On a recent trip to the Mae Wang District, just south of Chiang Mai, Thailand, my wife and I sat at a low…

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The Bush Camp Chiang Mai in northern Thailand offers guests a chance to explore the rich biodiversity of the surrounding fore…

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I’m especially thankful for you, my subscribers, especially the paying ones 🙏🏼, who support, comment, encourage and keep my writing and image-making going.

By way of thanks, I’m sharing a selection of photographs that embody the gratitude I carry. I seldom share these, trusting that the drawings alone are enough to carry the story I want to tell. But here are some glimpses of my journey: pen in hand, with heart open.

Photos by Christine Egan

Follow my travels on Instagram | My travel postcards and notecards on Etsy

Herculaneum remained hidden until 1709, when it was rediscovered by chance during the digging of a well. In the years that followed, treasure hunters tunneled through the ruins, extracting relics. Systematic excavations began in 1738 and have continued sporadically ever since. Today, only a small portion of the city has been unearthed. The focus has shifted from uncovering more to conserving what’s already exposed...this fragile window into ancient life.

The three places I drew were in the House of the Augustals, the main street Decumanus Maximus, and House of Neptune and Amphitrite on the upper section of Cardo IV.

SketcherFest, the International Festival of Travel Sketchbooks begins this weekend in Edmonds, Washington. I’ll be giving a t…

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Chickens in Vegas

Prostitutes in Monte Carlo: the whole tone of the
place. The palm trees, it seems, are prostitutes, and
the chickens: prostitutes.
—Anton Chekhov

Chekhov’s observation –
the outrage of someone who
knew something about chickens.
Not really a problem in Vegas.

Hot religion

The slots are hot and the girls are hotter.
- DVD Jacket copy for Las Vegas, the television
show

It’s no accident that
Joseph Smith gave up on the
river towns and marched
his followers out to the desert.

The desert religions:
resource control,
herd management,
and the luck of the draw.
From the end of the
buffet line, the desert
goes on forever.

Card counting

Among the many ways
it don’t add up: People
have been leaving
Las Vegas for years
but the place doesn’t
seem to go away.

Steady Roman

She told me: “people don’t
know this, but Vegas
has underground rivers,
vaster than empires.” After
this, all else
is elaboration.

On such credit the steady
Romans shook the world
and stained
the waters with blood.

Second going

Elvis wakes under a pile
of cast-off sweaty silk
neckerchiefs - his own sweat
exuding the benzodiazepines
of the lushest pharmatopia.

His tongue emerges from his lips -
a small pink thing that inchworms
for the door, pausing once
to say: I gotta tell ya,
hey, listen:
one time -
Hey, pal, can I
get a spot here?
- Okay, okay,
once I sang
as though my resonating body were
the tuning fork of the time,
now I swallow those words, slouching
desert-wise, food for the crows,
meat for the memorabilia.

text © Kevin Ducey

Kevin Ducey lives on Wisconsin’s West Coast. His poetry has been published in AGNI, Crazyhorse, Stand, and other places. His books are Rhinoceros, Gravity’s Angel, and Inferno – a chapbook of Dante translations. More at KevinDucey.net

…one Las Vegas postcard left to purchase here.

Imagine my surprise, when standing in line at the Chichu Museum on a faraway Japanese island called Naoshima, I saw my illustrator/designer friend Craig Frazier and his wife Suzanne. We were waiting to get into this exclusive, subterranean art museum designed by Tadao Ando. Craig just lives down Highway 101 from me in Marin County. He, like me, had been traveling through Japan posting drawings on Instagram. Both of us were inspired in different ways by this country. But now that we’re back, I figured we should have a talk about what each of us experienced and what we drew.

Craig‘s approach and drawing style is different from mine. Certain themes are unique to each of us, but there are some commonalities. We are both left with a profound appreciation for Japanese culture and a reverence for its art and design. Here’s our conversation:

Bill Russell (BR): We're back from a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun, and I wanted to check in (now that we’re over our jet lag) about your thoughts, and the great drawings you posted on Instagram. What observations did you make in Japan?

Craig Frazier (CF): First off, I was struck by the cleanliness of the country and the kindness and civility of the people. The product and package design has a simple and beautiful aesthetic. I love the quality and integrity of Japanese craft. We purchased a couple handmade brass tea canisters from Kaikado, a ceramic tea pot with cups from Poj Studios and handmade fans from a craftsman in Kyoto.

