand looks like, to just draw contours.) Jean, I liked the idea of throwing away a sketch a day, good one!
3. Clearly this thread is a sign to accept the challenge an art friend just made to send each other one sketch a week! (So I just sent her a rough sketch of my feet crossed, all wrinkly around the edges. HA)
4. Years ago I worked through 'Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain', which is amazing but its a thick book. If you wanted to try it, totally worthwhile but don't think I will do it again.
5. This week I started 'Keys to Drawing', by Bert Dodson, very liberating from perfection syndrome that I have grumbling about all the skills I've lost, rather than enjoying making a sketch.
6. I had forgotten how much more intensely I LOOK at things, lights and shadows, leaves on trees, let alone art in museums. What a gift! PS, I just wanted to add what a relief it was to read this thread, it's good to know we can experiment, just do something for 5 minutes, throw away our practice sketches, learn something again, and again....

I just remembered I had fun watching Karen Rice You Tube videos when I first picked up a paint brush. She does some interesting things with sea sponges ( tree leaves & texture), Brusho ( powdered blended paint pigment that is a hoot to use), plastic wrap ( another texture thing)just to name a couple of her tricks. She is easy to watch, definitely more lighthearted than the current tutorials I'm watching.

Karen's videos https://www.youtube.com/@KarenRiceArt/videos
Brusho https://www.jerrysartarama.com/brusho-crystal-watercolours-olive-green-15-grams-v20434?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22795743750&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0v_jtpfMjwMVmS5ECB1CSyjgEAQYASABEgJa9PD_BwE

She also does watercolor retreats. Next year she's in Tuscany.
https://uptrek.com/retreat/tuscan-watercolor-explorations-retreat-artist-karen-rice-tuscany

@JenS! - THANK you for the reminder about water brushes. And laughing at your suggestion for name brands due to shedding, hahaha. And yes, we want to know how you know! I see a trip to Michaels in my future as I think I have seen some there. adding - Looks like the Pentel ones are available online only so maybe I will just go with another Amazon order, haha.

@Priscilla - I was not familiar with that artist but I loved that YouTube video! Thanks so much for the link. I'd forgotten until she started that many use an athletic wristband when they are painting outside. I'll go thru some of her other videos later today! I've seen those tiny palettes a lot lately and of course once I've looked at them on Amazon I start getting tons of ads on FB and YT for them, lol.

@Gregg - Thanks for the suggestions! I'll be in Carcassonne for most of 2 days on my own before my tour starts and will see the Cite as well as the Bastide.

@MusicMoll - Oh, that just makes my heart sing! What a neat thing to find. Does he still sketch?

@Jean - Thanks for adding your remarks here. I just didn't want your thread to go totally off the rails, lol. I am also laughing because you cut your eraser into 3 pieces. We somehow had an art supplies accident this summer with an eraser somehow getting torn in 3rds - not sure how the kiddo did that! - so I'm grabbing the small piece for my kit. When I was in Orkney the water there was SO gorgeous...really tropical colors....that when I saw the art supply store I popped in and got a few of the Derwent Inktense Watercolor pencils in the colors that would make good water, lol. I succumbed a few days later to the big tin of pencils but the 3 blues I picked to begin with worked for the water. Interesting about throwing away a sketch a day! I also am truly glad your passionate hobbies are feeling good again. (big heart emoji!).

@Sandancisco - You make me laugh because sometimes I think we share a brain. How very cool that you were headed out to sketch when you saw this thread. I was thinking maybe sketching would slow down my coffee drinking in a cafe otherwise, I'm downing that little cup of mud and ready to roll in about 5 minutes! I did Drawing on the Right Side of your brain about 30 years ago and did the whole 30 days or whatever. I have picked it up a couple of times in bookstores recently (yesterday in fact) and decided it was not for me (I am not going to write 3 pages of stream of consciousness stuff each morning, lol) at this point in my life. I'll take a look at the Bert Dodson book!

editing to add: @Diane - That is another new artist to me! I can see what I'll be doing this afternoon, lol. Thank you for remembering!

I am trying to let go of perfectionism along with, it seems, others here, lol! I'm sure that is why I'm focused on "buying" supplies rather than using them!

