Research for my trip to Puglia, Italy, with Thalassa Journeys. Baroque Architecture in Lecce. Gouache. Sketchbook by Seawhite of Brighton.

A beautiful small temple in Kamakura on an early Fall day.

100 people of Japan. Kunst & Papier sketchbook, 12 × 12” gouache

A page from my 100 people in a week project.

Ordering food can be an adventure. Gouache, ink and collage, Japan Journal. December 2024

Gouache. Double page spread from my Japan Journal, following a trip to Japan in December 2024. Kunst & Papier sketchbook 7 × 5”

Keeping a sketchbook or travel journal is the most wonderful thing to, before, during and after a trip or vacation, or even just a special day. The anticipation, the attention paid and the great memories all contribute to making a sketchbook a very precious and meaningful souvenir. This is a double page spread from a recent trip to Greece. Holbein Mixed Media sketchbook. Watercolor and gouache

The only motorized traffic on this magical island are garbage trucks and an ambulance. Otherwise Donkeys do the hard work. Of course it’s best to go by foot. This is one reason why Hydra is so exceptional. Double page spread. October 2023

The old rivalries and jealousies. Here the Greek Gods eye their potential mates and rivals - Swimmers in the heavenly turquoise seas.

So many possibilities - Minoan, Cycladic, through the eyes of Picasso, contemporary. People watching is always fabulous

Every morning I would walk down to a wonderful coffee shop by the harbor, order a cappuccino and people watch. The sun was already up and the sailors and ferrymen and dock workers had probably been up for several hours.

The Hydriots are very proud of their heroes and the mustaches are so fun to draw and paint.

Views, small and large. paint, colored pencil and graphite. Leaving negative space can be very dramatic.

Some of the olive trees are very ancient. Look closely and you can see some of the Dryads or Forest Spirits who inhabit them

There are cats everywhere

Making your own sketchbooks is very fun and very easy. I particularly like small, landscape format books

Double page spread. The colosseum in Nimes. (Now used for music and theatre, just as the Romans intended.)

Jean Moulin, Hero of the French Resistance. 1899 - 1943. His image and name are everywhere in Lyon. French Sketchbook, Summer 2023

A good way to start any sketchbook is by choosing a color palette

Try to limit what you take.

Gimpse of a kitchen.

I painted this before going, as part of my general research. Starting a sketchbook before one goes helps to reduce the pressure and adds to the pleasure. It’s easier to continue than to start.

I do not know why Possums an Agave plants go hand in hand but it seems they do. Agave is the basis of Mezcal, which is even more potent than Tequila.