BR: I wish I had purchased a kyūsu, the traditional Japanese teapot used for brewing green tea. That and the Japanese tea ceremony represents zen and hospitality so beautifully.

BR: Do you prefer to work from your photos?

CF: I'm not so confident in drawing in public, so I take photos in the moment that I will use to draw from. On this trip, I usually drew in the morning before we'd go out. 

BR: I like to draw on-the-spot. But I'm still a little shy about it. Often people were looking over my shoulder and offering an appreciation…or at least I think they did. I would let them take a photo of the drawing or me holding one.

CF: Drawing is about observing. I notice the design details, from roof lines on traditional buildings to the clothes people wear. Everything in Japan is considered…the signage, the cars, the bikes. 

BR: In comparing our drawing styles I would say you have a kind of clarity of line and formalism to your compositions. It seems perfect for your subject matter…a kind of Zen practice, perhaps. My drawings seemed rushed and overworked in comparison.

CF: I can’t escape the designer in me. I don't want to over-render my drawings. I think I secretly wish I was as gestural and loose as you are! The Japanese aesthetic lends itself to my design inclinations.

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BR: You use a Micron pen. There’s a precision to your linework. 

CF: I usually draw with a Micron but this time I bought an incredibly sharp Pilot .4 Ball point pen at the Itoya store in Tokyo and used it exclusively. These drawings were done in a very small Japanese sketchbook that I bought at TopDrawer in Berkeley. The scale of the pen line and page size work perfectly.

BR: I use a small cold press sketchbook from Etchr Lab, so the heavy weight, textured paper handles wet media and my vigorous line work well. I customize Pilot Parallel Calligraphy pens by chiseling off the nibs a bit. It produces a fairly coarse line.

BR: You’ll often draw people looking at art. 

CF: I drew my wife Suz looking at art on a couple of occasions this trip. I have drawn her for years in galleries and museums and this is the first time I’ve drawn her in a temple!

BR: You drew a lot of Japanese people doing their jobs.

CF: I appreciated the respect people have for their work, like a cleaning lady on the (Shinkansen) bullet train or the mail carriers delivering mail. I couldn't help but wonder what their lifestyles are like. I’m interested in their uniforms and in many cases their modes of transportation, like their scooters and cargo vehicles.

BR: When you draw someone you honor them and you want to tell their story accurately. What stories do you want to tell through your drawings and handwritten text? They almost seem like poetic New Yorker cartoons.

CF: I tend to see a figure isolated in the environment, like this bicyclist riding head on in the crosswalk with a Marimekko print in their basket. Between her bike, her clothing and the crosswalk, there is a perfect graphic quality that I notice. It wasn’t until I looked closely at my photo that I realized she was carrying a bolt of Marimekko fabric…the store we had visited earlier.

BR: The story I enjoy telling people is about the night in Kyoto when we went out to a tiny restaurant for dinner and the chef had invited his friend who was a geisha. We asked about her susohiki (kimono), her makeup and how she painted her eriashi (neck lines). The chef translated her answers. She poured us sake and played drinking games. I was enchanted by the naturalness of her service.

CF: The food we had at many of the most unassuming restaurants was presented so beautifully, and tasted equally divine. Dining was certainly one of the highlights of the trip.

BR: Did people bow deeply and wave goodbye to you?

CF: Yes, almost every time. They welcome and bid you farewell as if you are family.

Drawings © the respective artists

More to Know:

• See more of Craig’s Japan drawings on his Instagram.

• More of Bill’s Japan drawings are here.

• Check out Craig’s new monograph here.

• Read about Bill’s traditional ryokan meal here.

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Have you been to Toronto? Where did you go? What did you do? What are your favorite memories?

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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.

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Don’t forget to carry a small sketchbook on your vacation this summer. Take a moment to draw and create lasting memories.

I like what the late chef and author Anthony Bourdain said about travel:

When an artist travels, and draws what they see and experience, it will not only change who they are (for the better) but embed a more vivid memory of it. Every artist should have that opportunity. San Francisco-based artist and educator Diane Olivier provides that with the workshops she leads all around Europe, most notably to Morocco. I asked Diane a few questions about what she’s learned and experienced from travel, travel drawing, and from teaching art to artists in some exotic places.

