For this exercise I was tasked with documenting a journey, focusing on the beginning, middle and return. I had been wondering how to do this exercise. Should sketch and photograph and create three illustrations? What kind of journey? I had limited space any more on my train commute (and the line has become far too bumpy to sketch reliably!).
When we decided to take an impromptu day trip to the Isle of Wight on foot, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to document the journey in my sketchbook as a travel journal. I took my small square travel sketchbook as well as some pencils and pens with me. When we arrived, we realised it was also the Portsmouth Festival of Kites. We needed to board soon, and my first few sketches were quick, I overlaid them so that they all represented a single place. Once on the hovercraft itself, it was fun and challenging in equal measure; the weather was very inclement causing very choppy seas!
When we arrived on the island it was wet, rainy and early. We looked for somewhere to shelter. I realised when we sat down that the main pen I had brought had run out of ink! So we then needed to take an impromptu trip to a stationery shop for me to get a replacement. I opted to get some waterproof fineliners (well, given the rain it made sense to me!). I also picked up a cheap glue stick as I realised it was a great opportunity to capture the ephemera of the trip, rather than let it sit in my pocket!
When we got a few minutes here and there I took the opportunity to draw, experimenting with my different pens and pencils. This let me take a variety of approaches. While my family remained in the coffee shop to dry off, I spent some time hunkered into doorways to try and draw buildings that I found quirky and characterful.
I thought about adding colour to these, but I ended up liking just the pen lines, instead using my blue pencil to roughly colour in the sky just to separate the building from its background.
After the train to Shanklin, we walked along the cliffs to get down to the Esplanade. The lift turned out to be closed, which then meant we had to walk a long, winding route to find our way down. By the time we finally stopped for lunch, we were exhausted, but that also seemed a great time to document the whole experience. I had taken a quick photo of the life as we walked past and used that as a reference to capture that detail in my sketchbook. The food itself was delicious and provided something else to draw at the table!
I've never really been one to stick things into my sketchbook, but I liked finding things to add this time, it made the experiences feel more real. We got ice cream along the waterfront afterwards and pottered about. Both my wife and son were tired, and they decided they wanted to wait for a bus back to the train station. Unfortunately, the bus driver took a break along the way, and we missed our train! We had to wait another half hour for the next one, and so I used the time to record my travel partners! The journey back on the hovercraft was again a series of short-lived experiences, and my sketches reflected that. I decided not to sketch the return journey, and instead be present with my son. The seas were even worse this time around, so we gripped each other's hands firmly!
As we loaded everything back in the car, a brief respite in the drizzle gave me a few minutes to sketch the car in its parking bay with my magic pencil. After that, the sketchbook went away, and my sketchbook journey ended.
Thoughts
I actually enjoyed journalling more than I thought I would have - doing a trip with the family doesn't always give you a lot of time to sketch. Particularly if you have kids; their patience is limited.
The upside for me (as well as responding to the unexpected) was the way that I varied my approaches. The whole sequence seems to tie together nicely, yet I have not been consistent in my rendering choices. I am really enjoying drawing with my magic pencil at the moment, the random colours feel very freeing and give me licence to experiment.
I'll look for more opportunities like this. Not everything needs to be high-polished to be enjoyable in its execution nor its appreciation.
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