Over the years I have heard many discussions about finding your style as a sketcher. Some go so far as to suggest that once you find it you should nurture it and “perfect” it, assuming such a thing was even possible. Yet from many visits to artist’s museums – Picasso, Rodin, Van Gogh, Monet, etc. – it is clear that none of them did that. Art should always be in a constant state of evolution.
An even more germaine issue is that there are so many ways to sketch, so many mediums and styles. As a sketcher my two primary goals are to enjoy and capture a moment. This week was diverse for sure.
A couple of years ago I started using Procreate and an Apple Pencil on my mini-iPad. One motivation was to reduce the storage space that my sketchbooks were taking. Now it is one of my favorite mediums. Here are two from this week that demonstrate that even with digital you can have a varied style.
Though I do a lot of watercolor, I don’t do it without ink all that often, but this week it just seemed right. This was inspired by the people in doorway photos I take.
Sketching over coffee is always one of my favorite places to sketch, but even there the style can be varied.
By the afternoon it is usually time to find a place to hang out for a bit and sketch, usually while Tricia is working on editing photos or doing research for her blog.
Often a quick sketch is in order, I will do an ink sketch, snap a photo for reference, then add color later. This one was done standing, while Tricia was photographing the cathedral in Luxembourg, it is one of the small side doors to the church. The ink sketch took no more than five minutes.
After our visit to the cathedral we stopped for lunch, a great lunch by the way. While Tricia went to wash her hands, I did another quick ink sketch of the bistro – the color was added later.
So I used iPad, ink and wash, and watercolors, so graphite just made sense. One of the advantages of my 5mm graphite is it is quick and easy, which worked well to capture some ruins in Luxembourg while Tricia was snapping photos – be sure to follow her blog as I am sure they will show up there in the future.
It has been a fun week, I really am not too concerned about finding my style, but enjoyment and capturing moments happened this week.
Doorways and people continue to captivate for some reason.
Today we have an eight hour-plus-drive to the south of France, so yesterday we celebrated our time in Luxembourg with a glass of bubbles at Genaveh Chocolates, a perfect ending to our time here.
I hope you are enjoying the summer in spite of all the hot weather that seems to be happening. And as always do a sketch, try something different, but capture the moment and enjoy the place.
theTravelsketcher 
LOVEly
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Amazing what you can do on the iPad. Good going Terry.
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I only scratch the surface, there are functions Thai not only don’t know how t use, but don’t even know hat they are for. But it is fun, in many ways harder than traditional.
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What, what talent you have! And your digital drawings look so good, amazing!
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Thank you so much, you are too kind.
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So much
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So many lovely sketeches – On the canal in Annecy, ink and wash style is my favourite.
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Thank you, those canals are so beautiful.
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Art as an evolving experience–perfect. I never thought of it that way. Why stick with one tried and true method. I guess the point is to explore and grow. Love the watercolor sketches without ink–(and those with as well). As much as I love all the sketches and methodologies used in this posting–my favorite is the cafe table with coffee, sketchbook, pen and brush. It is so you; so ‘travelsketcher’! Continue enjoying every moment. And continue evolving. We all should!
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I agree, the coffee and a sketch is really what I like. Thanks.
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Your sketches in every medium are wonderful. I tend to like your watercolor/ink with paper because I like to see the texture of the paper. But in this blog post, I really liked your first sketch (of the canal in Annecy). It is so vibrant, colorful, and textured. Almost whimsical. I want to make it into a scarf! (And why do so many French people smoke cigarettes in doorways? I understand why it fascinates you, though. Doorways are a transition — at any moment your subjects will snub out their cigarettes, turn around, and walk through the doorway, disappearing into a space unknown to you.)
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Annecy is quite a place. Actually I can add the texture on ipad, it looks amazing, i just dont use it often. So we just have to figure out how to make that scarf …
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