I absolutely love to travel, and early in my sketching endeavors, I found that my sketches (no matter how bad they were when I first started) gave people so much joy. I realized traveling with a sketchbook opens up unexpected conversations, creates new connections, and offers unexpected opportunities. I discovered that I love teaching, and I have made so many friends around the world. I really can’t explain quite how much travel sketching has impacted my life.

I absolutely love architecture. I had zero interest in it before I started sketching.  Now I look at the world through the lens of a true sketchbooker – always seeing what kind of page a scene would make! I love sketching churches and very pointy Gothic architecture, the scarier the better! What is becoming a real passion of mine is combining many sketches on one page to tell the story of my day (or even a few hours). This usually includes some kind of architecture, a broader scene, and food & drinks. If there’s space, I like to top it off with receipts, tickets or stickers and a few little notes.

I like to do smaller sketches and collage them across a page. This strategy really lends itself to days when you start at point A and amble to point B, with stops along the way. I enjoy finding ways to simplify scenes and reduce the overwhelm. I try to keep my materials minimalist: a pencil, a pen, and watercolours. However, I do like to experiment, and students always enjoy the paint first, draw later approach, where we really get to loosen up.

I should mention that I have a Master’s Degree in Planning. I am methodical about lesson planning and estimating the time it will take for demonstrations, class work time, and questions. Hopefully, the students don’t notice we are on a schedule, but I feel like they deserve to learn as much as I can teach in the time allotted. I am pleased when we cover more than they expected and always have bonus material for fast workers.  I try to balance the planning with opportunity and understanding that everyone works at their own pace. Leaving room for one-on-one consultations is always part of the plan.  

It is a natural extension of travelling. I could sit and sip a glass of wine and read a book, but travel sketching is so much more active. Spending 1-2 hours in a place, translating all the things you can see (as well as hear, taste, smell and touch) onto the page. The spontaneous conversations that happen through the act of drawing a place are magical. Then, when I’m at home and maybe feeling nostalgic, I can take any sketchbook from the shelf and immerse myself in the place I visited, travelling back in time using my sketches as my guide. My memory isn’t the best, but if I have sat and sketched somewhere, I remember so much more: the weather, the sounds, the conversation, what I ate etc.

I’m told people like my bold, quirky style. I do like to use watercolour in a very bold way. Because I don’t have any formal art training, I can talk to students in a relatable way about how to approach a sketch, how to improve a sketch, or how to experiment. I like students to feel like they are with a good friend who wants to share all the tips and tricks they’ve learned throughout the years, so they can make great sketchbook pages and have lots of fun doing it.

I have learned that you need to remain flexible. Whatever can happen will happen, and usually it’s overwhelmingly positive. I’ve also learned that having random interactions with strangers on the streets while they watch me sketch is one of my favourite things (this did not used to be the case). The act of creativity perfectly complements travel, and I can’t think of two better things to do with my time (other than share the joy of these two activities with other people)!