Before we left for Istanbul a few weeks ago I made a small journal with Arches water color paper. I used coptic style binding to allow any page to lay flat for drawing or painting. It was my first attempt at visual journaling a trip along the way and all and all it went pretty well. I certainly did not fill up the whole thing in a week - it has been a work in progress since I got home which has actually added to the enjoyment for me. I get to relive moments of my trip and use processes I couldn't manage with the small art kit I packed.
Istanbul Traveling Art Kit:
5 Sepia toned Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens
4 Black Micron Sakura pens in varying sizes
4 Watercolor paintbrushes: 2 round, 1 rigger, 1 flat
Handful of graphitint watercolor pencils
Needle and thread for sewing in extra pages, maps, receipts + sharpener and eraser in an Altoids box
Very small 12 color Lukas watercolor tin
2 tubes of gauche: copper & gold
I found that when I drew from real life I didn't use pencils - I used my smallest ink pens and made lots of lines until I came upon the right one. I also found that staying put in one place long enough to sketch something has imprinted those places much stronger in my memory. I remember what the foaming yogurt drink tastes like or how cold it was outside the house with a tree growing through the front porch roof. I usually sketched on site and painted in the evening while I listened to a fantastic book about Istanbul. I know, heaven.
Here's what I will say about drawing: for me it's a constant issue of confidence. I have wanted to draw for years but never thought I was a "drawer". I have several reference books and all the materials, but I didn't get serious about it until moving to Oman. Every time I drew I became so embarrassed about my inability to make something look like I wanted it to or about what I now realized is just my personal style that I threw it away and didn't draw for weeks. When I moved here I said "enough!" and just started keeping a visual journal, the only rule being that I couldn't throw anything out and I had to draw something every week and then every day for a while.
I finally got comfortable drawing inside my house where no one could see and slowly started showing them to my husband. But the idea of drawing in public where someone could look over my shoulder and see immediately what kind of an amateur I am gave me night sweats. Enter vacation where no one knows you and will never see you again. One of the many reasons I like to travel is that you become completely free from whatever idea of yourself you have or (and usually more trapping) the idea of you that the people around you have. I didn't grow up making art and when I think about making art at home I feel a bit like a fraud. So in Istanbul I threw the old non-drawing Brooke out the window and became Brooke who draws. It was a really great experience and has increased my confidence for studio work at home. I have been working from photographs of our trip now and I hope to have a completed book in a few weeks.
Istanbul Traveling Art Kit:
5 Sepia toned Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens
4 Black Micron Sakura pens in varying sizes
4 Watercolor paintbrushes: 2 round, 1 rigger, 1 flat
Handful of graphitint watercolor pencils
Needle and thread for sewing in extra pages, maps, receipts + sharpener and eraser in an Altoids box
Very small 12 color Lukas watercolor tin
2 tubes of gauche: copper & gold
I found that when I drew from real life I didn't use pencils - I used my smallest ink pens and made lots of lines until I came upon the right one. I also found that staying put in one place long enough to sketch something has imprinted those places much stronger in my memory. I remember what the foaming yogurt drink tastes like or how cold it was outside the house with a tree growing through the front porch roof. I usually sketched on site and painted in the evening while I listened to a fantastic book about Istanbul. I know, heaven.
Here's what I will say about drawing: for me it's a constant issue of confidence. I have wanted to draw for years but never thought I was a "drawer". I have several reference books and all the materials, but I didn't get serious about it until moving to Oman. Every time I drew I became so embarrassed about my inability to make something look like I wanted it to or about what I now realized is just my personal style that I threw it away and didn't draw for weeks. When I moved here I said "enough!" and just started keeping a visual journal, the only rule being that I couldn't throw anything out and I had to draw something every week and then every day for a while.
I finally got comfortable drawing inside my house where no one could see and slowly started showing them to my husband. But the idea of drawing in public where someone could look over my shoulder and see immediately what kind of an amateur I am gave me night sweats. Enter vacation where no one knows you and will never see you again. One of the many reasons I like to travel is that you become completely free from whatever idea of yourself you have or (and usually more trapping) the idea of you that the people around you have. I didn't grow up making art and when I think about making art at home I feel a bit like a fraud. So in Istanbul I threw the old non-drawing Brooke out the window and became Brooke who draws. It was a really great experience and has increased my confidence for studio work at home. I have been working from photographs of our trip now and I hope to have a completed book in a few weeks.
 |
| Notes from our food tour |
 |
| Map of Hagia Sophia |
No comments:
Post a Comment