Travel Journal Practice

I'm preparing for a vacation in England, and have been Googling little towns south of London.  

A photo of this mill in Winchester caught my eye, and I sketched it in colored pencils, and added Neocolor II watercolor crayons to bump up the color in a few places.

Below is the first layer of the drawing, using Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils.

I have been selecting the art supplies I want to take with me on my journey, and I realize that my tiny Winsor & Newton watercolor palette at 2.5"x 5"x .5" packs a lot of color into a small box.

As much as I love my Neocolor II crayons, they take up more space and complicate my kit. When I compare them with what my watercolors can do, I love the transparency and vibrancy of my Winsor & Newton watercolors.  I'm going to leave the watercolor crayons at home.

Whether you are traveling the globe or armchair traveling, I hope you'll take the time to make a travel journal. It's a wonderful way to document the journeys of your life, to slow down & enjoy the moment.  All while building your drawing skills.

Happy journaling!

 I got a new set of Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils for the Pet Portraits in Colored Pencils class at the Community College of Beaver County.

One of the easiest ways to drop into creative mode, I find is to simply test out your new supplies by making a chart with the name of each color and a sample of that color. This process of swatching shows you exactly what color each pencil or paint type is.  

Now that you are familiar with your new supplies, ideas pop up for sketchbook projects.  In my case, the daylilies were blooming right off the front porch where I sat in the late afternoon sun.

I hope you'll try swatching your art supplies.  Perhaps you have some colored pencils or watercolors, or a set of markers.  Testing them out can be your entryway into creativity!