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Art on the Go: Finding Cultural Sketching Experiences Right at Home
Sometimes you don’t have to hop on a plane and travel far to find a culturally rich location to sketch. It’s amazing what may be right near home. For instance, in the Bay Area where I live, within 30 minutes I can be in a Japanese Tea garden, one of the countries largest Chinatowns, and a thriving Pakistani community filled with restaurants and unique supermarkets. With two kids in school, my life doesn’t always offer the freedom to jet off on a whim, but I still crave sketching scenery of far off lands. Just doing a little research on the web has opened my eyes to many of these same experiences in my own backyard. For…
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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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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.…
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Travel Stories: The Bouquinistes of Paris
I can still vividly remember the first time I visited Paris. I flew solo as a teen from San Francisco to Charles de Gaulle to meet up with my parents who had already been traveling in Europe for 2 weeks. We took a cab back to the hotel to drop off my bags, and then they whisked me to the Seine for a classic boat tour down the river. They hoped I’d get a good overview of the city but in actuality all I got was a wonderful nap instead. The sticky summer heat, and motion of the boat was the perfect cure for jet lag! When the boat ride…
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Art on the Go: Free Printable Venice Journal and Sketch Page
Gondolas gracefully gliding up the canals, palaces glimmering in Italian splendor, a crowded St. Mark’s Square, a boutique mask shop… capture your memories of Venice with my latest free printable Venice journal page and Venice sketch page. Head to the Rialto bridge and make a quick sketch, or jot down a few notes about the delicious gelato you ate while people watching. Keeping a journal and making some sketches will make your trip to Venice one-of-a-kind. Free Printable City Pages: Venice Journal and Sketch Page Below are my Venice printable Journal and Sketch pages. To use, just select the link below the image and print out from your browser. Use…
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Art on the Go: Free Printable San Francisco Journal and Sketch Page
The fog rolling in over the Golden Gate, the cable cars clanging up Hyde Street; the steep hills, crooked streets, and colorful Painted Ladies… this is San Francisco. The sights and sounds of San Francisco are unique to this wonderful city, and are a must to capture while there. Just print out these San Francisco themed journal and sketch pages and jot down details of your day and sketches of your visit and relive the memories long after you’ve returned. Free Printable City Pages: San Francisco Journal and Sketch Page Below are my San Francisco printable Journal and Sketch pages. To use, just select the link below the image and…
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Art on the Go: Free Printable Paris Journal and Sketch Page
Summer is approaching fast and travel season will be kicking into high gear! My family is prepping for a long trip this summer and I can’t wait. Writing a travel journal and creating sketches are such great memories from a trip. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to write after a long day of sightseeing, or the thought of a large sketch book may seem cumbersome– well, I’ve got you covered. I’m starting to create a line of free printable City Pages; sketch and journal pages for famous travel destinations. The designs will be in the spirit and style of that city. I had such fun creating the first in the…
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Art on the Go: Scribble Sketches Capture Your Trip
You’ve always loved the idea of sketching sites while on your trip, but you’re not an artist. You’re drawings will just look like scribbles. Perfect, I say. No more “I can’t draw” excuses– here’s the perfect Art on the Go assignment for your next trip, Scribble Sketches. One of the best parts of this assignment is not only the wonderful sketches you get to take home, but most of these take well under 5 minutes. Definitely an on-the-go art assignment! Everyone knows how to scribble, right? It’s one of the first things we get to do in preschool… and, frankly, it’s easy! Well, this assignment is just that – very…