Oh my gosh Pam, I'm laughing aloud! This is so me LOL

I am trying to let go of perfectionism along with, it seems, others here, lol! I'm sure that is why I'm focused on "buying" supplies rather than using them!

Do I really need 16 tubes of paints. No, but the little tubes are irresistible and there are SO many more lovely colors available. Every time Karen Rice mentioned a new paint color or different brush I purchased one. I'm happy with my selection of brushes. Now if I could only resist the tubes of Colbolt Turquoise & others calling out to me.

FYI Karen Rice has a couple tutorials for the Derwent paint sticks
EDIT sorry this video is about Derwent palette set https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALYS0QKkXZY
EDIT paint sticks about 5 min into video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kHELFK2Rw8

True confession time, although I love seeing, immersing myself in art, I have zero artistic ability. I’ve always wanted to be able to do a small sketch in my travel journal and after reading all this I’ve decided to get Drawing from the Right Side of Your Brain and see if it still might be possible at my (very) advanced age. I’ll not even consider watercolor, just a pencil will suffice. Heading to France next month, so we’ll see.

I still remember reading about Jean going to a sketching class in Italy some years ago and being so impressed. Thanks for bringing this up, Pam, very helpful.

True confession time, although I love seeing, immersing myself in art,
I have zero artistic ability.

Ditto to this. But this thread makes me really wish I did!

@Diane - I think you might live on the West Side? If you are coming thru Coeur d'Alene I'll meet you for coffee and give you a squeeze of the Daniel Smith Cobalt Teal Blue which is gorgeous! hahahaha!!!! It's a perfect aqua for ocean colors.

And thanks for the additional YouTube videos! I've got so many tabs open on my laptop that I'm surprised it hasn't crashed, lol.

@Lynda - Well since I HAVE met you in person and know I am probably older than you are I'll say I'm not even thinking about my age in relation to learning to sketch. BTW, was it you who pointed me to the Tomb of Philippe Pot? I've got the wing/floor/room penciled in for when I visit in a couple of weeks!

@CL - Oh, I have NO innate artistic ability. I do believe that one can develop skill with paint/pencils/any medium even if I can't develop the artistic eye that makes things jump out at you! I just want to record memories - of looking at buildings, bridges, battlements, flowers, landscapes...anything really that will bring me back to the time.

I echo Lyndash and CL. I consider it a triumph if I can draw a stick figure that vaguely resembles a person, but this thread is really inspiring...

Pam, as far as I know he hasn't drawn anything since his Disney pic. My daughter is very artistic, but doesn't record her travels in her art. I have tried to capture some memories, but my products are just shadows of what we've seen.

Yes, I have sketched while traveling for 25 years. Great memories are inside all the drawings. My travel kit includes. 6-8 9x12” quality sketch paper with two cardboard protectors clipped together to protect the paper and use as a board to support while sketching, 20-30 prismacolor pencils (colors chosen by location traveling in), set of pens from 00 to 8 ml? Width to sketch with, #2 pencil, eraser all fitting in a 2gallon ziplock bag. It all fits in a daypack. Plain air sketches or iPhone photos are the base. Evenings are the time to do actual coloring. This part takes a lot of time. I started with cheap pencils and flair tip pens then invested in high quality materials later. My first years sketches were in small sketch books and much simpler and quickly made. The larger paper lets me frame them and change out newer drawings. I found watercolor was too messy and sets of paint and brushes too small, chalk and pencil smudged and watercolor pencils got too soft in the heat. So these mediums stay at home. It is fun to see the drawing style of others. I encourage anyone interested in drawing to start today..at home…on trips…in a class. Keep on Drawing!

A million years ago, when I was a student in Italy, I sketched in my free time. I bought a sketch pad and set of oil pastels at Upim in Rome; I still have some of the colors that didn't get used. Today I'm more likely to sketch from photos when I get home.

With our current emphasis on traveling light every little bit of weight becomes a point of consideration. I'm starting to wonder what the goal of traveling with less than 7kg is really important compared to a personal record created in real time.

Ok, I’m not SO ancient, only 75. But I do wonder how plastic the brain still is with eye, hand, brain coordination. I’m going to try however and I will report back.

Pam, the Tomb de Phillipe Pot is in room 210 in the Richelieu wing floor 0. It’s almost overlooking the lovely cour Marly with the glass ceiling and all the sculptures on different levels with the big open area. I love the light there, especially during dusk when they are open in the evenings. I love the Louvre, heart emoji.

”i’m starting to wonder what the goal of traveling with less than 7kg is really important compared to a personal record created in real time.”

@musicmoll1, I am one of the light packers, bringing less than 6kg on my back. But, that still includes my sketching supplies listed above on a reply. My main reason to pack very light is to ensure that I am not hurting my back, plus it’s just less stuff to deal with during the trip. Each person gets to decide what they’re bringing & how much weight. This is just what works well for me, and I’m still able to enjoy sketching. Just hearing some church bells now! A signal to get out & complete one in Modena. : )

Pam, This is so funny. My 5 year old grandson, too, showed an interest in drawing. So, he and I started drawing field journals in the spring. So on our nature walks we draw bugs, leaves, plants (he's quite a gardener), snakes, birds, etc. Summer lead to summer activities here and he was too busy at the beach to draw the beach. LOL. I'm hoping autumn calm will resurrect his field journal.

I was an art history major because I love art, but also because I had no faith in any artistic talent of mine, but apparently my drawing was OK. I spent years drawing in thread with my sewing and long arm machines. So, I am intentional now like you are...teaching myself to draw and draw better. I watch and love The Mindful Narrowboat and Vanessa combines all my interests with her art: Journaling, poetry and drawing in her journals, which look beautiful. Every episode of Vanessa's at the end shows her book and her actively drawing from the week. I bring this up because she uses varied depths of pencils and colored pencils only. I'm trying that as, for me at this time, watercolor just seems too much messiness for me. I'm messy in art.

I live in Gloucester, MA so it is hard not wanting to catch the unusual light here. I have used my camera, but will see what else surfaces. However, with all the famed artists who have spent time here (Winslow Homer, Fitz Henry Lane, Edward Hopper and so, so many more then and now) I will attempt my small drawings of tiny snippets of life as best I can for my own happiness.

I will add a link that is out of date, but it can give an idea of possibilities for combining travel & sketching. I was signed up for Lorraine’s Sept. 2024 class that ended up being a couple of months after my husband died. Lorraine, being a young widow, kindly refunded my class stay in Orvieto. I like the idea of doing something like this in the future. I know some of the global guest artists who were session speakers & half-day class instructors at the July Edmonds, Washington Sketchfest also do some travel destination classes. Maybe we need a group of us meeting someplace in Europe! Wouldn’t that be fun!

https://lorrainebell.com/live-workshops/orvieto-italy-september-2021/

Lots of excellent ideas here! And I really appreciate this after making an (almost) completely failed rendition of the side of Gustavianum, a 1600's science building in Uppsala. Here's a picture, (coffee is served off to the right, LOL) https://www.uu.se/en/gustavianum/visit-us. I learned something - take more pictures of what you'd like to sketch than you think you need! I still don't think drawing on location competes with Fika... (high tea).

Jean, combining sketching with travel is a wonderful idea. Lorraine's workshop looks lovely!

"Keys to Drawing" by Burt Dawson seems to be working well for me (whew). It is less daunting than "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". (I suspect he used some of the DORSB ideas but made them one page each, bigger drawings, less blah blah, 15 minute easy exercises, check your work at end of each chapter.) It's keeping me engaged. To be honest, I've been carrying this book back and forth to Sweden multiple times without a single sketch, feels great just DOING it, regardless of 'talent'.

Lyndash - my first art teacher told me anyone can learn to SEE and to draw adequately, then hopefully talent kicks in, haha. (I'm just happy to sketch and have it be recognizable.) And apparently, sketching / painting/ whatever are right brain activities, improves neuroplasticity and I know it's single focused, I become totally absorbed, so it's meditative right?

Thanks everyone for the continued motivation! PS, for those visual learners, I liked this guy's relaxed style and I'm trying to follow along & do his exercises. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZVZQLyCDfo

Now that emojis are (temporarily?) back... 👩‍🎨 🎨🖌️ 🖼️ ✍🏻 🖍️

Dunno, personally I find all of the above posts pretty sketchy.
I am done. the easel

Wow, love the continued engagement!

