While traveling the world, earning the title of theTravelsketcher, two things were special and added to the enjoyment of my travel. One is that I was doing urban sketching before I ever heard of the USK movement, I just sketched what was in front of me. The other was the interaction with people that sketching stimulated. This week in Faro it is like old times.

Henry Miller said, One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.

When we moved to rural Normandie in France, where 200 year old stone buildings are the norm, every building seemed like it deserved to be sketched. Coming from a country where a fifty year old house is considered aged, and in need of either major renovation or demolition these buildings were romantic and nostalgic. Now after just a year they are simply part of our environment, nothing special. It was the same when we lived in beautiful Mukilteo, there were times I could find nothing to sketch. After a time our surroundings become the norm, and we are jaded to the wonder right in front of us.

This week in Faro I have done so many sketches; a new location sparks new vision. So if your sketching is at a standstill find a new way of looking at things. If you can’t travel to a new location then try to see where you live as a tourist would see it. You know how much I hate selfies but try to vision what visitors would take selfies in front of, and sketch that – even if you have seen it a hundred times. Try searching on Instagram for the tag of your location, you might discover something new.

Or if your sketching is stagnate take a day trip to someplace new. Be careful to not obsess over the “perfect” view, just find a cafe with a view then sketch what is in front of you, even if it is just a planter. Here are a few from Faro this week.

This is a view of the harbor from a cafe.

The storks build huge nests on the tall buildings.

A view from the deck at our hotel.

The street where I had coffee every morning.

Sitting in the Seminary courtyard while Tricia visited the Faro Story Spot museum. You can read about that on her blog.

And a couple of others from the week, the first near the beach at Quarteira, the second a different view from morning coffee.

On my work travels small 3×4” watercolor stock was always in my bag, along with my pens, brushes and pallet. I would ask servers, flight attendants, and fellow travelers: “We have tickets and can go anywhere in the world, where would we go?” Then I would quickly do a sketch of something about the location and give it to them as a gift. These little sketches were a wonderful way to connect with folks. In Faro this week I started doing it again, for a few servers and chance meetings in cafes.

Many are uncomfortable sketching in public. My experience is that most people will say “how beautiful” even if I have only drawn a couple of pencil lines on a pad. What happens most often is the chance for a nice conversation with a local or a fellow traveler, and for me that is one of the main reasons I like to travel. Here is one I did this week, sadly I forgot to take photos of the others I did.

Not only does sketching capture the moment but it opens our eyes to see new things and offers a chance to connect with other people. So keep on sketching and travelling.