Watercolor painting of a natural landscape featuring trees, grass, rocks, a river with swans, and mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.
A watercolor painting of a sunset over a landscape with silhouettes of trees and a small animal in the foreground.
A woman with short gray hair and colorful earrings is holding an illustrated book with a landscape scene of a river, trees, and ducks at sunset. She is smiling and standing near a body of water with a cloudy sky overhead.
A woman is sitting at a white outdoor table on a boat, looking at a map. The table has various drinks, including a glass of beer, water bottles, and a glass of water. There is a telescope on the table. The boat is on a calm river with lush green tree
An older woman with short gray hair smiling and holding a colorful landscape painting outdoors near water during sunset. She is wearing a light turquoise jacket, earrings, and a black and white patterned bracelet.

Sketchbooks

When you draw something or somewhere, you REALLY see it.

Through drawing, you experience a place in a much deeper way’. You take the time to draw a breath, to smell and listen and feel a place, absorb it and then express it on the page.

I've lived overseas  for many years and love to travel. Wherever I go, I always carry my sketchbook.

And as Victoria Crowe says so eloquently, my sketchbook is my visual diary to experiment and explore and dream and imagine and it's just for me! Sometimes my drawings lead to larger paintings.

Often, just the experience of making the drawing, soaking up the atmosphere and capturing a memory is enough.