Bill Russell (BR): This year you are leading workshops for artists in France, Morocco, Spain, Italy and Croatia. Can you briefly share what happens? What size of group? What do people draw when they’re there?

Diane Olivier (DO): Since I now have a business partner, Kate Kilbourne from Plein Air Holidays, I’m able to offer six workshops in five countries this year! Groups number between six to twelve, so we take very good care of everyone. Some of the subjects we draw include our breakfast table, coffee shops and bars, street views, landscapes, the animals we encounter, memory drawings, and of course the people we meet. I offer solid, supportive teaching suitable for beginners through advanced. My schedule is flexible to allow for shifts in the weather, individual interests, and local events.

BR: These places provide the artists with a new experience to a new culture, history, architecture, food, color, light, and so much more. I suppose it can be both exciting and challenging. Does drawing help the artists to process what they’re experiencing?

DO: Drawing gives us time to spend with a subject, more than one would usually do. While drawing, our memory is also soaking in weather conditions, who you were with, the circumstances before and after the drawing. So much comes back when you look at a drawing even years after. When we draw it attracts locals and allows for conversations that most likely would have never occurred, had you been pointing a camera and moving on. For example, I’ve had a giant crowd gather behind me in Morocco and cheer and clap when I was done! I’ve had old French women bring me chocolate, a hat or glass of water. The sketchbook serves as a passport into local life. Confrontations are rare. I once had my camel drawing corrected by a Moroccan who made it emphatically clear the ears were going in the wrong direction and he waited until I fixed it. It can be intimidating to draw in public sometimes, so I let my folks know that most people are very curious and supportive and try to welcome the attention. What’s more common is inviting kids to do a drawing in my book and sign their name. When drawing at markets, I have the sellers write the name of the object in their language and sign their names.

BR: Does drawing a person, a place, a thing make it memorable for the artist?

DO: Absolutely. I have a drawing of my wallet, filled with money, credit cards and my passport. I was in Portugal at the train station buying a ticket. I took a phone call and got distracted, leaving my wallet behind on the bench! It wasn’t until much later after breakfast at the cafe when I couldn’t pay I realized it was gone. Running back, I had to wait until they returned from lunch, fretting the entire time. It had been turned in, everything intact! You can imagine my relief so I took a moment to record the event by doing a drawing.

I clearly remember the chicken butcher in a dusty Moroccan village who was wearing a rich purple head scarf, a Pepto Bismol pink rubber apron with a bright red shirt and deep blue jeans. He shyly posed for me while his friends gathered, watching the process while laughing and joking with him. It doesn’t really matter how the drawing came out in the end - which wasn’t bad - because it was a great adventure.

BR: Do you encourage your students to engage with the new people they meet?

DO: That’s really the whole point of travel drawing, isn’t it? The engagement is what it’s all about. Whether we have a common language or not, it’s through (engaging with) people we truly get to experience a country. It’s about being open and aware and following opportunities. We can draw, dance, or eat with them, it’s the interaction that counts.

BR: Can you share a learning experience drawing somewhere?

DO: One day in Olhão, Portugal I was by myself and feeling down. I just didn’t want to draw and I was in a fabulous place. So I told myself to ‘just pack up materials and get your butt to the little ferry and go out to Culatra Island’. I didn’t have to draw, I could just swim, but I had to get moving. Making it to a lovely beach, I sat down, still pouting, and told myself ‘just take out the sketchbook and pen, just take it out’. Once I did, I noticed a woman at the water's edge bending over clamming - putting the treasures in her apron. Over and over she bent, picked, and stood up, repeating the same movements. So I started doing quick sketches to match her surprising speed. Soon one page was filled and on to the next page and then the next. I was so wrapped up in drawing I missed my ferry back!. At the local bar I hired a water taxi back and got to drink in a beautiful flaming sunset. The lesson I learned is to just show up and start drawing!

BR: Can you speak personally about how travel has changed you?

DO: Traveling often pushes me beyond my comfort zone. Things that used to bring fear to my heart, I’ve discovered are not so scary! I’ve found out I can communicate without having a common language. I accept invitations to local homes and meals. I set off without a map, trusting I’ll never be completely lost. I’ve also learned the great benefit of staying in one place, sinking into the village fabric rather than rushing to check off a laundry list of spots.

I grew up in a very blue collar New England town in an immigrant family and was extremely fortunate that they supported my art career dreams. In 1976 while in art school, I vividly remember visiting the Museum of Modern Art in New York and seeing the Moroccan Matisse paintings. They floored me. Never in my wildest imagination could I fathom visiting Morocco! Next I discovered Claudio Bravo. His work and his Moroccan subject matter were stunning. In 2000 my workshops to France began and while in Paris I caught a Delacroix Morocco Sketchbook show at the Louvre. Again I was amazed with images of Morocco. My geographical knowledge was thin at the time. I did not realize that this jewel of a country was so close to France. It was 2010 before I made the connection. Lonely Planet books were read, reservations made, fears swallowed and I was off on my first pilgrimage. Since then, I’ve returned almost every year, traversing the country from ocean to mountains to deserts. I find the people extraordinary, the texture of life jaw dropping, with more visuals than I could ever hope to record in a lifetime.

BR: Is there a place or a family where you made a difference?

DO: I have a deep friendship with a local family in Morocco. When I first met Hassan and his wife Jamila, she had just found out she was pregnant with twin girls. Eventually they added another and it’s been touching to watch them grow up every year. I’ve shared the breaking of Ramadan fast with them, seen the family weather the ups and downs of politics, and family issues. Most recently they were devastated by the earthquake that demolished their home village in the High Atlas Mountains. I sponsored a fundraiser to which many participants from my Morocco workshops contributed. Over the years, other friends from my community have provided generous support. I’ve also brought back beautiful jewelry Hassan sells, sold it to my friends, then sent back all the money. Helping at a grassroots level while being welcomed as part of their family is a situation I’d never be doing had it not been for travel.

BR: Do you have a story that you tell through drawings?

DO: One of my favorite stories in drawings is of coming to understand the Essaouira, Morocco fishing industry. One morning I was at the docks for the unloading of a sardine boat. A fire bucket brigade line of men were passing down plastic pallets heaped with ice into the boat, across the deck, down into the belly. Another line of pallets coming back up from the depths now packed with sardines were handed out of the belly, shuffled across the length of the boat, handed up to the men on the dock who passes them across to a refrigerated truck to be driven to Tangier, ferried over the Strait of Gibraltar and finally to canning facilities in Spain.

BR: Henry Miller said that a destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. Do your students come away from your workshops seeing things newly?

DO: Many participants coming to Morocco with me said their families were afraid of them going to such a ‘dangerous country’. I admit that walking through the small dark alleyways, like the ones in Marrakech or Fes have reminded me of movies where someone eventually gets murdered. We all found out that the reality is much more welcoming. It’s important to overcome the fear of not knowing how to draw or making a “bad” drawing (like how to draw a camel), or not knowing a language, or facing strange food, or strange people. We carry back wonderful memories and stories of friendship. I am also happy to report many folks continue sketch-booking after returning home and nothing could make me happier. Some have joined groups like SF Sketchers and SF Bay Area Urban Sketchers.

Diane Olivier offers a unique opportunity for immersive travel, believing it can positively challenge and enhance artists and their work. Exploring new places and cultures can elevate their art and create lasting experiences.

About Diane: Diane Olivier lives and works in San Francisco. Born in Rhode Island, she has been a resident of California since 1990 and worked as full time faculty at City College of San Francisco from 1991 to retirement in 2020. She now offers classes at her studio during the year and her travel/drawing workshops abroad during the spring and fall.

Drawings © Diane Olivier

When I travel I make pen and ink and watercolor postcards. I wrote about this previously in my post about Utah and the rock formations and ancient petroglyphs I drew. This artistic practice has become my personal form of processing the world around me—a true shorthand for encapsulating unforgettable moments.

While many opt for snapshots and selfies, I find that my artistic approach allows me to embed the memory of a place or an experience more deeply. It’s not just about preserving these extraordinary encounters; it’s about sharing them too. I'll put a stamp on the back or the front and mail them to friends and family. Some cards don’t make it to their destination. Maybe they’re in the hands of an appreciative postal worker somewhere. Here are a few that I still have or managed to photograph before they got posted.

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• See more postcards at RussellReportage.com

• Making a watercolor on a postcard of a waterfall at Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia in this video.

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I love drawing in Utah, in the national parks like Arches,…

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