Some time ago I found an old wiro notebook in a drawer. A scruffy wiro bound notebook with a photo of 2 men in a kayak with a bear on the front cover. In that notebook I found terrible sketches drawn in pencil made while travelling in 1991. One sketch leapt out at me. It was a rough pencil sketch of Mt Ararat from a backpacking trip to eastern Turkey. The sketch really surprised me – it was a very basic pencil sketch, drawn using a .5mm technical pencil on a cheap notepad. The sketch is just black and white… To my surprise the sounds and smells of the day came flooding back. Meeting some Kurdish goat herders and their flock near the base of Mt Ararat, about 10km from the Iranian border on a bright sunny but cool, alpine day. Along with memories of driving across the mountain steppe in an old Renault 19 and the smells of chai and coffee in a Doğubayazıt pasta solunu. It all came back come flooding back! Why did it evoke such vivid memories? I’m not really sure to be honest. Maybe t...
Some of my earliest urban sketches were attempted while cycling around Spain (and Ireland, Portugal and France) way back in 1991. Naturally I’m excited to be heading back again with a bunch of Kiwi and Aussie sketchers some 25-odd years later!
This time guiding a 10 day sketching tour beginning in Barcelona and finishing in Seville. The dates are 21-30 April, 2020 – the perfect time to dodge the crowds and timed before things get really, really hot and we'll be staying in somewhat nicer accommodation than the dome tent in '91. Amelia and Ellen at 2ways have spent lots of time searching out boutique places to stay and the best spots to sketch and dine – it should be great.
Why don’t you join us - go to this link for more information.
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