How do you "sketch" FEELINGS?

The Art of Journaling

How do you sketch (or draw) feelings?

Since the past post “1,2,3 DRAW! The benefits of timed drawing, I had a look back through my old Travel Journals to see who among them still had room, whose pages were filled up and to remind myself of where I've been over these last few wonderful years. Teaching Painting Retreats over the last 20 years has hands down been some of my favourite time as an artist.   I admit, I got lost for a few hours as I strolled down memory lane flipping through their ink splattered pages. 

In last week’s post, we sped it up, but this week’s post is about slowing it down.

One of my favourite things about travelling is the enjoyment of sitting down with a few pens and some paint.  Our lives are so fast paced, and even when we’re supposed to be on vacation, we’re hurried - trying to catch and share as much of it as possible. Often times we don't even remember all of the moments because we were so busy capturing them behind our phones and cameras. As (not just an artist, but) a fully engaged participant in the word around me, the idea of giving myself permission to look around and feeeeeel my environment with ALL of my senses; wind in my hair, salty sea on my skin, the taste of local food, wine or between my toes is heavenly... picking up a brush instead of a camera, allows my focus to shift and forces me to slow it down.

LIKE REALLY…. Slow it aaaaaallll down.

In a previous post I chatted about APPRECIATION…

a KEY ELEMENT to LEARNING how to SEE LIKE AN ARTIST

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People who spend their life looking for and seeking out beauty are more likely to also find it and you will begin to SEE colour & gorgeousness EVERYWHERE (even in the most mundane things). What an amazing way to approach your next adventure, outside, on a vacation or even your next drive although I don’t recommend you draw whilst driving.

Painting vs Photography

PHOTO: THEAK CHHUOM

I love… and I mean looooove my camera and I bring it (or my iphone) every time I travel, but when we draw (and you do NOT need to be an artist to do this) we create a more direct link to our brain and our memory of an experience. In similar ways to photography, my travel journal still aims to capture a sense of time, place or moment, but there are a few other things that I REALLY like about this method of documenting.

I can embellish and edit right on the spot. Don't like the telephone pole?  Boom, gone! Want to move that charming ice-cream vendor closer to the Eiffel  Tower? I can do that in a sketch.

I can isolate or put together any element in a scene even if they are not so in reality. In this way you can cobble together a scene that tells a story and it doesn’t have to be a fully realized vision or “landscape”. Think of it as a scrapbook, a train ticket here, an icecream there, a flower here and pint there. Scraps of experiences of not just SIGHTS but sounds and all of the FEELS that go along with that.

YOU FEEL ME?

Here is an example:

Jot some notes….

The other cool thing…. If I am in a rush I can write notes  (colours recorded, temperature, sounds, smells, vibe)  adding to the richness of my experience  making it more personal… these not only make it more personal but inform my  in home studio paintings.  Sometimes adding these little details really saves me where the camera or my memory might fail

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It also offer that full SENSORIAL experience that I can tune into that heightens my awareness…

This type of documentation tells the tale of what was on the forefront of my mind and what caught my eye at that particular time of inspiration; The sweetness of the air influenced by a fragrant tree in bloom, or  hint of cappuccino brewing in the market square, or the saltiness of the ocean.

The distant sound of a fog horn, a sputtering car up a steep & narrow cobblestone street are the stills from the movie which is my life. These sketches  don’t have to be earth shattering in quality or in subject.

Monet’s Garden in Giverny

They can be as whimsical or as common "everyday" as you like. The smallest illustration can help  you to relax, engage, reflect and absorb life. A salt and pepper shaker, a cup of coffee.

• DON’T JUDGE YOURSELF

  Bryce Wymer (www.brycewymer.com): “Working in a sketchbook or writing in a journal is a physical and mental exercise. It’s not necessarily meant to be hung on a wall or handled with white gloves. It’s one of those rare places in this world where on one page you can totally geek out and experiment with abstraction and on the next page you can work through a refined portrait where there will undoubtedly always be something wrong with the nose.”

  Keep it simple

  You don’t need a lot of lines to make your drawing sing

  Keep it bright and don’t over work

  Keep the paper – keep it light (spaces and raw paper)

KEEP READING below for all of the PROMPTS + a list of small scale art supplies perfect for travel!