There's something magical about travelling with a sketchbook. The ability to translate a scene in just a few pencil strokes or paint marks, capturing the moment and the emotion in a way that cameras just never can.
I love browsing my old sketchbooks, particularly the ones I theme by place, or subject. Flicking through the pages I remember how the air felt, the sounds and my state of mind, who I was with, and what I wanted to capture in those first impressions. It's like a travel scrapbook, only better. But it's hard to choose the right media and tools, and important to travel light. I always forget something, but I've learned to see this as less of a challenge and more an opportunity to learn. Forgot an eraser? Learn to draw without one. No white paint? Try to create natural mixes using other colours. Travelling with a sketchbook is a way to personalise your experience. Whether it's a family holiday, a hike or off-road adventure, even a honeymoon, you can always carry a compact sketchbook and basic supplies with you in a small bag, ready to pull out at a moment's notice.
The unenviable part of travelling is all of the waiting. Airports, trains, queues, even just waiting for coffee. But this is where your sketchbook can have a moment to shine! Don't be shy, don't worry if you don't have a surface to draw on, or even a chair. Just embrace those ten minutes without scrolling on your phone to create.
Ten reasons to travel with your sketchbook
It's a chance to relax
When sketching, you need to focus, and in our fast-digital world, this can be a difficult skill to practice. Focusing on the small details of an architectural scene or reflections in water becomes almost meditative, and you'll find the time simply melting away.
An excuse to detach We're all guilty of using our phones too much. A sketchbook gives you a break and allows you to engage more directly with the world, without peering through a camera lens. You can reach out and touch the grass, bury your toes in the sand as you sketch, and really get to know your environment.
Setting up in the stunning Elan Valley, Wales. Increases memory
Drawing is well known to improve memory, and sketching the same scene multiple times from different viewpoints allows you to focus in on the specifics, and gives you a better recall of the scene than the more passive act of photographing it.
Improves observation skills
Looking outdoors, sketching and landscape painting en-plein-air go a long way to improving your value perception, your understanding of space, perspective and colour. The same landscape can transform from dusty soft greens to vibrant verdant hills thanks to a passing cloud. The character of wind-eroded rocks can change depending on the season and time of day. Textures become more obvious, atmosphere and distance grows, and you'll notice things that you wouldn't have seen were you just passing through.
Sketching in the Brecon Beacons, Wales, near Pen y Fan Spark new ideas
You'll be surprised what a change of scenery or even just a viewpoint can do to your ideas bank. Try sketching standing instead of sitting in the landscape. Try an urban scene or a different time of day. Or simply see what takes hold of your imagination in the moment.
Try new techniques
Travelling light doesn't mean you have to be limited. Swap out your supplies on different plein-air sessions, and make your sketchbook the place where you practice all those techniques you've been too hesitant to commit to. You could even try painting with natural materials around you, like twigs, leaves and even sharp stones.
Be unafraid to make mistakes
If you try any of the above, then yes, you need to accept the fact that you will make mistakes. A sketchbook is not the place for a final, polished work, but the place to repeat, repeat, analyse, try again. If you make a mistake, just turn the page and carry on!
Trying out my new Derwent Inktense blocks on a very pebbly beach in Aberystwyth Build confidence
Apart from just learning to paint in front of friends, family and the curious public, having a limited time and limited supplies takes away some of your options, which can help you build up your skills and better understand your strengths and weaknesses, as well as understand exactly how much you can achieve within a limited time, or adverse conditions.
Get closer to your subject
I'm not here to tell you to ditch the reference photos or Google, but being out in nature and being able to work with your subject directly is great for your hands and your mind, and you'll find an added depth in your works, once you get to know your subject in finer detail.
Document your journey, your way
Your sketchbook is a unique tour of your experiences and can be a great place to jot down sensory information - how the beach smelled, how the waves sounded, what the clouds were doing. Your sketchbook pages can include ticket stubs, dried leaves and petals, colour notes, working titles, descriptions of the landscape and much more beyond observational sketches and drawing. Treat your sketchbook like a travel journal or scrapbook, and you'll fill it up in no time!
Watercolour of Edinburgh Castle, from the Prince's Gardens
How To Paint and Sketch Outdoors
Choose the Right Sketchbook: Opt for a portable, lightweight sketchbook that suits your preferred medium - thinner paper is create for pencils but choose a heavier GSM for watercolour and mixed media. Avoid chunky spiral bound and hardback sketchbooks that will take up space and add weight to your bag.
Pack Light, but Pack Smart: Carry a small pencil case with essential tools like pencils, watercolours, brush pens and a portable water container. Also consider things like how you'll transport a wet sketchbook - I recommend fast drying mediums for this reason - erasing tools, cloths for wiping brushes, a plastic bag for depositing used brushes and paint tubes to avoid spills, and clips to prevent pages from blowing around in the wind!
Sketch Regularly: Dedicate a few minutes each day to drawing, even if it’s in your own garden or a view from a window.
Embrace Imperfection: Don’t worry about making “perfect” drawings—focus on capturing the moment.
Incorporate Notes: Add dates, locations, or short reflections to enrich your sketches and recall the scenes/ideas later on.
So, next time you head out on an adventure, bring along your sketchbook—you might just discover a whole new way to see the world.
Chloe
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