@Mary - oh gosh, I'm not going to try out figures! There are some YouTube videos on doing quick sketches of figures in scenes so that might be helpful if you are so inspired!

@MusicMoll...my sketches will never be as vibrant as what I see on my travels but somehow I think looking at something with an "eye" makes me see it differently. And yes, good point about traveling light. Jean is absolutely amazing with her luggage weight. I had to go fairly heavy for me last trip as I needed a lot of outdoor clothing. I had 1# of art supplies going out, more coming back because of the big tin of Derwent Inktense pencils I bought. I wound up checking my bag on the way home as I had a fair layover in Amsterdam and just decided not to bother. I'll decide on what I want to take this time and weigh it out then subtract from there. And What a wonderful time you must have had student sketching in Italy!

@Hannah....So yes, I agree that maybe Linda can give us a "book report", hahaha!

@JojoBiker - That sounds wonderful! You don't have to answer because I don't want to cause anyone discomfort but are you a professional artist as well? That is interesting about he watercolor pencils. Had not thought about them not standing up to heat. I'd been using them in chilly Northern Scotland, lol!

@Lynda - I am hoping this activity increases my neuroplasticity, lol!! And see?? I knew I was older than you by a year!

@Jean - I hope your sketch of Modena made you happy! And listening to church bells while doing it lifted your soul! Oh yes...to a group sketching adventure in Europe!

@ Wray - that sounds like such fun with the kiddo! We had a couple of projects we were going to do that involved some nature but we didn't have him sketching outside. We'll add that to the list possibly for next summer! I had fun making Andrea Nelson's "bugs" but he wasn't into it that day but did work on it later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxiaosR4Bns

That Mindful Narrowboat site looks lovely!

Did you see there is going to be a big Winslow Homer exhibition somewhere in the NE this winter? Maybe Boston? His work is just amazing. I have a print of one of his Florida (?) scenes hanging in the living room.

@Sandancisco - That is a pretty enormous building with lots of windows! And from this view the grounds slopes to the right which might be troublesome for me, lol. I like the Youtube video...I've got SketchbookSkool saved to watch later! Thanks!

@Mary! hahahah!!!!!

@Gregg - double hahahaha!! Yes, I am pretty sketchy anyway!

Very encouraging posts, gosh listening to church bells while sketching sounds ideal!!

Pam, I'm not ready to tackle so many windows either. From chairs outside the Cathedral cafe to far right, most windows are hidden, thank goodness.

Somehow I think looking at something with an "eye" makes me see it
differently.

So true!! That's really at the heart of sketching for me now, seeing deeply. Ahhhhh, what a gift.

Pam, I am not a professional artist but have done over a hundred sketches in my travels. My daughter commented on 2002 that I should draw more and write less. I took her recommendation. Years of Practice and one adult ed class specifically for colored pencils definitely improved my art. Also, I was a professional landscape architect before retiring…so creativity was a big part of my life.

We are packing for an upteenth trip to Italy this week and after reading this thread I have put paper and colored pencils in my carry-on. I then took a dress out of the bag to compensate.

@Sandancisco - I took a look around "your" building and I think sitting in that cafe would be a lot of fun!

@JojoBiker - What an interesting background! And yes, smiled at you taking your daughter's advice, lol. I am glad the colored pencil class helped out with your skills. It sounds like they were pretty advanced anyway!

@musicmoll - Oh gosh, I am laughing at your taking out the dress to compensate for your art gear. I just refilled my toiletries yesterday and weighed them....1.5# for my 3-1-1 so if I can keep my art supplies under that I will be happy, lol. I hope you have a wonderful time doing some sketching this trip!

Pam, this thread continues to be inspiring! Now I want to add some color to travel sketches - I'm just not very good with watercolors & prefer to use pens - Has anyone tried Komadori Brush pens, or for that matter Pentel brush pens?

