Travel, Art, and Noticing Things

Travel is great. New odd places, ethnic food, weird signs.  

But here’s the thing—we usually rush through it. Snap a few pics, the pool, the must-see spots, and boom, done. Back to the airport.

Capturing the right view in Matera, Italy, Sept, 2024 Art changes that. Art Makes You Slow Down.

When you’re sketching a view of a city scape, you have to look at the city for its shapes, angles, colors. Then stuff starts popping up - shapes, shadows, reflections. Suddenly the city view isn’t just a background. It’s the main character.

Balcony View, Tirana, Albania. Sept, 2024 Seeing Differently

Travel already messes with your perspective. New streets. New vibes. Getting out of your usual bubble.

Now add art to that?  Changes it all. A bumpy dirt road turns into a color palette. A broken window frame becomes poetry.   A simple sketch of a building makes you connect to it and build up a relationship with the space in the city.

Street scene, sketch study, Tirana, Albania. Sept, 2024

You Don’t Need Fancy Supplies

Just bring a pen. Take some notes. Snap weird photos. Draw badly. It doesn’t matter. The goal isn’t to be good. It’s to see.  

View in Matera, Southern Italy. Sept, 2024

So next trip? Pack light. Bring something to draw or write with. Slow down. Look around. Make something, see the world a little differently.

Vernazza Italy, 2024