A Sketchbook Will Transform the Way You Travel

(reason to keep a sketchbook #4)

How many times have you looked at your travel photos, and realized that no matter how sharp the image is, it completely fails to do justice to what you saw and experienced? Photography has become both better and more accessible over the last 20 years, but if anything, the fact that we can take infinite photos on our phone makes them more disposable, and, ultimately, more forgettable.

a ballpoint pen drawing from Siena, Italy last summer

The reason a photo can never do justice to its's subject is because you're never just seeing something - you're living it. A plaza in a tiny town in Italy isn't just an image - it's the way the morning light felt on your face, and the smell of fresh baked bread, and the cooing of that particular bird (moring dove, I think), that lives in small plazas in European towns. It's watching the town come to life, and the streets fill with people, and the tourists and locals mix in cafes while drinking coffee. There's too much there for a photo to be able to catch in a split second, and because we take so many, they wind up blending together.

A sketchbook page, no matter your technical ability, can bring back the sights and sounds and smells of a particular morning because you've put more of your time and your attention into it - it could have taken 20 minutes or several hours, but that was time you've spent fully present, and the memories that opening that page brings back years later will be sharper and more distinct.

Sketchbooks change the way you travel, as well as the way you feel about traveling. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by needing to cover the major tourist landmarks in a few days, or see every masterpiece in every major museum - I think it's because our brain can't actually process so much, so quickly. A sketchbook practice gives a structure to your day, and forces you to slow down and take everything in at a different pace, it's a way of seeing things deeper rather than simply seeing more of them.

a dandelion and a little path in an old cemetery in Mexico City, gouache on toned paper

When I was in my twenties I had more time (and almost no money) - and I would take a month long solo cycling trip to Europe every year. Everything I needed - tent, sleeping bag, clothes, sunblock - would fit into my pannier bags. I'd take a sketchbook, a few pens and a little watercolor set and brushes, which was all the art supplies I needed. I remember the rhythm of those days - I'd wake up at sunrise in the forest where I'd sleep, pack up my tent, then bicycle till around 7am, when I'd stop at any town or village I'd be passing through for coffee, and my first drawing session of the day. I tended to pick cafes in the middle of the main square, draw some of the buildings or streets across from me, and watch the town wake up around me. Around 9:30 or 10 I'd finish up and hop on my bike again for a few hours, stopping for lunch, and more drawing and exploring whatever city I was in. The time I spent with the sketchbook gave a structure to my days, and a prism through which I saw the world.

So the next time you travel - try it! Bring a sketchbook and a pen, maybe a little travel art kit if you're going to be using color. Sketch in a museum, or in a cafe to begin your day, or a park bench when you're taking a break from sightseeing. You will bring back a sketchbook full of memories and a deeper understanding of the places you travelled through.

Here's a link to my perfect travel sketchbook setup

If you want to begin your own sketchbook practice you can download a free guide I made to beginning your sketchbook practice here:

a photo of me drawing a tree in my sketchbook in Rome a few summers ago