How to start travel sketching

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Being able to capture a travel memory is one of my favourite reasons for painting. Travel sketching helps me be present in the moment, it engages my curiosity about a new place, and it also gives me a permanent visual reminder of what I was feeling at the time.

But I remember how daunting it felt to try travel sketching for the first time. So here are some key things to consider before, during and after your trip, to help you start to develop your own travel sketching practice.

Before you leave for your trip

If you can, gather your materials a few days before your trip starts and take your travel-sketching kit on a dry run. This will help you work out any significant problems with your kit, and remove items you're probably not actually going to use on your trip. 

Here are some key questions to ask when you're putting together your travel sketching kit:

• Is your travel sketching kit small and light? If it’s small, it’s easier to carry around, make a sketch you don’t like and turn the page, and finish a sketch in a short session. If you’re travelling with other people, especially people who don’t sketch, you’re probably going to sketch more in those in-between moments. My travel sketching kit fits into a B5 waterproof case that I got when I joined the gym a few years ago.
• Can you start sketching quickly? Dry media is your best friend here. If you can whip out your sketchbook and a coloured pencil (or a pen), you’re good to go. I often sketch with a coloured pencil because it gives me the illusion of being able to make mistakes and rub them out, even though you can’t really erase it. It feels less daunting than sketching in pen and helps me to start sketching quickly without overthinking.
• Does your sketchbook meet your key needs? For travel sketching, I use a hardcover sketchbook so I can sketch on my lap, if I need to. I usually use a square sketchbook or an A5 portrait sketchbook, as I find they give me the most versatility for sketching different subjects on my travels. And I prefer cotton paper, because I find that it's more forgiving when using a water brush.

It's also worth thinking about practical considerations like how you're getting to your destination. If you're flying, think about the size of any liquids in your kit, any materials not allowed in your carry-on, or whether pressure changes might cause pens to leak.

Here's a travel sketching checklist that you can download to help you put together your own kit. The notes in brackets are what I use when I travel, but I encourage you to play around and make it your own:

During your trip

I'd suggest treating your first couple of forays into travel sketching as fact-finding missions (rather than sketching performances). When you’re ready to sketch, turn to the next page in your sketchbook and do what you can. If you're anything like me, pre-planning your pages, or leaving blank pages in your sketchbook to come back to later, will most likely result in a sketchbook with lots of blank pages.  

Think about what success realistically looks like for you on this trip. For example, if you're travelling with a friend who doesn't sketch, maybe success looks like taking out your sketchbook for 20 minutes when you stop for a coffee. The most important thing at this stage is to enjoy the opportunity to sketch away from home, and start to discover what works for you.

If you realise during the trip that you're missing something, that can be a great opportunity to explore a local art store. When I was in Helsinki last summer, I kept noticing adorable pink buildings and lots of flowers as we wandered around the city. So I bought two pink coloured pencils from a cute art store near our hotel. It was so fun to start my sketches with those pencils, and it also filled a gap in my sketching supplies that I’d identified months before.

When you get home

First, take a moment to celebrate any wins you had on this trip! What did you enjoy most about your travel-sketching experience?

Then, while you unpack your travel sketching kit, think about what worked and what didn't. Do you need to change any of your materials for your next trip? Was there a particular subject you struggled to draw that you want to practise at home? Make a quick note and keep it in your travel sketchbook, so that it's there waiting for your next trip!

Remember that the perfect travel sketching kit doesn't exist. It can be a fun topic to discuss with other artists, but try to use their suggestions as inspiration rather than rules to follow.

Give yourself the freedom to experiment to find a travel-sketching process that works for you. This will take time, so be patient with yourself and focus on enjoying the process while you build your sketching skills.

Sketches from Granada celebrates every-day moments of connection with strangers, friends and ourselves. I know how easy it is not to be present in your life, and I hope these sketches inspire you to seek out the small moments worth savouring in your own life.

If this post resonated with you, please share it with a friend you think might appreciate it too!