Nothing helps you remember a time and a place like making a sketch while you are there. I must have taken a hundred photos of the little town of Nafplio, Greece, but I don’t remember taking any of them. But I will never forget the sepia ink sketch I did of the town center. I can still feel the breeze blowing off the bay and taste the glass of wine I had while doing this drawing. I can still remember my sister holding an umbrella over my head when a rain shower came up while I was doing the double page spread of Balquhidder, Scotland. Those are the kind of memories you can’t get from taking a photo. Those are the times that make doing a travel sketch most valuable.

I use a number of mediums when sketching during my travels. I usually have several options in a small shoulder bag. I choose what seems appropriate to the time and location, as well as by listening to the muse.

Pencil sketches are the easiest – no muss no fuss, just a good #2 (HB) pencil and a pad. In the long run, they are the toughest to reproduce because they have a lot of subtle tones. I turned my drawing of Florence of the Piazza Della Signoria into a high-contrast image.

I really enjoy doing ink drawings. I typically use a fountain pen with a thin calligraphy nib. It gives me very fine lines when turned on its side and a broader line when held face down. My favorite inks are Sepia and DANIEL SMITH Walnut Ink. Sepia is a deeper color, while the Walnut Ink is more reddish. Walnut Ink is also more water-soluble, so with just a #6 round brush and a glass of water, you can create fun washes.

On the Sepia sketch of the Piazza Della Signoria, Florence, I used actual espresso coffee as a wash. Espresso is referred to as the “poor architectural student’s wash.” For generations, architectural students have traveled around Europe and the world, sketching the major and minor architectural monuments using their cup of espresso and a glass of water to create a range of warm washes to enhance their travel sketches.

From time to time, I even use black ink, as in the sketch of the medieval street in Gubbio, Italy, a small hill town near Fabriano.

Travel sketches have a lot of uses. In the case of the Interior, Bath, England, I was suffering through a very long, pompous speech about the superiority of English town planning. Drawing the interior of this fine room turned a time that was becoming quite tiresome into a lovely afternoon. I think the drawing of the window, in the same room, is a reflection of my desire to escape.

My favorite sketch books are 7” x 10” wire-bound. I have them in a heavyweight drawing surface and a watercolor paper. I also carry postcard-size watercolor blocks. Over the years, I have sent my children and grandchildren postcard drawings both to share my experiences with them and to let them know that I am always thinking about them.

Sketching with watercolor is usually reserved for when you have more time and a comfortable, shady place to sit. This should not be confused with the more serious side of plein air painting. Sketches are done faster and with the intent of just recording the moment.

My mother’s family, the McLaurins (MacLaren), have gathered in the glen of Balquhidder, in the southern highlands near Sterling, since the year 960. Therefore it was most appropriate that I record my visit there in a few sketches, as time allowed. The story of the ruined Kirk beside the new Kirk, and that Rob Roy McGregor is buried just outside the door of the ruined Kirk is fixed in my mind now that I have done that sketch in the late afternoon.

I hope these will give you ideas for your next trip. It doesn’t need to be a masterpiece. It doesn’t even need to be finished. I have bits and scraps of sketches started that were never finished because a rain came up, or my friends came back from shopping before I had expected them. Don’t let that bother you – stay calm and kketch on.