Sketching on Vacation: Wales Watching
Vacations provide the perfect opportunity to slow down, observe, create memories and draw.
Sometimes a vacation trip is the only time I have to sketch. Travel sketching and journalling allows you to embed the memory of a time or place, more-so than taking a photograph would.
When I travel with family and friends it can be challenging to find moments (to draw), but on a vaca there’s always down time in a cafe or on a hiking trail or at cocktail hour. That’s when I draw. I carry a small Moleskin sketchbook for quicker sketches in these moments.
For example, here are a few narrative drawings I made (fast and loose) during a trip to Wales with my family. I sketched at the 11th C. Cardiff Castle, where the Historia Normannis were having medieval reenactments, of knights on horseback jousting, craftspeople weaving and ladies of the court attending.
Note: I was, unfortunately, not carrying any color drawing materials, so I added a few hints of color, after the fact.
Don’t forget to carry a small sketchbook on your vacation this summer. Take a moment to draw and create lasting memories.
So neat! I find I remember so much more about a scene when I draw it, not only the visual details but the environment, mood, surroundings as I draw. What a great way to make a memory.
How romantic, staying in a lighthouse.