Sketching Portugal: Keeping a Travel Sketchbook

Discover the joy of travel sketching and transform your adventures into lasting memories! For over a decade, I've used travel sketchbooks as a unique way to document my travels, creating beautiful keepsakes and inspiring art books.

Join me as I work on my fourth travel sketching book, a project dedicated to the stunning landscapes and culture of Portugal. I'll take you along on four short trips to Portugal, demonstrating how sketching while traveling enhances your experience. Unlike photos, travel sketching encourages mindful presence, allowing you to truly absorb the sights, sounds, and feelings of each moment. Relive your journeys vividly when you revisit your sketches – memories instantly flood back!

In this class, you'll get an inside look at the process of creating a travel art book. I’ll share the behind-the-scenes action as I fill my travel sketchbooks during three trips to Portugal with vibrant watercolor sketches. These sketches will eventually be featured in my upcoming book with Editions Akinome.

Filmed in real-time during my travels with minimal equipment, the videos offer a raw and honest look at the challenges and triumphs of urbansketching. I'll show you the realities of sketching outdoors, including the frustrations and uncertainties many artists face when sharing their work and creating a book. I’ll be sharing my own anxieties about the outcome – will people connect with the art, and will you find the videos helpful?

Come along on my Portugal adventure and learn how to create sketches for a book and embrace the art of urbansketching. If you're hesitant to sketch alone, I encourage you to find a local urbansketching community for support and inspiration. The key to improvement is consistent practice!

Don’t just watch – do! Grab your sketchbook, paint, play, and enjoy the process. Remember, no progress without action.

P.S. You don't need to travel far! Sketching your neighborhood is a fantastic way to start and is something I do regularly.