Simplifying my kit again...

I did this little video MONTHS ago, and never got around to uploading it! I'm always looking for ways to simplify and lighten my load.

Naturally, I've tweaked a bit since then...

I was doing this with the camera in the right hand and moving my stuff with the left, hence the slight...um...weirdness.

Interview #12--Meet Laure Ferlita!

I first "met" Laure Ferlita online...no big shock there...and the better I know her the more impressed I am at her creativity, drive, organization, talent and helpfulness! If you've taken one of her classes, you're lucky enough to know her even better.

This glorious piece is one of Laure's small watercolors--check her website for more!

Laure is an accomplished watercolorist living in sunny Florida with her best friend and husband, Chris, as well as a host of critters. She fell under the spell of painting watercolors at the age of 15, as she watched a woman painting a Macaw parrot at an art show. However, it was to be years before Laure actually started to paint.

After a lengthy recovery from a car accident in her mid-20s, Laure decided to go in Graphic Design. As computers had not yet revolutionized the industry, Laure went to a trade school to learn to use an old-fashioned t-square, paste-up board, ruby acetate and a wax machine. (For those unfamiliar with those items, please use Google!)

Fast forward through 20+ years of design work for Fortune 500 companies to late 2007, when Laure learned her job was being outsourced. The opportunity to make a break from the bleak, gray cubicle walls presented itself 2 years earlier than she'd planned. Since Laure had been scheming and dreaming of an escape from Corporate America at the end of 2009 anyway, there was little doubt she was on her way out the door to another chance at an artistic life.

After some time off and the chance to get a read on her internal compass, Laure found herself with an unusual idea—the possibility to paint virtual locations without having to travel! After numerous conversations with artists, computer geeks, and friends, Laure decided to make a go of it. Loving travel, watercolors and journals, she couldn't think of anything much better than a life that combined the three and shortly afterwards, ImaginaryTrips.com was born. 

Imaginary Trips has met with uncommon success and continues to grow in leaps and bounds with trips and visits to more than a dozen different locations as well as the Artful Journaling series that helps artists get started with watercolor journaling. Now, 18 months later, the sibling company, ImaginaryTripsMadeReal.com has just launched with an inaugural trip to New Orleans in November 2011. These adventurous trips are designed to allow the artist to take their newly honed skills to actually paint live in the locations originally painted virtually.

She even makes garden gloves look beautiful...

 So let's get right on to the interview!

Q - How long have you kept a journal, and why did you start?  

A - Well, I've kept a written journal seen my late teens. It wasn't until about 5 years ago, when I saw some beautiful journal pages that incorporated both art and the written page, that I realized I was missing out on some fun! After just a few tries at combining art with my written thoughts, I was hooked!

Her skill with watercolors is astounding...

 

Q - You’re a wonderful watercolorist—did the journal come first, or after? 

A - I've been painting for 20 years. Journaling was a tough nut for me to crack....I have purchased dozens of beautiful journals throughout the years, each time thinking "This is the one! I'm going to fill this one!" However, those beautiful, pristine pages held me captive for the longest time. As a recovering perfectionist, I just knew I would mess them up! It wasn't until I made my own journals and started filling them, that I moved past the paralysis of the white page.

Q - How did you come up with the idea of imaginary trip journals?  (I’m using a bit in this chapter, which includes travel journals, and mentioning your classes.)  

A - Imaginary Trips came about because of conversation with a cyber friend. This friend asked me if I taught and I replied "no, not yet." She next told me she would soon be moving to Europe, and if I was interested, she would host me! I decided I needed to get busy with the teaching, except I couldn't find any local venues for my classes. So I decided to go virtual. After running the idea by several artists, friends, and a couple of computer geeks, Imaginary Trips was created! 

Q - How long have you been offering them?  

A - Imaginary Trips has been offering classes since September 2009. There is a full lineup of classes for the next six months now at ImaginaryTrips.com, with a few more still to come. A quick Christmas in July starts on July 7th and then in August, we're going to Italy, then Paris and the NOLA! 

Q - Do you do much actual travel?  