I've been watching some Ian Fennelly demos and he's using these pens, (at the risk of mentioning it to those of you who LOVE to buy more supplies). Looks like they're around $2.5 per pen, so not cheap. Another good way to keep the supplies I carry limited! https://komadori.se/en/products/pennor/penselpennor.

Ian on location, good ideas for relatively quick sketches - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc4LNjO24T4&t=605s

@Sandancisco - After JenS suggested a water brush they have been on my mind. editing to change the brand from Pentel to Staedtler (eye roll) I picked up a Staedtler one last week and have used it a couple of times here at home. So far so good although it took me a minute to figure out how to fill the reservoir and there were no instructions, hahaha. It comes to a nice point which is helpful. I picked it up in Staples when I was looking for something else and happened to wander down their art supply aisle. I was surprised at how much stuff they had....no good pigment but some basics. No option on brush size, they had what they had, ya know? And the Staples recommendation is not much good to you right now in Sweden, lol!

I've watched some of Ian Fennelly's YouTube videos but had not seen that one. I love that he is in Rothenburg ODT, lol!

I spent yesterday afternoon going thru my 25 year old tubes of watercolor paint to see if any were still good. About 1/3 were dried out (almost all Grumbacher Academy) but the other 2/3 (about 20 tubes of mostly Winsor & Newton) were fine and squeezable into a palette. These are too messy to think about traveling with them but I'll use them at home to work on color.

This week I need to make some decisions on what I will take with me. I've got most everything ready to go in the suitcase so need to do a quick trial pack and see how much weight I can allow for art supplies.

I picked up a set of 6 Faber-Castell brush pens at yes, the local art store, yesterday. They're more translucent than markers, all in shades of light to dark grey plus black. One tip is a fine pointed pen, the other is a brush. Seems a winner for travel sketching.

Pam, hoping you have a great trip to France & let us know if you find time to even make some simple sketches!

@Sandancisco - OH! I had the wrong thing in mind! I hope you like those brushes. What I got was a water brush to use with watercolors or watercolor pencils.

I had a moment of insight yesterday, hahaha. I was hiking with my brother and we are both birders. We stop a LOT to listen and/or look for birds. I realized that trying to sketch while traveling with others is like birding while traveling with non-birders...you probably just need to carve out special time to do your activity.

Hats off to those of you traveling with others who can get some sketch time in! (Or birding, hahaha!)

And yes, we stood for 10 minutes watching 2 Pileated woodpeckers going at various stumps and downed trees!

Pam, just yesterday a pileated pecker joined my wife and I up on our deck. He came really close and just ignored us as he tapped away like some mad Neil Peart drum solo!

Btw, a thought occurs on this topic (art expression, not birds). It might be perceived just like aspects of travel itself: its the process and the journey, not just the destination. That may sound pretentious but it is definitely true. Artists might benefit from just 'lettin' 'er rip'. By that, I mean that we all need to free ourselves from excessive critique (is that enough shadow? did I capture her face? is the perspective perfect?).

I am done. the art of travel

Wow, I'm just enjoying this thread so much! Thanks Pam for starting this topic!
I'm enjoying reading the posts from the many forum members who love to paint!
I started drawing and painting when I was very young and majored in art and art history in college. My professors/instructors taught me lots of techniques to make my paintings better.
The mention of some of the paint brands here really brings back memories of when I bought my first batch of supplies!
Windsor-Newton is a favorite brand.
I recommend a visit to a university bookshop, if there's one in your hometown, to browse the instruction books, paints, brushes and supplies available.

A good book for drawing is The Natural Way To Draw, by Nicholaides. He was an instructor at the Art Students League in NYC and his book is used at university art departments all over the USA to teach students to draw.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Students_League_of_New_York
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimon_Nicola%C3%AFdes

I love to paint in watercolor, but also oils and acrylics. To anyone who is going to undertake oils, just know that they dry very slowly so if you pack up and painted canvas and tuck it under your arm, the oils will ALWAYS still be wet and get on your clothes!
Acrylics dry more quickly.

I do recommend auditing some university painting classes to anyone who wants the company of other painters. It's a lot of fun when there's a group and most art professors are very kind when making gentle suggestions for improvement.

I'm enjoying people mentioning seeing the Pileated woodpeckers. We used to live in a home in the woods and my interest in birding caused me to paint a lot of birds, mainly owls.

