Travel Sketches
Travel sketches and drawings from around the world
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On Location: Road Trip – Winding Through Texas Hill Country
Discover some of the best kept secrets in the Lone Star State when you wind your way through Texas Hill Country! Saddle up in Bandera, the Cowboy Capital of the World, and ride through the serene landscape. After your ride, head to Medina for a slice of homemade pie in the Apple Capital of Texas. Continue your journey and seek out the German heritage of Kerrville and Fredericksburg. Next up, spot a Texas Longhorn at Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park. Then make a splash in the afternoon by taking a dip in Hamilton Pool Natural Preserve. Once refreshed it’s time to reflect on your Texas adventure with a wild…
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On Location: Dream Trips – Illustrated Travel Bucket List vol. 2
It doesn’t matter the time of year, I’m always dreaming of another trip. Below is a continuation of my illustrated Travel Bucket List. I’ll take you to Africa and Asia, South America and Europe– come see the next 10 incredible spots that are a must-visit in this lifetime. Soak in the Blue Lagoon – Grindavik, Iceland The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa located about 50 minutes from Reykjavik or 20 minutes from the Keflavik International Airport. Although it is a man-made lagoon, the water is fed by a nearby geothermal power plant and renewed every 2 days. The water temperature averages a balmy 99-102 degrees F year round, so even in the…
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On Location: Road Trip – Explore West Marin, Northern California
Within minutes of driving over the Golden Gate Bridge and leaving famous San Francisco, you find yourself surrounded by some of the most serene nature in California. Wind your way through picturesque Marin County to an old-growth redwood forest at Muir Woods, then continue down to the classic coastal town of Stinson Beach for a quick cup of coffee to warm up in the fog. Next, head to Point Reyes National Seashore to see incredible ocean views and wild life ranging from tule elk to whales migrating up the coast. After you’ve worked up an appetite, be sure to stop in for some fresh farmed oysters from Tomales Bay in…
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On Location: Dream Trips – Illustrated Travel Bucket List vol.1
It’s no secret that I have a severe case of wanderlust! Just show me a world map and I can day dream for hours of all the far off locations and once-in-a-lifetime adventures I would love to experience or have tucked away in my travel memories. To further explore these travel dreams, I’ve decided to embark on a daily art project of sketching one of these bucket list locations a day, for the next 100 days. Below are the first 10 of my illustrated travel bucket list – some very well known sites and some very far away… some near by and some at the ends of the earth. Please join me on this illustrative…
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On Location: Road Trip – Cruising 395 and the Eastern Sierras
Want to explore a lunar landscape? Discover a Wild West ghost town? Dine at an authentic Basque restaurant? Roll the dice at a craps table and do this all within only a few hours drive? Head to the California/Nevada border, and hop on Interstate 395 for an unforgettable scenic road trip! Road Trip Highlights Reno/Sparks – Nicknamed the Biggest Little City in the World, Reno and the Sparks area has had it’s share of ups and downs with mining, gambling and Wild West history, but it looks as if the booming metropolitan is growing up. Surrounded by beautiful scenery, and less than an hour from major ski resorts and Lake Tahoe adventures, the Reno area has…
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On Location: Portraits of Tucson, Arizona
With a population of over a half million people, there is definitely no shortage of portraits to be painted in Tucson, Arizona. Even with a burgeoning number of inhabitants, to a non-desert dweller, I was drawn (literally) to create portraits of the other population in Tucson, the cacti! The majestic saguaro cactus is hard to miss around town. Not only are they quite tall (some can grow to be over 70 feet tall), but they also could easily hold the title for most recognizable icon of the Wild West. Ironically they do not grow throughout the West, but Tucson is lucky to be one of the few regions it thrives. In fact, it is so prevalent in…
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Art on the Go: Sketching in a Cemetery and Creative Projects Beyond Halloween
The other weekend my daughter and I headed to Half Moon Bay for some sketching with my local en plein air art group. Although I live relatively close to this moody seaside town, I have never truly explored it to find out all the great sketching opportunities it provides. Our mission was to sketch around the downtown area. Some members of the group are local residents and they had a whole host of good locations to draw, one suggestion being a cemetery only 2 and 1/2 blocks from Main Street. Given it was October, and Halloween was approaching, I was sold! A cemetery sketch outing is a great way to celebrate the…
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Culture: Turkish Coffee in Istanbul
It’s no secret. I love coffee. It’s a daily ritual I can’t live without. At home, I tend to stick with my espresso in the morning and drip coffee in the afternoon, but while traveling, anything goes. I’ve enjoyed a steamy bowl of café au lait in Paris, and strong Italian pressed coffee in Venice. I’ve even tasted a good old fashioned percolated cup of Joe in a diner in Tennessee. So naturally, when we traveled to Istanbul, I was very excited to try my first Turkish coffee. Of course I knew the taste would be different (all use different types of coffee grounds) but I also found it interesting how different the tastes could be just based…
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On Location: Sketching at Filoli Country Estate
Filoli is a historic country estate open to the public in Woodside, California, about 25 miles south of San Francisco. Sitting on over 600 acres of pristine California land, in the heart of the Bay Area, it is a true treasure to visit. From the classic European style mansion (built in the early 1900’s and most notably known for the mansion of the 80’s television show Dynasty) to the acres of traditional gardens and grounds, it truly is a paradise setting. Filoli offers estate and garden tours, and also hosts many other exhibits and events including a quarterly Artist access day. Being so close to my home, it’s a wonderful way to get out…
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Art on the Go: Sketching on a Foreign Newspaper
Whenever I travel, I love to buy a newspaper or two in the country I’m visiting. Although I’m not much of a linguist, I enjoy browsing through the articles, photos, ads and editorials to try to decipher what is being said. My other reason for picking up a local newspaper is for the paper itself. Foreign newsprint can make a great background to a travel sketch. It adds dimension and a hint of context to the location you are sketching. The process for sketching on newsprint is pretty much the same as sketching on paper. You can easily just tear out a part of the paper and start to sketch.…