A - I used to have travel quite often when I worked in Corporate America. Most of 2009 and 2010 have been dedicated to getting Imaginary Trips up and running.

I will be getting in more travel now as I have just launched a new venture, Imaginary Trips Made Real! This new company gives artists the chance to paint on live location using the skills acquired in the online classes.

Once again, the new company has been met with great enthusiasm. The inaugural trip to New Orleans in November 2011 only has two spaces left! I am so excited to begin traveling again and in the company of other artists! If anyone is interested in more information on the trip, they can visit www.ImaginaryTripsMadeReal.com.

This is one of Laure's evolving kits--she tells me she's tweaked it and moved on to new supplies, but still considers this very workable.  You can click on it to see things more closely.

Q - How do you choose what art supplies to suggest? As if people were actually traveling?  What do you tell them to get?  

A - When I first started to learn to sketch on location, I would haul half the studio with me (whether I was going to my own backyard, the beach, the mountains or another country)! I quickly learned that less really is more—all that stuff gets h-e-a-v-y! I also began to realize it seemed to come down to a few choice tools I used over and over. I didn't need the vast majority of the stuff I was dragging around! One of the things that helped greatly with this was realizing that I was going to sketch, or to capture the essence of a place rather than a finished painting created on location. By identifying the activity as sketching or plein-air painting, I could then  sort out the equipment I needed for my adventure. 

For someone new to sketching, I suggest using the same sketching tools over and over again whether they're going to the backyard, around the block or to the other side of the world—a basic palette, journal and a few well chosen tools like a waterbrush, mechanical pencil, white eraser, etc., permanent black pen and a white gel ink pen. Learn the capabilities of those tools by pushing them to see what they can and cannot do. Test each item thoroughly to see if it has enough value to stay in the kit. If you don't use a tool, why haul it around with you?

You can see Laure's strong design background in many of her journal pages.

As I've identified things that I needed on location, I've added in those items. An example of this is a clear wax crayon to use as a resist. It's great for saving highlights and simple shapes like clouds. This saved me from trying to mask, reclaim or lift the highlights through scrubbing or scratching! Keeping your equipment to a minimum and knowing your tools intimately is one key to being successful sketching on location—whether it's virtual or in the real world!

--------------

And a personal note to me from Laure, which I'm including because she appreciates our fellow journal keepers: 

Kate, I would like to take a moment and say thanks to you for this fantastic book and the opportunity to help people realize the fun there is in journaling, whether on location or at the kitchen table. I am so very proud to part of this book as well as humbled to be in the company of so many fabulous artists!  I know you feel strongly about journaling. In the last five years, I've come to share those feelings as well. I simply can't imagine not keeping a journal. Again, thanks for including me and a tip of the hat to you for creating such a FANTASTIC book, the group blog, Facebook group and resources to help any artist get started or re-engaged with journaling!

-----------------

Thanks much, Laure, it's my pleasure, and I'm delighted to share you and your work with everyone!


Again, don't miss Laure's website: 
http://www.laureferlita.com/LaureFerlita/Home.html

Or her blog:
http://paintedthoughtsblog.blogspot.com/


Or her wonderful classes! http://www.imaginarytrips.com/ImaginaryTrips/Welcome.html

The short 2008 version...

...of the slideshow video I am FINALLY getting to finish. Hey, it's only been 3 years...or, of course, SIX since our San Francisco trip...and of COURSE I recorded it in my journal...

As usual...I am IN the ocean!

At Fisherman's Wharf...

I spoke to the first International Sierra Summit in San Francisco in 2005, a wonderful, delightful, humbling experience!  My sweetie met me there and acted as support and facilitator and carrier...and made sure I was FED.  We really did the town!  (You CAN get too much garlic, we discovered after eating at The Stinking Rose...


I got a new computer that didn't like my version of MovieMaker, but I've finally gotten an update and have been working hard to finish this project! I asked Sierra Club if I could make a slideshow CD of my presentation and they graciously agreed...

So...the new, complete version will be available on a CD, greatly expanded with PDFs and other bits and bobs...it's over 18 minutes long, at present, but I thought you might like to see a taste...

Thank you, Sierra Club!

