Tess Needham

I’ve always wanted to be someone who carries around a sketchbook, stopping to notice and capture unique and interesting scenes from my interesting life. But alas, the mere act of carrying around a sketchbook and pencil has not been motivating enough to miraculously make me an urban sketcher like the amazing Liz Steel.

So last year, I signed up for Liz’s Sketching Now Travel Sketching course. This three-part online course outlines simple techniques to maximise time and capture the moment when sketching while travelling.

I’ve been enjoying putting the techniques to work, but my taste still exceeds my abilities. I have yet to achieve the kind of effortless simplicity that I so admire in others. Improving my skills and developing a unique style requires repetition and practice.

Sketching practice in Montreal

A recent business trip to Montreal gave me a good opportunity to practice. I was reminded how pleasurable it is to travel with the intention to capture the experience through creativity, whether photography, art, or writing. I prioritised exploring the city, so I would have interesting things to sketch.

However, while Liz Steel is a proponent of sketching on location, I find that logistically difficult a lot of the time. It’s usually too hard to stop somewhere, especially when with others or on the way to something else. Instead, I give myself grace to take photographs and then sketch later, usually in the comfort of my hotel room.

What I’ve learned so far

I’m still a beginner, but through trial and error I’ve learned that for me, the most effective things to focus on in sketching are:

1. Proportion: When the proportions are right in a scene, I can be a lot more free with other elements like the quality of line or the colour palette. Keeping things in proportion helps to ensure the sketch is recognisable.
2. Focus: Choosing just one element of the scene to focus on helps to get the sketch down quickly, as I can start with that element and build around it.
3. Depth: I find a background, middle ground, and foreground in the scene, and choose which one is the focal point. Treating each one slightly differently (whether through colour, detail, or medium) creates depth and interest in the scene.

My travel sketching kit

I’ve used several different types of sketchbook, but right now for flexibility and convenience I’m loving the Traveler’s Notebook. I currently have three refills inside my passport-sized version: 003 blank notebook, 006 monthly free diary, and 015 watercolour paper.

This gives me a wide range of options, from scrapbooking and sketching with dry media in the notebook, to daily doodles in the diary, and watercolour on the heavier pages of the watercolour refill.

I keep a Pilot Frixion erasable pen attached to the notebook for everyday use. For sketching, I’ve been using several different fountain pens with waterproof ink, and enjoying the flexibility of Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils.