Many years ago, to help me celebrate a milestone birthday, my husband whisked us off to northern Spain to visit friends. Our friend’s town of Ascara had a population of 27 and everyone lived in old stone houses nestled together on top of a hill. Below the town, golden fields planted in rows were set against a big blue sky that completely surrounded us.

I heard the hollow sound of bells playing in different rhythms as a flock of sheep passed through the fields with their herder. The sun was hot upon my neck and I sought a cooler breeze in the shade. I can write that scene from memory because I painted it. I decided to slow down our hectic pace for a few hours to really see and to activate all of my five senses. This small painting placed in the same album with all of our photos is the only image I can clearly see from memory. It changed my idea of how a travel experience could be recorded.

Frederick Franck in his book “Zen of Seeing” says that “in this 20^th century, to stop rushing around, to sit quietly on the grass, to switch off the world and come back to earth, to allow the eye to see a willow, a bush, a cloud, a leaf…I have learned that what I have not drawn, I have never really seen.” 

We have the tendency to see on a superficial level because our minds are cluttered with the scenes of our hectic daily lives. Change forces us to become more aware of our surroundings as we begin to notice things that were always present. Travel is an example of change that gives you the jolt needed to see the beauty of a place. We can train ourselves (like artists) to be more observant and to record our travel experiences in many ways.

The Basics. I would like to share with you some of the basics of seeing, drawing and journaling that I teach to the participants in my travel art journal workshop/tour called Explore and Create in Costa Rica. Regular bond paper and a pencil or pen is all you need to begin the following two exercises in your home.

Find a comfortable place where you will not be interrupted for 15 minutes to begin the observation exercise. Record everything you see, hear, smell and feel through written and drawn observations. Don’t forget to look above, below and behind you. Close your eyes to concentrate on the sounds and smells. Practice this exercise in some form several days a week even if it is for 5 minutes. Vary the time of day, location and your body position. Are there differences in your observations or your emotions depending on the location, etc.? 

Drawing is more about seeing and it is probably the easiest and most portable way to bring more creativity into your life. We are not born with the skill to draw; but rather it is learned and practiced like reading, driving a car or learning a foreign language. With that said, draw your breakfast, even if it is a cup of coffee. Before you begin, take a moment to observe your object(s) almost to the point that you feel a part of it. As your eyes slowly trace its outline, simultaneously draw what your eyes see. Remember to draw what you see and not what you think you see. Caption your drawing as if you were doing an observation exercise.

How to create a memorable journal. I have found that the most memorable and interesting travel art journals include written, drawn, painted and collaged pages. Selecting a theme for your journal helps to focus your observations. Often the theme reflects the interests of the person and/or specific highlights of a country. For example, a theme for Costa Rica could be nature or new Spanish words.

Next, observe the colors that you see and paint a light wash of those colors on several pages of your journal. Be observant of where you found those colors. Was it a color found in nature or was it a mosaic tile found in a temple in Spain? Apply the colors from nature in a fluid style and create a border on your journal page to look like mosaic tiles. Use those colored pages for your written observations or as a base to collage your found objects. Collect menus, travel brochures, postcards, tickets, stamps, etc. to collage into your journal.

Your travel art journal kit. I like to travel light. I carry with me a 7”X10” spiral watercolor pad, #4 and #10 round brushes, a fine tipped black permanent drawing marker, a glue stick and a set of 12 or 24 watercolor pencils plus sharpener. Watercolor pencils allow me to quickly capture the moment by drawing in the color areas like a coloring book. Later in my hotel room, I can touch my drawings with a wet brush and turn them into paintings that will be dry and ready to go for the following day.

Remember that a travel art journal is not always about pretty pictures or entries. It is a cumulative record of our feelings and observations during our travel. We join the ranks of great people like C.S. Lewis, Columbus and Leonardo da Vinci when we journal. Journaling is also a learned skill that improves with practice.