Whenever I travel I take my journal/sketchbook with me (along with a good book, of course). I've tried taking other art supplies but I find watercolours take so long to dry and acrylics require space for supports and paints. But my sketchbook can go anywhere. In fact, I keep a small moleskine in my purse so that I always have something to do whenever I'm waiting anywhere...school, dentist, doctor, physiotherapist, chiropractor, traffic (when I'm not driving), etc. I've found that it helps improve my patience ten-fold, so much so, that I'm sometimes disappointed when I don't have to wait too long. I've taken to drawing at campgrounds, on hikes, in museums and historical villages - favorite haunts of my family. I use it to write down ideas for gifts for my family, for grocery lists on occasion, and always sketch out the items I will pack whenever I travel. I love the fact that I can draw and write with the simplest of tools - paper and a pen - which makes the creation of art so much less intimidating. I remember my first art class in senior high. On our first day, we were given a pencil, erasor and sketchbook and told to draw something every day. After graduating I tried to keep up with the practice but then got caught up in trying too hard to make things 'perfect' - as if that is even possible. And then I switched to a pen, something that couldn't be fixed, and oddly enough it gave me the freedom to make mistakes. And knowing that the sketches in my books will most likely not be seen by anyone else but me gives me that much more freedom.
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