TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday Tip


“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh

Thoughts on St. Valentine


A bit different post today… Friday was Valentine’s Day – hearts, flowers, chocolates, and romance. Yet we live in times where hearts are broken, flowers are threatened, and feelings of loneliness and fear are pervasive. Saint Valentine lived in similar times back in the mid 200s. In the 3rd century the Roman Empire was in…

This week back home, mostly


We got off the ship last Thursday, then headed for San Diego to visit family and meet a new addition, our three month old grand-nephew. While we were there we visited Presidio Park. It is the location of the first permanent settlement in California, a fortified city, built in 1769. The park also has the…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday Tip


Learn to enjoy your pencil. “I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as drawing.” Vincent Van Gogh “I love the quality of a pencil, it helps me get to the core of a thing.” Andrew Wyeth For me it is a Blackwing pencil, there is pleasure in just putting marks on paper with no…

This week we end the cruise


Today we are at sea headed for Los Angeles, we arrive early on Thursday, and disembark. Sixteen days is quite long, a bit too long for me. Here are what may be the last two pages of my sketching journal for this trip. I plan to print it up into a spiral bound book. An…