Unexpected Detour
Well, I can now say with confidence, never again. Our planned 400-mile cycling tour (see previous post) was a combination of great cycling, good people, sleepless nights, extremely hot temperatures, and unexpected detours when my husband got sick. These pages aren’t beautiful, but they are an honest snapshot. I found it nearly impossible to record much along the way, but I thought I’d share this anyway to give you an idea of the trip and what a simple travel journal can look like. As always, thanks for following along!
Spark Your Creativity!
If you are an artist, or an aspiring one, you already know the value of practice—there’s no substitute for making marks on paper. But sometimes, you need more than that to jumpstart your creativity or to take your artwork to the next level. I’m excited to announce several new classes and workshops designed to offer techniques, ideas, support, and inspiration. I hope you’ll consider joining me! Fun Farmer’s Market: Creative Layouts & Lettering Online at Winslow Art CenterThursdays July 10, 24, August 7, August 21; 3:00-5:00 PM Pacific /6:00-8:00 PM EasternAdd some… Read More
It’s all about water
On our recent trip to California, we visited the Pacific coast near San Diego and the desert at Anza Borrego Desert State Park. In both places, adapting to life with and without water influences everything. On the coast, we explored tide pools, where twice a day species that live on the margin between ocean and land showcase a myriad ways of staying moist when the tide goes out. The area we explored is a designated marine reserve which helps protect the rocky and sandy intertidal areas these species rely on. In the… Read More
Vacation Sketching
I’m back from a week on the island of Vinalhaven, which lies 15 miles off the coast of Rockland, Maine. While I’m incredibly grateful for the time away, I’m also longing for more. My week was full of exploring tidal coves, hiking through moss carpeted spruce forests, swimming in the island’s former granite quarries, sinking into new books, and sketching. I could have easily kept going and, as the week wound down, I realized too late that I didn’t schedule quite enough time for painting. Alas, it’s all good. I’m happily thinking… Read More
What lies ahead
A map and a blank page—what better way to start a vacation? Tips and Techniques– Making a map often requires careful drawing, so you may find it helpful to do it in advance of your travels. You can add elements as you go right on the map or make sketches in the margins surrounding it. You can also decide how much of the place to include—you may want to zoom in on a particular area or tackle something larger. I’m thinking about including a series of maps for this trip but we’ll… Read More
Iceland Travel Sketches
Iceland is all drama: volcanos, lava flows, cinder cones, geysers, tectonic plates, waterfalls, sheer cliffs, glaciers, frigid waters, shifting weather. It’s a place of all or nothing. All darkness, all daylight, all in, or stay home. But it’s also a place of great subtlety, where keeping your eyes wide open makes all the difference. My family spent a week exploring just a small fraction of the country. I took many photos but managed just a handful of sketches. Despite my best preparations and intentions, cold weather, gusty winds, big hikes, and traveling… Read More
Of Maps and Meaning
Maps convey both a sense of place and the experience and agenda of their maker. This map commemorates my trip to Hog Island Audubon Camp in Maine this summer for the Arts and Birding workshop. It’s one thing to have your daily schedule or itinerary on a piece of paper; quite another to illustrate it and imbue it with additional meaning and memory: puffins flying overhead, the sound of the sea gently lapping on shore, moss carpeted forests of spruce and fir, winter wrens trilling their song in the silence. I hope… Read More
Bits and Pieces
I traveled to Maine last week to direct and teach the Arts & Birding workshop at the Audubon Camp at Hog Island. The workshop is an intensive five-day program that includes bird walks at dawn, a variety of art lessons, hikes, evening programs, and a day-long boat trip to see Atlantic puffins and other seabirds. We welcomed a wonderful group of artists this year who sketched, learned, shared, and produced beautiful artwork. Because my job includes teaching and ensuring that everything is running smoothly, my painting time is limited. Still, I managed… Read More
Travels in Italy—Part 1
Buon Giorno…It’s been a while. I didn’t mean to be away so long. But sometimes travel leads to the unexpected. After a lovely week of teaching in Umbria and several days hiking up and down the steep hillsides overlooking the sea in Porto Venere, my trip to Italy took a wrong turn when I tested positive for Covid in Florence and couldn’t come home. You may be thinking that spending an unexpected week in Florence is a dream…but not so much when you have to find a place to stay during the… Read More
Just the Essentials
So many lists. Still a lot to do. My trip to Italy is a week away and I am nearly ready…but not quite. There’s still paring down and packing and final workshop preparations, but what else can I manage to cram in? A bit of gardening? A few Italian language lessons? House cleaning? Another pre-trip journal page? Alas, this will be my last blog post for a few weeks as I like to unplug and immerse myself fully in a place while traveling and teaching. I’ll share my journey upon my return…. Read More
Jean Mackay
The Nature Explorer’s Sketchbook
Listen to the Podcast
Drawn In 