Fruit, Flower & Berry Update

Fruit, Flower & Berry Update, a photo by PJBee on Flickr.

For a bit more story please visit Sketching in Nature blog.

New Kind of Travel Journaling

I know that on this blog, I am in the company of artists who actually go on a trip and spend large parts of their travel time sketching, painting, and writing, in their journal.

I am a big time road-tripper because I am a photographer. Every time I leave on a trip, I make a new resolution that this time, I will stop and take the time to get the journal for that trip completed.

But my best laid plans always go awry because my curiosity takes me off on many a tangent, and I end each day breathless with adventure and too tired to get the art part done.

I make elaborate visual plans in my journal before the trip with lots of art, and I come home with armloads of photos, sketches made while eating meals or driving (ouch), and all the flotsam and jetsam I picked up along the way. (Moleskine Sketchbooks make the best leaf and flower press by the way.)

Most of my actual travel journaling happens at home.

I have decided not only that this is OK (because I can't change it!), but also that I should share my methods of making pre-planning, traveling, and the trip aftermath all part of the travel journal experience. It makes the fun last a lot longer anyway.

So I have scheduled a brand new workshop to run through the Summer vacation season (yes, you can go on vacation in the middle of it - no problem).

The workshop is called "The Art of the Trip, Travel Journaling Mostly from Home", and you can find out more about it on my blog here:

http://www.wisdomwoman.com/whatever/

You can enjoy this workshop without going anywhere, or with a day trip to a nearby town, or an exploration of your own, or you can use it to go back and make travel journals for trips past. Anyway you do it, it will be big fun!

jessica

A single watercolor pencil...plus

Derwent blue gray, wet to suggest light and shadow...

Dry pencil...

Derwent blue grey and watercolor...

Here's my little guy in the sink with watercolor added...

Nice and loose...with watercolor pencils in other colors and some straight watercolor

Here's a dry pencil at upper left, one with water added at right, and watercolor at the bottom...versatile!

And of course you can use any color you want!  Here's Jenny in desert earth tones...

New mini-video on using a single watercolor pencil to sketch with...

A fun technique I use a lot for sketching...a single pencil in a neutral shade for value, then either just blending that or adding a bit of watercolor!

The squiggles on the right are just to show the variety of lines and values you can get with one pencil...this one is my favorite Derwent Blue Grey 69, which goes EVERYWHERE with me.

My 'trip prep' journal

Been enjoying the posts here and especially Kate’s post recently on how you use your journal and public vs private... I wish I could say more about that...but instead I have my head down preparing for another trip.

I have a dedicated sketchbook for my ‘trip prep’ and this year I am trying to use it to contain everything associated with planning...there are so many ways that your journal can be useful in the planning stage and I am trying to make my pages visually interesting without too much planning...so here are a few pages – starting with COLOUR first (never too early to start thinking about this as I have used the last month testing a few combinations)

Trying to make my ‘list’ pages a little more interesting (but don’t worry I do have pages of scribbly notes and no images as well)


I have lots of fun deciding on what clothes – I ALWAYS take more than I need so I use my journal I the hope that I will eliminate a few items.

The big decision on which bag to take – this rating system was a lot of fun and had some interesting results.

For more random prep check out the set on my flickr or blog.
As for using your sketchbook to lose weight... I will have to find time to share all my secrets there in the next week or so....

Watch for Interview #12--Laure Ferlita!

Laure's got a lot going on...and a lot going for her!  She's an astounding watercolorist (check out her work HERE) and she's the driving force and creator of the very imaginative and very popular "Imaginary Trips" classes online.

If you've ever wanted to go to Ireland, England, Italy, Paris, or other locales around the world, or you miss the beach, or the garden, but just can't swing the travel, you will LOVE these classes! 

This is one of the Paris images Laure shared for the book, Artist's Journal Workshop--I love the serene, intimate mood.

Laure also offers foundations and explorations classes on journaling as well as a mini-journaling class, seasonal mini-classes, events and more!

Don't miss her videos and tutorials...they're terrific!

