Anne Leuck: Meet Your Sketchbook Journal Teacher
Join Anne in Italy
About Anne Leuck
Anne is a seasoned artist with a diverse creative background spanning over 25 years. Her artistic exploration encompasses traditional painting, drawing, digital media, ceramics, and journaling. Notably, her designs have been licensed for stationery and home decor, and her artwork has garnered national exhibitions. It has been featured in books, movies, TV shows, and magazines. With an international presence, her pieces grace private collections worldwide.
At the core of Anne’s artistic journey lies a profound passion for sketchbook journaling. This daily practice, combining words and images, has not only inspired her other creative pursuits but also fostered personal growth and wellness. Through live and online courses, Anne shares the transformative benefits of sketchbook journaling. Her approach empowers individuals to connect with their creativity and delve into their unique stories and aspirations.
Anne’s unique sketchbook process accompanies her on travel adventures to places like Italy, Greece, and the South of France. During her workshop journeys, students immerse themselves in the region’s beauty and culture while exploring their creativity. Each day time is spent capturing their experiences in a visual travelogue. Her work and teaching serve as a reminder of art’s potential to transform our daily lives and enrich our connections with the world around us.
For more information about Anne Leuck and her classes visit her website.
Anne Leuck Sketchbook Travel Journal Gallery
Anne Leuck is a truly talented artist and inspiring teacher. During our Blue Walk tour, she nurtured artists of all levels, fostering a supportive atmosphere that encouraged individuality and growth. Exploring Blind contour drawing was a revelation, silencing my inner critic and leading to fun, abstract creations. Anne’s light-hearted influence taught us to embrace ‘mistakes’ and appreciate the originality they brought to our work. The unique journal pages I created during the trip go beyond mere sketches; they vividly capture my travel experiences, stories, insights, and emotions. The journey with Anne and her creative process was soul-restoring and unforgettable.
Art Walk Interview with Anne Leuck
Eager to know what an art vacation with Anne Leuck is like? Anne took the time to answer our artists’ questions about her background, inspiration and teaching style.
Why do you do what you do?
Let’s see, if I can pick a few reasons why I love teaching Art Walks…
First, I get to be with people in the real world! It’s a bonus an artist working solo doesn’t usually get.
Second, fabulous conversations and sharing of ideas, tools, processes, lives, experiences…tips for living, working, making art, food, healthier lives, souls…
Third, sharing my process is great fun! I love rekindling the art of play in my students. You can see the transformation as they realize they never lost ‘it’. It brings me great joy when I see how my method of journaling gives people insight. They discover ways they can capture and celebrate the everyday. They notice simple things and foster their own creativity. This in turn enriches their lives and inspires those around them. A beautiful thing!
How do you work? What is your teaching style?
My teaching style is playful and warm hearted. Budding artists at any level are always welcome. Any perceived mistakes are just opportunities for more creativity to occur. Your sketchbook is a place of adventure! A favorite quote, “With criticism there is no room for creativity.”
I love teaching blind contour techniques because it takes the fear out of drawing and really allows us to see the things that excite us in a whole new way. I prefer to let students choose the images that stand out to them in a landscape or setting. Then they focus on the shapes and colors that pique their interest rather than draw or color every single detail. Embellishment and artistic license are strongly encouraged!
My signature daily sketchbook journaling process is perfect for the travelogue experience. This not only celebrates and documents the incredible meals and sights but also the unique people, priceless snippets of conversation, language barriers, silly mishaps, and magical moments of each day; the things that will make a travel journal a lifelong treasure. I guide my students in recollecting the details that will add great meaning and nostalgia to their pages while also teaching colorful, creative word illustration, page layouts and drawing techniques.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by color and life: flora, fauna and the imagery from my own personal journey. Growing up in a small town, I’ve always had an equal love for rural and urban areas, so travels and landscapes appeal to me as much as beautiful architecture and even more industrial areas…I have the ability to see beauty where others do not….with the addition of my own color palette, of course!
What attracts you about travel journaling?
I have taught a class called Travelogue for the last 4 years. My Art Walks are the epitome of that workshop! We get to enjoy the vacation and record it in real time. It is such a magical opportunity. I am just thrilled for the experience and to share it with all of you!
Why do students attend your courses?
My students attend my courses because they are fun. I create my classes to be a place of adventure, exploration and self-discovery. In a very short amount of time, students find they have their own specific style. They experience the joy of seeing the unique beauty in each of their own lives unfolding on the page in words and images, in playful color, pattern and heart. My students’ appreciate my “come as you are” and “all talents are celebrated” environment.
What have you learned from creating while you travel?
Creating while you travel slows you down and allows you to see things you might otherwise miss. Through my travels in the U.S., and abroad, I’ve learned to expand my visual vocabulary. After seeing ancient architecture, tropical trees, plants, and new and interesting landscapes everything seems new and interesting. At times, I will take photos and make quick sketches to work from at a later time, especially if the weather is rainy or very warm. I love drawing in airports to pass the time, capturing the excitement before the trip, the planes and luggage…even drawing the clothes I’m packing before the trip!
What is your background?
I consider myself a visual storyteller, creating imagery from my own personal journey in life as well as my travels. My career as a professional artist has been multifaceted. It started with traveling around the US exhibiting and selling my art at Art Fairs and online. I’ve participated in public art projects, created digital murals, and had my work on billboards, in movies and TV. I’ve done illustration and licensed my designs for products. I’m known for my pet portraiture style and work with the animal welfare community as well as my original paintings, which are often informed by the work in my sketchbooks.
I’ve maintained my daily sketchbook practice for 20 years. I began teaching my process and its benefits in 2005. I’ve created a variety of in-person and online courses and workshops. The content ranges from Sketchbook Journaling 101 to Wellness, Journaling to Travelogue. I launched my Transformational Sketchbook Journaling Masterclass Suite in the Fall of 2021.