Additions to My Travel Sketchbook

I've been adding drawings to my travel sketchbook based on photos I took during the trip. Here are my latest from Barcelona.

Portraits 59 - 63 for the 100 Day Project

Here are my latest portraits for #the100dayproject:

Barcelona Travel Sketches

We were only in Barcelona for 4 days - and there was so much to draw. I did my best in completing sketches while there, but there was not enough time to draw all that I wanted. So, I took lots of photos.

Here are some sketches I recently completed and added to my travel sketchbook.

Él Born Cultural Center - about a block from our apartment

Sketching with Miguel Herranz and Lapin near the Cultural Center

Stay tuned for more!

Devour Barcelona Food Tour

On our recent trip to Europe, we took two lovely food tours. One in Paris's Latin Quarter with Sidewalk Tours and one in Él Born in Barcelona and Barceloneta with Devour Barcelona Food Tours. They were both wonderful!

Here are the pages from my travel sketchbook detailing our Devour Barcelona Food Tour.

Casa Gispert, Pasteleria Hofmann & Bodega Fermin

Have you taken any food tours while on vacation?

Portraits 55 - 58 for the 100 Day Project

My most recent additions to the 100 Day Project of 100 portraits in 100 days.

Urban Sketching Practice

I have been trying to use the techniques I've learned in Marc Taro Holmes' and James Richards' Craftsy classes. Here are some recent examples:

Using a single line drawing with my extra fine Platinum pen, then adding darks with my Kuretake brush pen, finally adding watercolors

Sketching at a recent SF Giants game - it was cold!!

Just using my Pentel brush pen at dinner last night

Sketching my girls after dinner just using watercolors directly

Sketching at the Claremont Resort with just my Pentel brush pen

Urban Sketching Commissions

Before my trip to Europe, I was lucky enough to get a commission for four art pieces of my choosing from an art lover on Instagram. Although I completed these two pieces while on my trip - stupid me left them on our plane from Barcelona to Paris! 😩

So, armed with my many photos from the trip, I put these four pieces together since coming home.

I'm so happy that my client loves them.

Highlight of My Trip!

I just happened to be in Paris in time to attend the book signing of one of my favorite artists, Lapin. Lapin is a French mobile illustrator, urban sketcher, and Sketchbook Skool teacher living in Barcelona. I love his style and have learned so much from his Sketchbook Skool kourse. He is definitely one of my major influencers for my artwork.

On June 14th, Lapin was at Artazart, an amazing design and art bookstore in the 10th arrondisement in Paris, to sign his new book, paris je t'aime. We made the trip out to Artazart and took the Metro - getting off one the wrong stop, about a mile away from the shop. On the way, my 9 year old, Chloe, was wondering how many people would be in line for the signing and whether Lapin would invite us over to his house for coffee and show us his sketchbooks, etc. I warned her not to get her hopes up as that was not likely to happen.

We were one of the first to arrive and waited patiently for Lapin. In fact, Chloe bought a little book to illustrate while we were waiting. And I was lucky enough to pick up not only paris, je t'aime, but also one of Lapin's other books that I had been wanting, Barcelona, Modernisme, Beyond Gaudi.

After much waiting, we were able to get Lapin's signature and also mentioned that we will be going to Barcelona the next day. To my surprise and delight, Lapin offered to meet us there in two days for a sketch!

Lapin started this signature in Paris and finished it two days later in Barcelona.

When we met in Barcelona, Lapin drew Chloe and me!

In our copy of the Barcelona, Modernisme, Beyond Gaudi copy

I had told Lapin when we sat down that I was showing Miguel Herranz's Sketchbook Skool's lessons the day before since Miguel was sketching El Born's Cultural Center, right where we were meeting. Lapin called Miguel and asked him to meet us as he lives very nearby in Barcelona. Miguel is an amazing illustrator and Sketchbook Skool teacher, so I was very excited to meet him and have the opportunity to discuss art and share sketchbooks with him as well!

It was so much fun to share my sketchbooks with them and to view theirs. We also talked a lot about art and what they are working on (Lapin has issued 5 books this year! and Miguel just completed one). I also tried to draw Lapin, but it was very hard for me to do so while we were talking. So, I started this at our meeting and finished it later.

Lapin's card with his self-portrait is affixed above  my drawing. — Lapin's card with his self-portrait is affixed above my drawing.

