Mother sheep and lamb, Isle of Harris. photo credit @carriekerckhoffpolk

We were lucky enough to be invited to a birthday house party in Scotland in early June. On the Isle of Harris, in the Hebrides. Nine of us spent the better part of a week together exploring and learning about the island. We stayed in a remote and beautiful spot right on the sea. We walked and hiked and were awestruck by the landscape. Ashley and I were so happy to be with dear friends from St. Louis we hadn’t seen for a few years.

Ashley and I always carry a sketchbook and simple drawing materials with us, especially when we travel. Stopping and looking and sketching is a way to remember moments and places. Looking through travel sketchbooks takes you right back, more than any photo does. You dedicated time to looking at and recording what you saw, and along with that, you recall what you felt, smelled, heard, and even tasted.

Sketching from Temple Walk, Isle of Harris, photo credit @amadanwellford

Two of our friends on our Scottish adventure wanted to learn to draw. They wanted to begin this practice and learn the ropes. I volunteered to give them a primer. I woke up early and collected some yellow primroses that were growing wild and abundantly all over the hillsides near us. With the primroses, I set out several sets of travel watercolors, colored pencils, fine line black pens, drawing pencils, and mixed media paper.

Our set up, Isle of Harris , photo credit, @carriekerckoffpolk

That morning I demonstrated how to do a “bug drawing,” another name for contour drawing, when you pretend that you are a tiny insect crawling along the edges and contours of what you are looking at and you follow the path of the insect with your eye and your pen. The trick…you don’t look at the paper at all! This is a way to train your eye to stay with what you see, and move slowly. Next try, you can go back and forth a little between looking at your paper to line things up and looking at the object, in this case, the primrose flowers and leaves.

I have written about this approach and this practice before in several blogs posts. If you start travel sketching, I am quite sure it will make you happy. It takes a little bit of effort and courage to get going, but it is truly one of the most satisfying practices in life.

My friends asked me what materials to purchase and how to learn more.

Here are some beginning ideas.

Susan Abbott is an excellent artist and teacher. There is an online, on demand, one-and-a-half-hour class available through the Winslow Art Center library that I highly recommend. It will be a worthwhile investment of $40.00 and a jump start that is easy to follow and fun to watch. Find it here.

I carry a very small sketchbook, because it fits into anything…a purse, a backpack, even a pocket. This is the one I have now. All art stores carry many varieties of small sketchbooks. I would recommend starting with one that can hold wet media so that you can use watercolor from a travel watercolor set.

For drawing pencils, a few will do. Here are some.

For a good set of fine line black pens, try these.

For watercolors, a travel set is perfect and also small enough to fit in a purse or pocket.

This brush is wonderful. It has water inside it that you refill. This also takes some getting used to but is the easiest way to use watercolor when you are traveling.

I love these colored pencils! So soft and beautiful colors. Worth it.

There are countless resources online to help you once you get going. There are urban sketchers groups in so many spots around the world. This is a wonderful thing to do with friends, family, children, and grandchildren.

Try it! Summer is a perfect time. Let me know what happens. Send photos.

All best summer wishes to all of you,

Louise

Keeping a Travel Sketchbook

Painting Spring