travel

I have not posted many of the Scotland sketches before so here are some of the most memorable. Going through the sketchbook brings each day of the trip back. There is nothing quite like sketching on the outer edge of the continent or in the very location of a bloody battle you have heard about all your life. All but one of these sketches were done on sight, (as you can tell from the mucky marks on the paper) and sometimes paint was added later. 

 

We have been home a week, but I am still adjusting and feeling like I’m not on top of anything. Life always seems to return full-on. But, for now a few more sketches. They  follow our trip to the very north of Scotland, over to the Orkneys and then back down the west coast to Ullapool. They were all done outside, sometimes in the rain, sometimes completed on the spot and sometimes paint added later. What I love most about sketching is how each sketch, no matter the quality,  brings back the essence of my time in that location–the day, the weather, the conversations around etc. So you are experiencing the place on a deeper level not only when you are doing the sketch, but each time you look at them again. 

I am just home from 17 days in Scotland. We were busy and the internet was spotty, so I had the chance to do only one post. But I’m back now. Thanks for sticking with me!

At the start of the sketchbook I drew a map so I could chart the journey. We spent a few days in Ayr (which is not on the map) with my wonderful cousins before beginning our tour. We took four ferries, saw countless lochs and mountains and stayed in small hotels on the coasts. Fortunately for us, the weather was outstanding–I wore my warm coat only once, and that was back in Glasgow. We kept a good pace, but I drew at every opportunity, often making a quick standing sketch and adding paint later.

A few things I brought home from the trip: My Scottish grandmother spoiled me with hand-knitted clothing as I was growing up an ocean away and ever since I have loved Scottish textiles. Here you can see some Harris Tweed (more on that in another post), a hand-knitted hat for a little person in my life and socks the colour of the landscape. At bottom, an inspiring book of Hebridean sketches–again more glimpses of these sketches later.

I had a chance to sketch the main pedestrian street of Ayr with the Wallace monument in the sunshine and Culzean castle in the rain.

Edinburgh is one of my very favourite cities.  I sat on various benches doing quick sketches, trying to capture the remarkable architecture.  These are views of the Old Town.

It will take a few days to share my sketches…and then I’ll be back in the studio finishing my rugs and making some new things for a show at the beginning of November. So more posts very soon.

We are into our second week in Scotland and this is the first minute I’ve had to write on the blog. When I say minute, it’s a bit of an exaggeration. It’s just taken over 10 minutes for this sketch to download. So I won’t be adding more today.

We have been in Orkney for the past few days. I’ve tried to sketch every minute I can, including in the high wind on the ferry. My goal is to finish the sketchbook this time with little drawings as well as some more finished sketches.

I loved Kirkwall and sketched both the sandstone buildings and the craggy countryside. The Scots are incredibly friendly and I’ve had lots of people stopping to talk and offer comments and critiques. The highlands provided stunning material for sketching and the bonus is that we have had sun! Everyone is telling us its the best weather of the summer.

And now the outer Hebrides. A visit to Harris with its textles and rugged landscape has long been my wish. I read Peter May’s Lewis Trilogy in preparation for the trip, so I’m even more excited to see some of the romantic placenames come to life. I’ll report on my visit one way or another–probably from Canada.

I am back in the studio full tilt making backpacks. I hope to post some progress photos tomorrow.

In the meantime here are a few more sketches from my recent trip. Barcelona was amazing; the city, the architecture, the food, the people all exceeded my expectations. We stayed in a great old apartment about two blocks from La Rambla and we used the Hop-on Hop-off bus to get around–a great way when time was short. But the short time meant very little sketching. Here is a crazy loose one from the bus.

While there I discovered the work of a delightful sketcher, Swasky, and his book on Gaudi. Here is one of his sketches of the Sagrada Familia, that exuberant celebration in stone which is still being constructed 100+ years after its beginning. We had the good fortune to be inside this amazing building at 4pm as the sun going down, throwing its light through the multi-coloured stained glass. Magic. 

From Barcelona we went on to the south of France. I loved the ancient villages and had a little more time to sketch. The high point of the week was visiting old friends in La Gaude in their remarkable home looking out over the valley to the Mediterranean. Below scenes from Nice, Vence, Saint Paul de Vence and La Gaude.

I always have good intentions about filing my sketchbook when I travel, but often the pressures of time and other people limit what I get done. This time in Ireland things worked much better. I carried a small kit and plunked myself down whenever I could. I always got the ink down and on good days the paint as well. I absolutely love seeing things with a pen in hand. I ‘get’ so much more. So I did fill a sketchbook and here are some of the pages…

After three days in Dublin we did a five day tour of the north in a small bus. We were on the move and time was short, but I was pretty determined. Here are a couple. Our first stop was Belfast to visit the murals and the Titanic Centre. I sat outside on a bench and tried to capture the magnitude and brilliance of the design. The following day in  Derry we walked the wall and when it started to rain, we found a small cafe right in the wall and I sketched the view out the window. 

More cold and blustery weather in Galway but I sat on a bench at the harbour and sketched this row of houses.
After the tour, we set off on public transit for Enniskillen. We stopped for lunch in a bustling spot. The owner was intrigued with the sketch and asked if she could put it on their Facebook page.The weather was wonderful in Enniskillen and I spent time outside sketching in the sun. Here I have paints balanced on the wall to complete a sketch of the Town Hall. I was enchanted with that building and painted it twice, the second time standing outside the bus terminal before we left.

For this one, I balanced things on a garbage can, ink at the time, paint later.And I can’t leave out my coffee sketches. You know, they are not an indulgence or a quirk. They are actually a great way to loosen up and get ready for sketching.

The sketchbook is full and the memories are strong. I highly recommend sketching your holiday away…

Montreal is a wonderfully liveable city in the summer months, the area where we were staying, especially so. This is the Jean Talon neighbourhood and there are several areas in the streets like this one below to sit and visit or play a game of x’s and o’s! I sat on this bench to do two sketches. The first sketch looks east to  the corner where the very friendly Café Larue sits. The second looks across the road to the Church of Ste.-Cécile–since I was looking up, up into the sun, I only managed to sketch one of the two spires. We were only in Montreal for 3 1/2 days and there was so much more to sketch even in this neighbourhood alone. But I had to stop as we didn’t want to miss the Rodin exhibit at the Musée des Beaux Arts.

We took the subway to McGill University and walked along Sherbrooke to the gallery. On our way we were charmed by this delightful sculpture done in 2012 by Cédric Loth. You can  barely see it in this photo–look under his leg– but he is so intent on his computer, trademarked with a pear (!) that he doesn’t notice a squirrel eating his bag lunch. We carried on along Sherbrooke and spent the afternoon with Rodin. His massive Thinker makes an interesting counterpoint to Loth’s student.