Travel sketching with Erin Hill

Last weekend I decided to expand my drawing skills on location, with a travel sketching course and now I’m hooked.

I’ve come to accept that being creative doesn’t mean others will be impressed with any of my art or crafts. But that doesn’t matter. It’s all about the enjoyment I get from the time spent doing or experiencing something creative.

So even if you’re not creative you might consider giving something creative a go, especially when on your travels. Why not check out my other creative travel posts for ideas.

Sketching

Sketching isn’t about being able to draw, it’s about capturing a moment. For me, this is ideal when on my travels, or when out and about. It’s a lot like keeping memories in my Smashbook. Think of it as recording an impression, but not just in a photograph.

What I’ve always enjoyed about drawing out on location is that you some how record memories associated with where you are. Of course, sketching out an image helps capture something visual, but when you look back at that picture in the future, you remember other things, bringing some of the moment back.

Erin Hill Sketching

Erin Hill is based in Australia, but travels the world sharing her travel sketching technique. So her most recent workshop in London was my first chance to give a her approach a try.

It’s amazing how easily I can just switch off and lose myself when being creative. Erin’s approach is to just give it a go. Following some basic instructions, I found it quick and easy to pick up the basics. Even with just 15 minutes to draft a thumbnail and then “bang in” the main shape onto the page, I still had time to add some perspective with a person.

I think the warm up exercise of a still life which included a bottle of red wine helped. Not that we drank any of it, but because it allowed for an introduction into how to apply colour using Erin’s technique. With the “3 musketeers”, her go to colours and just 8-10 other colours, the approach was very different to anything I’ve done with pencils or watercolour previously.

As I slapped on yellow ochre, cadmium red and ultramarine in varying washes, it just looked like a watery mess running down my page. As I built up the colours, following Erin’s instructions, things improved.

More red, more blue, more water. Taking off colour where needed. And then the magic happens with a white Posca pen.

There’s obviously a bit more to it than I can get into a short post but hopefully you get the idea. Looking at the other 10 competed sketches really put things into perspective. Everyone’s style, even following the same technique, is different. It’s all about creating your own impression. I couldn’t wait for the second day.

If you are interested in learning more about Erin’s travel sketching technique, you might have to head to Australia (!), as she doesn’t have any more scheduled workshops in the UK this year. Those who fancy a trip to Italy or Fiji are in luck, as Erin does have a couple of sketch tours, still with spaces in September and October. Certainly tempting…

I’m definitely going to be giving my new addiction some time on my travels and when out and about. Maybe even sharing some more here in my site.