Painting is good therapy for just about anything that is troubling you. A visit outdoors to paint a landscape takes you to another place! I have some great photos of my tripos to England and Wales and will enlarge some of them in order to do paintings using them. Castlerigg stone circle with the mountains in the background will be the first project.

Perhaps a painting of The Shambles in York will be next! Now to decide......watercolors or oils?

Thanks Pam, for getting me going again with my painting! I really appreciate it and all your good advice here on this thread!

Pam, I hope you have some free time to paint while you're on your trip.
What fun!

"*It might be perceived just like aspects of travel itself: it's the process and the journey, not just the destination. That may sound pretentious but it is definitely true. *"

@Gregg - I don't think that sounds pretentious at all! And yes, definitely true. If sketching or even thinking about sketching helps me enjoy my time in Paris or Carcassonne or wherever that is a plus, isn't it? And yea to the Pileateds! They are so astonishing!

@Rebecca - I'd forgotten you were an art major! Yea to pulling out the paints and recreating some travel scenes you love. I vote for Castlerigg, which you know is one of my favorite neolithic sites. That windswept area up there with the distant mountain views...just wow. And I vote for watercolor to start as a sketch for your oil. It's more immediate and might be able to help you brush up on your skills.

On my Best of England tour our guide, Tom, gave everyone a small gift at the farewell dinner. Only 2 out of our group had made the walk (trudge?) up to Castlerigg (bus did not stop there on that tour) and he'd very sweetly purchased us watercolor bookmarks of Castlerigg from the TI in the center of Keswick for the 2 of us. I look at it and just smile! So, yes, I'm pulling that out to see if it's doable for me to copy!

"how very nice of Tom to give two tour members watercolor bookmarks of Castlerigg!"

@Sam - Well, it turns out the "watercolor" was actually a lovely photograph...not sure how I remembered it so wrong, lol!! Still, a possibility for a very nice watercolor and it lends itself to a horizontal format. Good luck on your creation!

You all have inspired me... for a baby step.

I don't sketch or draw or paint. The idea brings me back to 3rd grade, when I failed art because I didn't want to do it. Complained of a tummy ache and got an F as my reward. When I first read this thread I thought, ugh, that doesn't sound like a fun way to spend my vacation time.

I keep a little travel journal, filled with ephemera - ticket stubs, restaurant cards and snips from post cards.

Today I climbed up to the White Tower and then the Black Tower for the lovely views over Brasov, Romania. When I wanted to capture my little outing, I knew there was no post card or ticket stub to remind me. Then, I thought of this thread, and sketched a little map of where I went.

Let me be clear, that was a Eureka for me.

The little sketch is not to scale. There's no shading or color. It looks like I might have drawn it in 3rd grade. And still, it will remind me of my morning hike above Brasov.

Thanks for a tiny creative inspiration from this analytical traveler.

"The little sketch is not to scale. There's no shading or color. It looks like I might have drawn it in 3rd grade. And still, it will remind me of my morning hike above Brasov."

That is fantastic! For myself this is the reward! I'm hoping to use this as a memory for travels ... and some of my life for this trip around the sun. I'm doing this strictly for myself not for show BUT a friend is currently traveling in Italy with her daughter and she's posted some of their sketching moments on her FB page. It has been thrilling to see them enjoy their surroundings and each other in a different way.

This morning I am thinking about some specific places I might go sketch when I get to Paris next week. I've got a list of what are probably the usual suspects but have also been scrolling thru an UrbanSketching in Paris IG page for other ideas. I've got plenty of time in Paris! I think I will do better if I have some ideas in mind so I don't chicken out, lol!

”… BUT a friend is currently traveling in Italy with her daughter and she's posted some of their sketching moments on her FB page. It has been thrilling to see them enjoy their surroundings and each other in a different way.”

Yes, my daughter & I wrapped up our last day of Italy in Milan today. She has a natural eye for drawing something beautiful, and I come at it from an engineering eye that’s trying to become more of an artistic eye. ; ). I did make one sketch at each city before she & I met and also our days together. They each make me happy to remember something special about the place where we were standing.

For Verona, we took the funicular up to the castel di San Pietro to sketch one of the bridges and a church. In Venice, it was a corner of the Doge’s Palace, in Bergamo it was one of the gates of the Citta Alta region. I got plenty of practice with drawing arches -LOL! For a special spot, it doesn’t have to be an iconic building - just something that makes you happy when you stand there glancing at it. I drew the curvature of a chair in Tivoli earlier this year (which would get an “F” from your teacher, CWsocial!), and even that brings back a very special spot!

Well, Jean, I didn't want to out you and K!!

"I got plenty of practice with drawing arches -LOL!"

This made me laugh. Your experience will lie fallow back at home unless you count the Golden Arches", hahaha!

So glad you had fun and made time for sketching!

Have any of you artists sketched/painted in Arles? I'd like to think that if I had any talent I'd recreate some of Van Gogh's pieces from that period. Alas, I settle for having a print of "Café Terrace at Night" in my bedroom.

Well, I was in Arles and it is ripe for being a painting spot, lol! You can essentially still see the curve in the river that Vincent painted. The owners of the cafe have painted it like the painting so that is pretty easy to see as well. And actually the view from the cafe/bar terrace of the Hotel Calendal where both the Road Scholar tour I was on and the Rick Steves tours stay is pretty awesome and would lend itself to sitting at a table with a cappuccino or Aperol Spritz and looking down the street to the Roman Arena or across to the Roman Theater (although the google street view does not look that awesome - much better in person!!).

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ccUixAdqAUwvFvow6

Pont Aven in Brittany is another spot where one may see the actual locations, in that case Gaugin. We saw his fame Moulin/mill spot mid-river where young bathers had once caught his artistic eye. That lovely forest is attached to Pont Aven and is named the 'Bois d'Amour'.
I am done. the waters

The view from the cafe/bar terrace of the Hotel Calendal where both
the Road Scholar tour I was on and the Rick Steves tours stay is
pretty awesome and would lend itself to sitting at a table with a
cappuccino or Aperol Spritz and looking down the street to the Roman
Arena or across to the Roman Theater.

OK, that just sounds amazing. I do wonder if I would really sketch in a new destination, or get so distracted by the view / cappuccino that I'd have to wait until after the trip?? Arles is on our 2026 list. Glad to have a hotel recommendation, thanks Pam!

Jean, all the sketching you've done with your daughter with the 'artistic eye' sounds so lovely, what a great memory.

PS, the brush pens are working out great! Light weight and a bit translucent, & for me, easier to draw with than watercolors.

Sandanciso, I asked my daughter if she would make a copy of one of her sketches on a larger paper for my birthday gift this year. It will be a wonderful memory displayed on my home office “travel room” wall of both the location & our time there together.

@ Gregg - Pont Aven is so picturesque! Especially the river and mill area! I can see why it attracted the painters.

@ Sandancisco - I've only visited Arles once, on a Road Scholar trip. We did stay there for 6 nights so got a good feel for the area. I really liked the hotel although it does not have elevators for those who find this an issue. (I don't think that bothers you guys!)

@ Jean - that is such a cool thing for her to do!

I’m jealous of all of you who can do this. I’d love to be able to sketch or paint

unfortunately kindergartners can do a better job than I can. Actually, anyone can do a better job than I can so I’m just forced to admire your skill.

I told an artist friend of mine in Munich that I'd started sketching again, she suggested we 3 with her H start sharing sketches on Whatsapp. They're very kind but OMG they're so much better than I am! I've learned a lot. Especially about materials I hadn't considered. So I'm off to art supply store again soon. Pastel pencils seem like a good idea.

Carol, I felt the same way until I took a class. Or just buy a sketching book - This one is helping so much I've also downloaded it to my IPad. Keys To Drawing, it's helping me (again) after 5 years not picking up a pencil!

Talent and competency are 2 different things, I don't worry about talent, just want to be able to say, 'Oh yeah, that was a building' HA.

@ Carol - I agree that we can learn the skill involved with drawing or painting! I will never be an inspired painter or sketcher but if it gives me pleasure that is what I’m after!

@Sandancisco - that is so cool that you are sharing with friends!