If you've longed for a chance to go somewhere in person with Laure, here it is!  Imaginary Trips Made Real will take you to New Orleans in person, this fall!  Read all about it at the link...

....time to sketch and paint at each location;

....immersing yourself into your art without the everyday distractions;

....honing your skills through feedback from others and one-on-one critiques;

....making new friends and memories in beautiful locations around the world;

....taking the path less traveled and letting the adventure lead the way;

....experiencing culinary pleasures in exotic locales!

And of course Laure's Painted Thoughts blog is one of my favorites, full of inspiration and honesty. I learn a lot from Laure...you will too.  Thanks for being willing to be next up!

Black and Red--all I'd really need...

Black and Red, a photo by Cathy (Kate) Johnson on Flickr.

...plus a journal, of course! There are notes on the image, if you click on it, to tell you brand names. Need to take another look at the red pencil...

This is my favorite reconditioned, reloaded Prang box I found on eBay for almost nothing. They're better made than a lot of the new metal boxes with nice rolled edges so you won't cut yourself, but they're light weight. And it's FUN using the same paint box I did as a kid (loaded with good paints, of course!)

Changing continent = changing palette?

I just returned from a trip to Europe and all the colors look different to me at home. Perhaps it's time to change a few colors in my palette? Or it will pass as I adjust to bright sun?

How do you use your journal?

What do you want out of it?  What do hope it will do for you?  What goes into its pages?

Is there a difference between art journaling and keeping an artist's journal?

For me there is.  I am an artist, and I've kept a journal  for 40 years or so.  It IS my journal, in every sense of the word; a record of the journey of my days.

To me, art journaling is more about making the journal itself a work of art, and if that's what you enjoy, wonderful. Some people even sell their finished journals; I would as soon give away a piece of my soul--it would amount to about the same.  I go back to my old journals frequently...for a variety of reasons.

Just like the variety of reasons I keep one in the first place. They're reminders and learning tools!

Sometimes I just want to PAY ATTENTION to my life, to sketch the moments and days--whatever I see before me.  I don't wait for "inspiration" or for a grand subject...I just sketch.  It's who I am.

Sometimes I use it to reward myself, or take time to kick back, to get away, to create an oasis of calm in an often crazy life.

Joseph was undergoing tests to make sure he didn't have a blood clot developing in his leg.  Not a BIG deal, and he didn't, but it helped me to sketch him, and the technician and all those machines!

Sometimes I use my journal almost as meditation, or to calm myself in a stressful situation by getting outside of it.

As our friend and fellow journaler John Payne noted in this post, journaling helps us keep track of things.  If I don't remember when that medical test was, or what I used to create this or that effect, or when I tried that recipe or went to the Ozarks last, or saw godchild Molly Hammer in that play, or when Finn's birthday party was, my journals can tell me.  If I need to know what years we moved away from our old farm, it's there too, in my 30-year-old journal.  It's a wonderful memory enhancer.

Lapin remarked on one of his reasons for keeping a sketch journal in our recent interview #11--""I like the way sketching every day what I have in front of me keeps me curious and attentive to the most simple details of my life...  "

This is one of my recent writing journals...the pages may have sketches, they may not, but the paper has to take ink well!  I was using my watercolor journal for everything, but I discovered it was a bit frustrating to write on some pages with cold pressed paper...the nib wanted to skip.  When you're processing, musing, thinking on paper, you need to be able to write as easily as possible!

Sometimes I need to process...an event, a feeling, a project.  My journal's the perfect place to do that.  It's safe, it's non-judgmental (if I can silence that Inner Critic or Parent!), it's private, and it's a great sounding board, odd though that may sound.

Someone wrote "how do I know what I think until I see what I've written?"  I can understand this.  I've had some real insights, breakthroughs into my feelings or attitudes...or tendency to procrastinate...once I write things down.

This may be a list, or a chart.  I can graph these things, or just write, free-association, till I'm all written out.  I can do rough sketches that express what I feel--it doesn't have to be beautiful, it doesn't have to be good, it just needs to get down on paper and remind me!

I can choose to share, or not...if it's personal, very likely not.

