When you find other people who are as insightful and brilliant as you are there is a compulsion to spread the word, or at least revel in the free therapy message that you are not alone with your “issues.” Such a person is Danny Gregory, the author of “Art Before Breakfast.” This book hid on my iPad for probably a year, I read pretty much the whole thing in the last couple of days, and am sorry I waited.

If you have followed this blog, my Instagram, or came to a workshop you know that my mantra is “Capture the moment!” Travelsketching is all about actually seeing and experiencing your journeys wherever they take you, even if they are just to your café à proximité.

In his intro Danny says,

But creativity isn’t a luxury. It’s the essence of life. It’s what distinguishes us from the mush. And it’s why our ancestors survived while other less adaptive critters perished. They responded to change by being creative in some way, by inventing a new answer to the chaos. And that’s what you need to do to make the most of your life, every day of it.

So I encourage you to read the book, it is for people who are too busy, who are chaotic and most of all who do not think they can do art. Let me know if you read it and your thoughts. His website is Danny Gregory

Of course we have been exploring, me sketching, and Tricia taking photos. When she runs out of wonderful vistas she shoots me, with her camera of course as they don’t allow guns here in France.

Sitting in the grass, sketching the gatehouse at Chateau de Carrouges. The chateau itself is amazing with a moat and a lake, but the gatehouse has a fairytale look about it. This sketch is from the inside looking out, can’t you just visualize a horse drawn carriage entering the grounds for some grand event?

Here is a sketch of the harbor at La Trinité-sur-Mer from our trip there a couple of weeks ago. These small sailboats triggered memories of the many days I spent at the Seattle Center for Wooden Boats.

And one I did yesterday, before breakfast – Danny would approve. Neville, our hunter cat, eating his morning grass. Keep on traveling and sketching!