Hello from the Sketchy Traveler, a mostly free, mostly biweekly newsletter on sketching, travel, and self-discovery. Paid subscribers make this newsletter sustainable while free subscribers inspire with their enthusiasm. Thanks to everyone for your support! Scroll past the fold for the latest drawings, adventures, and tips.

We are once again in the holiday season, and I find myself traveling the I-5 corridor in Cascadia. You probably gave your own regular route to visit family and friends, so now seems like a good time to offer some suggestions on drawing while traveling. One of the biggest challenges of travel is the long periods of waiting and drawing can provide an easy activity to fill the time with. A small notebook and pencil are all that are required and provide a unique way to capture memories from a trip.

Natural Timed Drawings

Travel is an exciting opportunity to practice time drawing since the limitations of travel often enforce honesty on stopping after your set amount of time. To do a timed drawing set a timer for the amount of time you will draw (1 minute, 5 minutes, etc.) and then focus on only drawing during that time. You might be surprised at what you can generate under a deadline. This exercise is good for starting to see the big shapes in a scene and draw those first. Then you can work your way into detail as your drawing time expands.

Travel Drawing Kit

A travel drawing kit usually needs to be pretty limited since we often do not have much space in a bag or pocket. This is a good opportunity to make use of a snapshot sketchbook that is 5.5” x 4.25” (105mm x 148mm) or smaller. For drawing implements, pens like a felt tip Micron or a fountain pen are good, and it is nice to bring along a marker or colored pencils for some color. Watercolor pencils are a nice bonus as you can use them as regular-colored pencils or blend them on the page with water.

Finding a Good Spot

Sometimes when traveling it is hard to be a good neighbor and find a good view. The best vantages are too often in the middle of a travel path or in a precarious spot. Always take time to consider if you are comfortable drawing from a spot and know locations you usually feel comfortable in. For myself, I enjoy drawing from a seat like at a café, bar or waiting areas. This means I often miss out on the best spot, but it also gives me a chance to draw more intimate scenes like people waiting for a plane or the person absorbed in their laptop.

Sketchy Traveler Holiday Prints

With the gift giving season upon us, giving a print from Sketchy Traveler can be a great way to share some Pacific Northwest charm. All drawings featured on the Sketchy Traveler newsletter are available as high quality prints on 11”x8.5” card stock.

Print Catalog

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