Travel sketching is a way of recording. I also use it as a break from rushing around, or making a boring commute more fun. I usually carry a sketchbook with me while traveling. Occasionally I will draw on iPad if I have more time.
If you are interested in travel sketch or urban sketch in general, check out Urban Sketchers: they have international symposium and many local regional events.
Coffee Shop
@San Mateo, CA, USA.
Apr. 20, 2024
I sketched this guy making coffee. He was very happy when I gave the sketch to him. It turned out he is the owner of the family run coffee shop.
Sketching other sketchers
@San Franscisco, CA, USA.
Jun. 10, 2023
This was at a local event in SF where a group of urban sketchers came and sketch the cityscape. I drew the sketchers instead.
My main subjects are usually people, instead of buildings or big scenes. I normally sketch while commuting, on trains, subways, buses, ferries, or even ropeways. Sometimes I will have several hours of ride, but most of the time the drawing window will be 5-10 minutes. Originally I did not believe it is possible to capture anything interesting with such short and unpredictable time window. But it actually works and it is a lot of fun.
I started doing travel sketchbook while I was in Japan in 2014, following my friend Sonya. Japan is a very good starting point as people tend to be shy and they pretend not noticing even if they realize you are drawing them.
Lately I also started taking more pictures on the street during traveling, so that I can also sketch from photo references. Drawing from photo does not leave as strong a memory as drawing on site, but this allows me to capture more complex scene and emotion, and is great for practicing.
Another way to manage the challenges of travel sketch is to draw interesting or memorable objects that do not move.
Sometimes I try to invent stories based on the people I draw.
