Armchair Traveling

Several years ago, David and I flew to England to board the Queen Mary 2 for a Transatlantic Crossing.  You can find that story here:

https://betsyblissart.blogspot.com/2023/08/embarking-on-transatlantic-crossing.html

We had a day to walk around the port city of Southampton, England before boarding our ocean liner, and I snapped lots of photos.

It's a delight to go back to those photos and paint from them.  We saw this little cart of herbs near the historic town walls (built in the 14th century!).

I began with a pencil sketch, then added watercolor washes and finished with some line work in India ink with my Lamy Safari fountain pen.  Towards the very end of painting this scene, my Intuition suggested that I add a bit of purple to the shadows around the cart.  The mint plants had lavender flowers, and using a touch of the same lavender tied the scene together.

Do you have old vacation photos that you'd like to revisit?  Sketches of beautiful scenes can be uplifting on wintry, gray February days.

Happy Creating!

Finishing Touches on my Travel Journal

Back at home, I wanted to tell the story of our journey with my travel journal.  I had left several blank pages at the start of the book.  I started with a title page.

I pulled several pages out of a worn & unraveling 1951 Rand McNally World Atlas, and glued them into my journal alongside a timeline of our travels. 

I love the colors in these old maps.

They match the historic and elegant Transatlantic Crossing.

Somehow, studying paper maps feels easier on my eyes than googling.

And, I can see the relationship of the area we traveled to the rest of the UK and Europe.

I like poring over the maps and noticing how the landscape becomes mountainous in Wales, or to study the coastline, thinking of the hiking trail I've read about. 

And it's always delightful to imagine future travels.

Watercolor Classes at Sea

Among the lovely offerings during a transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2 is an array of speakers and classes.

I took advantage of 3 sessions with a skilled artist and teacher, George Burch. 

In each class, he walked us through basic information on watercolor paints, brushes, papers and techniques.  

In our final class, he set up this still life for us to paint.

One thing I like about still life painting is that you can choose whatever portion of the scene you'd like to paint.  I chose to paint the whole scene, but you could always leave out the wine glass or select just the fruit.

Why not give it a try? You can paint from this photo or set up your own still life!

Happy Creating!

Storm Cloud Painting

Whale and dolphin watching gave us the opportunity to take lots of photos of the ever-changing sea and sky.

Outside on decks, the winds typically were 40 knots or more, so painting in the moment wasn't practical.

Inspired by this photo, I made a monochromatic painting in my journal of the scene.

One important part of creating a landscape with the ocean in it is to make sure the horizon is level and straight.  I used painter's tape to tape off the horizon, and painted the stormy sky wet-in-wet.

I used Payne's Grey and French Ultramarine. Limiting the color palette feels freeing to me, as my focus turns to following the values and shapes I see.

 

This photo would be a great source for a series of paintings -- 

a monochromatic painting of the scene, 

a study of just the clouds, 

a study of just the horizon, 

a texture study of the ocean surface, 

& a variety of compositions selected from within this photo.

What would you like to create from this photo?

I hope you'll take the opportunity to paint, draw or collage with this image and share your art in the comments below.

Happy Creating!

Whale and Dolphin Watching from the Queen Mary 2

As we neared Newfoundland, the visibility cleared and the seas calmed so that the water was free of whitecaps. We had seen dolphins over the past few days, but had heard that whales had also been spotted.

We climbed to the 11th deck, and watched from the outdoor observation area just below the bridge. I scanned the calm sea for the white spray of whales blowing and dolphins leaping out of the water.

We had the thrill of seeing both Humpback Whales and Dolphins soaring out of the water near the ship.

I felt a sense of kinship to the animals, and gratitude for them sharing a glimpse of themselves "flying" free in their ocean home.

My eyes were riveted to these rare scenes as they happened, so I didn't sketch at all until afterwards.  The dolphins were easier to sketch from memory, but the whales had bumps and fins that I was unfamiliar with, so I referred to the photos above.

I hope you will try your hand at creating from these photos!

Embarking on a Transatlantic Crossing!

On Friday, August 11th, we awoke to see that our ship, the Queen Mary 2, had come into port overnight.  What a thrilling sight!

We checked out of our hotel and walked our luggage down the streets of Southampton to the Mayflower Cruise Terminal, named for the historic Mayflower, which departed on August 16, 1620 from Southampton on her journey to the New World.  