Meeting Lapin and Miguel was the highlight of my trip. And afterward, Chloe told me, "I told you so, Mom!"

Portraits 51 - 54 for the 100 Day Project

Here are my latest portraits for the 100 Day Project.

Illustrated Travel Journaling

In an attempt to document and remember our European trip, I put together these illustrated journal pages in my travel sketchbook. In this first page, I added in illustrations of our special pastries from the Balthazar x Bobbi Brown afternoon tea in London.

Afternoon tea at Balthazar in collaboration with Bobbi Brown.

These next three pages document the excellent Sidewalk Food Tour we took in Paris in the Latin Quarter.

And this page documents Day 1 of our trip.

Completing Travel Sketches

These two sketches were started opinion Barcelona and finished here in California. Some day, I hope to get quicker with my urban sketches so that I can finish more on site! Always looking to improve!

Church of Santa Maria del Mar in Born, Barcelona

Our last meal in Barcelona - tapas at Artesans in El Born

Have you tried urban sketching on a vacation?

Portrait 50 for the 100 Day Project

I can't believe I am half way through the 100 day project!

Portraits 40 - 49 for The 100 Day Project

I managed to keep up my work on the 100 day project during our vacation. Here are the portraits I did on our trip and one when I got back.

Travel Sketches

I just got back from a family vacation to Paris, London, and Barcelona. I tried to do some urban sketching while on the trip and made a sketchbook just for my travel,sketches. It was pretty fpdifficult to find time to sketch while on the move with my family, so I ended up taking a ton of reference photos for sketches that I will do in my studio on my return. The artwork below were done on the trip. As well as portraits for my 100 day portrait project, but I will post those separately.

The view from our apartment terrace in the Latin Quarter.

The view from the terrace in the bedroom of our Latin Quarter apartment.

Our dinner the first night in Creperie Oroyana on Rue Mouffetard

On the metro to catch the Eurostar to London from Gare du Nord

A quick sketch done on a cruise on the Thames

A sketch of the Louvre with just a brush pen on toned watercolor paper

On our food tour in El Born in Barcelona

On the food tour in Santa Caterina market

The view from a terrace of our apartment in Barcelona

The sketch was started in SFO and I finished it in the Barcelona airport

Our last breakfast in Paris on Boulevard Saint Michel

I drew this on the airplane home - it was one of our favorite dishes - octopus in black truffle

Portraits for the 100 Day Project

Here are some recent portraits of my 100 day project.

Urban sketching on Vacation

We are on vacation in Paris, London, and Barcelona this week. Here are some of my sketches so far.

More to follow . . .

Drawing inspiring artists

One thing I definitely love about the Sktchy app is being able to pay tribute to artist who inspire or support you by drawing them! I did that with varying degrees of success over the last few days.

Vin Ganapathy is a huge inspiration for me. He has been one of my teachers at Sketchbook Skool and is one of the first artists from whom I've bought original artwork! I love his portraits done primarily in Tombow brush pens. They are so expressive! I used my watercolors, Kuretake brush pen, and some of Marc Taro Holmes's watercolor techniques to draw Vin here. I loved the shadows in this inspiration photo.

Jane Royal is a beautiful water colorist who I've met on Sktchy. She paints people with the minimum of graphite lines and really lets the watercolors do their magic. She has been very supportive of my art. I wish I had captured her likeness better here. Nut, it's the thought hat counts, right?

Who are your favorite artists? Have you drawn or painted them?

Completed Sketchbook #19

Today, I completed another handmade sketchbook. Yay! This one was 11" x 7.5" and made with watercolor paper. Here is the quick tour:

And the full sketchbook tour at a more leisurely pace here:

Urban Sketching using Marc Taro Holmes's Techniques

I have been loving Marc Taro Holmes's Craftsy classes, Sketching People in Motion and Travel Sketching in Mixed Media. I love how he understands the constraints of urban sketching - especially when people are moving, you're on vacation and your family wants to keep moving, etc. To sketch people in motion, Marc teaches us how to capture gestures quickly with pencil and then move onto fountain pens, brush pens, and watercolors. In terms of travel sketching, Marc teaches us to do single line drawings, then 5-7 line drawings (cinq à sept), use shading and brush pens, watercolors, and eventually, watercolors alone.

I recently practiced these techniques in my hometown, Walnut Creek.