#travelartjournaling

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."                                                                                                - Aristotle

So what is "travel art journaling" you ask?

Art journaling when travelling, I answer.

Why travel-art-journaling, you wonder.

"Here's why...", I reply.

Enjoying a bonfire at sunrise with some locals at the Ganga ghat, Varanasi

It is about Recording Memories

All it really is, is a Personal Journal. Where one has the freedom to say whatever the heart wants, in one's language of choice.

In my case, it is art. I enjoy painting, and watercolours happen to be especially portable. I carry a little pouch ** with a few pens and brushes, and a small sketchbook. All designed to fit into my regular sized handbag, so that I have my supplies with me at all times. I paint and record the time/place/date, who I was with,  how many holidays done, how many more to go. And I record the weather, the light quality, conversations and feelings and tastes and restaurant names... I sometimes stick small tickets, maps, and flowers my children gave me. And anything else that meant anything to me. Like I said, it is about recording my memories in my journal.

No pressure to create masterpieces, just say what you feel

But you don't know how to paint!!! Or where to begin!! Or even what to paint!!

Let me assure you, that's quite alright! The point here is not to create A MASTERPIECE, but just to say how you feel. The idea is not to make it look perfect, or as pretty as one sees on social media! You don't need to publicly share your journal. It is about authenticity. Saying what you feel, and saying it in the manner you feel comfortable with. A funny sketch, spattering of some colour, decorating the date of one of the best dates you have had, doodling flowers... be expressive!! Being able to express the love you felt at that time through your own special brand of artwork, that's all!

The bonus, I have found, is that my own art work has much improved and become looser, more expressive with time. Holidays have a habit of making everything more enjoyable! 

Beachcombing with my husband, Mauritius

Start where you are

The number one rule in art-journaling is that there are no rules!

Having established that, the point is to start where you are. Wherever that might be... we are talking not just about actual physical locations, but that virtual place in your art journey too. With whatever stationary you might possess. It is Your journey of self discovery, self-expression. So you get to start where you are! And let that personal road meander through whatever unexplored lands that it wants... and to borrow from Dr. Seuss,  it will lead you to being truer to the You that you are! Your sketchbook will be about what you experienced at that time and place, with your own resources. And the more one nurtures  this creative aspect, the more rewarding and fulfilling it becomes! I, for one, find it really relaxing to spend some alone time with my paints on a family holiday. Or to kill time at a restaurant, waiting for the food to arrive! 

Chai time, because I liked the cup!

A little "Me time"

My children are growing more youthful by the day, and loving adventure sports and all sorts of things, while I suppose I'm just getting older! I enjoy their hugs a lot more, scream at them a lot less, need my "me-time" a lot more, enjoy the breeze, the sunrises and the sunsets. I appreciate bird-song a lot more, and clouds, and meditate when I'm on holiday too. I enjoy a hot cuppa on my lonesome, and just love to paint or sketch a little then. It gives me a good excuse of 15 - 20 minutes when I can paint, watch my family from a little way off, and seriously feel gratitude for all that the universe has gifted to me...

Flic en Flac beach, Mauritius

Self Discovery and Healing through Journaling

It is a journey of self-expression, you get more in touch with your feelings, and get better at how to express those feelings.

And believe me, I've come to realise how much more I can be in a space of gratitude and love when I see/feel the beauty around me, simply because I want to put it on paper. Or at least, that's how it all began I think. In my effort to look for beautiful things to paint, I started to really see the beauty around me. In the colours and textures, in the smells and the sensations, the breezes or wind, in the light rainfall, or in a heavy downpour. I stopped worrying about my children getting their clothes dirty, because I was too worried about trying to finish my little painting before the downpour! And that's a nicer kind of worrying :)

River Mula, Pune, at sunset

And you know what? Every time that I have frantically prayed to the Good Ol' Fella up  there to stall the rain or wind or the sunset for a little bit longer so that I could finish my painting, He hath obliged!! Without fail!! I truly believe that when one gets into a space of being so in your heart, and feeling so much love for the beauty* around us, that we become attuned to the flow of the universe.... it starts to flow right through us. And that's when it obliges us with these little treats! Prayers answered, requests granted. (Or denied, that's quite alright too... the universe is playful, sometimes it like to mess with us!) But maybe that's a story for another day. For now, suffice to say, that it was my love of artjournaling that allowed me a glimpse into the oneness of all creation - there is no humans vs nature... it is all US. And it is all IT. And it is all ONE! 

---

P.S.  *I realise "beauty" might be misleading here. I talk of the beauty of all creation, the perfection of all creation, all things big and small, and the Lord God makes them all :)

**My essential list of supplies includes a small palette where I have managed to fit in 24 pans of my favourite paints from my favourite brands (primarily holbein/mijello for their bright colours) In fact , I keep another even smaller palette made out of a candy tin, with 20 of my favourite Daniel Smith paints. A light pouch has a clutch pencil, a water-colour pencil, an eraser, sharpener, a couple of fineliners, a couple of inexpensive but good brushes (the backsides of which are sharpened to make another marking tool), a waterbrush, a few paper napkins, and a small lidded empty plastic water container. My sketchbook of choice is an inexpensive lightweight 5 1/2" x 3 1/2" 120 gsm Hahnemuhle travel booklet (or I sometimes just take a Rs. 20 sketchbook and cut it to size!) which opens up to give me over 5" x 7" to work on. (I also like to carry slightly bigger and heavier sketchbooks, but they have been rarely used) Good enough for anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour of painting time. But more on this next time!

Kashid in the rains