After waiting in lines with other passengers, and going through the embarkation process, we settled in on board.

Our room. The little desk at right was where I painted scenes in my travel journal.

By evening, the ship was ready to sail from the port, and David and I knew where we wanted to spend this stage of our journey -- the deck 11 observation area directly below the bridge.

I spent the evening with a pencil in my hand, sketching the landscape and birds as quickly as I could.  

Leaving the port of Southampton

The Hamble Sea Scouts were out sailing in the Solent, the water between the mainland and the Isle of Wight, as we passed.

The harbor pilot had to navigate around a variety of sailboats, jetskis, and other leisure watercraft, as well as "The Brambles," a shallow bit of water opposite the Isle of Wight.  Our pilot expertly zig-zagged to get through this narrow bit of sea lane open to big ships.

We also saw this drone, and later found the footage of our ship's departure on YouTube: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZvJPp16sWw

A castle on shore near Southampton.

One of the two Solent Forts, originally built to protect the port area from attack, and now rented out for events with luxury accommodations.

As the sun set, we entered the English Channel.  Looking  back towards the Isle of Wight and sunset.

We were glad to have spent our evening watching the adventure begin!

The dramatic scenery made for some amazing photographs.  Feel free to use any of these images for your creative practice.

Happy painting & sketching!

Travel to Southampton and the Isle of Wight

Leaving London, we hopped a train to the port city of Southampton.  

I had intended to paint the landscape from the train, but we traveled at such high speed, and the train was packed with riders. So, I just enjoyed the experience.

Arriving at our hotel, we stopped in the restaurant for lunch, and I sketched the scene outside the window while we waited.

Later, we walked around Southampton, and I snapped photos of the quaint old town scenery.

The next day, we took a ferry to the Isle of Wight and the town of Cowes, 

where I bought this giant scone.

We walked down to a pebble beach to eat our scone,

 and I took the opportunity to paint.

 I hope you'll make use of these photos of the scenery of southern England in your own creative way!

The Natural History Museum of London, part 3

Down the hall from Hintze Hall, the Images of Nature Gallery (NHM information link) displays natural images important to their time. The artworks on display are both artistically inspiring, and scientifically accurate. 

This oil painting of insects by Jan van Kessel the Elder is so rich with color and details, it drew me in to study its intricate beauty.

The drawing below by Bryan Kneale stopped me in my tracks. 

Kneale rendered the Giant Tortoise's skeleton so well that I can feel the weight of the shell.  At the same time, he conjured the noble life force that once animated these bones.

Further down the hall is the very modern Darwin Centre (NHM link here), where  I found a quiet exhibit exploring the importance of backyard wildlife.

Inspired by Jan van Kessel the Elder and Bryan Kneale, I made a page of sketches, including a live pigeon & magpie outside the museum where I waited to meet up with my husband at the end of the day.

If you'd like to be an armchair travel journaler, here are some photos from the Natural History Museum of London for you to create with:

A Gogotte, a naturally-occurring sand formation cemented in place with silica 28-33 million years ago in France.  Wouldn't this make a fascinating value study?

For more information about this specimen, you can visit the Joy of Museums Virtual Tour.

A Garden Tiger Moth (Arctia caja).

I've always found skeletons difficult to draw as I get lost in all the little bones.  

What if you took a bigger picture approach of this Giant Ground Sloth, beginning with a gesture of the larger shape, and adding shadows and light?  

For more information on this extinct mammal, and a better photo of it, here's a link to an article on the Natural History Museum of London's website. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-was-megatherium.html

Happy sketching!

The Natural History Museum of London, part 2

The Natural History Museum of London is a British treasure, and an incredibly popular destination in August.  

I had made a mental list of areas I wanted to visit, but found the crowds were so dense, I couldn't make my way down some of the old hallways.

So, I let serendipity be my guide, and sketched where I could find an eddy in the constant flow of people.

  I was charmed by the old style of displaying fossils by filling the walls with cases, and picked out this Ichthyosaur to sketch in pencil. 

The ink & watercolor were added later.

I don't think I would have noticed this fossil if it hadn't been for the crowds, but I enjoyed studying the structure of this extinct marine reptile and noticing where the spine had been broken in the intervening years.

Whatever we draw, we observe closely.  What would you like to really see?  

Why not get your pencil out and sketch it?!