Somehow sharing something you're working through with someone else may not have the effect you were hoping for.  They may not understand the background, and you can dissipate the energy without action.  (Authors often say they can't talk about a current project, even with other writers, because then they won't WRITE it!)

I've recently found an old journal of mine from the 1980s...and I'm very much enjoying seeing where I was, then.  Some things have changed a lot, some seem to be constants.  But it's such a good tool for growth and contemplation...and sometimes laughter!

One of my observations was  "If you truly want to be alone, you won't have much competition for available space!"  That made me laugh right out loud, 25 years later!

(This particular journal had perhaps two sketches in the whole book...it was still an artist's journal, because--wait for it!--I'm an artist.  I wrote a lot about what I was painting at the time, or what shows I'd entered, but at the time I had a separate sketchbook and just added a drawing if I REALLY felt the need.)

What I find myself doing more and more these days is working with my journal more like I did 20 years ago...as a tool for sorting things out, looking at my life, taking "compass readings," as our dear friend Laura Frankstone talked about in this post. 


The book we mentioned earlier, The New Diary by Tristine Rainer, has been a great help in this, but most of it is just doing it.

I'd shared that I felt overwhelmed by going off in too many directions, so I'm working through what IS important to me, what I need to do, have to do, want to do...and seeing it in black and white I am far more conscious of what I need to do.  And what I don't!  What works, and what doesn't.

Sooooo...how do you use YOUR journal.  What do you want it to do?  What do you give yourself permission to do?  Is it important to you?

Please comment, we fellow journal-keepers want to know!

A fern and a clay beetle by Gay Kraeger

I love the Noodler's flex pen that came in the mail yesterday. I have been super busy at work, but I have decided to try and work in my journal more than I have been lately. Maybe this will help with more balance in my life. The flex pen delivery was a great incentive for a journal page.

Wow, North Light's publicist just sent me a link...

...for a full-screen version of the sample from Artist's Journal Workshop! 

It's huge, but if you're vision-impaired you're going to love it. 

Stawberry Moon Eve and Full Moon

Stawberry Moon Eve and Full Moon, a photo by PJBee on Flickr.

You know I can't let a full moon pass me by :)

One more painting at Sketching in Nature blog. And, the full story on my blog.

The book is in, at Amazon!

Well , cool, it appears the book got to Amazon and is being shipped out earlier than they had expected!  Rachel Kopel on our open Facebook group just announced it, and I'm excited to hear what you all think. 

This spread, part of the "Designing Your Pages" section, shows a couple of mine up top, with friends and blog co-authors Nina Johansson, Pam Johnson Brickell and Ellen Burkett arranged at the bottom.  As you can see, the book is just FULL of ideas on designing pages (the top entry in our poll at right!)

This spread is on memory pages...my grandmother's necklace and a childhood toy, plus blog co-author Vicky Williamson's visit to grandchildren and Roz Stendahl's "Daily Dots," her daily project sketching her beloved dog.

Here are a couple of representative spreads, but I'd recommend you go to Amazon and click "Look inside!"  LOTS more...

Meanwhile, I just got off the phone with Nicole Miller, North Light's terrific new fine arts publicist who has so many ideas my head is spinning.  How about a podcast?  Webinar?  Interview?  Babble babble...

Having kept journals for 40+ years, and being completely committed to the benefits, creatively, personally, and even spiritually, I can't tell you how delighted I am! 

Some of the books on journaling written 30-50 years ago are being reissued...tells you something, doesn't it!  (We'll do some reviews as we get the chance...)

Pool Party Birthday!

This was the new Noodler's Flex nib pen with watercolor...Platinum Carbon Black ink.

You do need to wait a minute or so when you're using a heavy application of ink, on this paper (Fabriano HP) to let it dry thoroughly, because it doesn't sink into the paper.

 

I do love those lines!  

Here's a comparison with my beloved old vintage Waterman 152, from the 1920s...it was almost out of ink, so the lines are lighter, but you can see almost the same variation in line is possible...

Overall, very happy with the pen, as well as with that ink!

Noodler's Flex Pens on Amazon

Noodler's Flex on Amazon




Yep, someone just said they've got these on Amazon now...maybe more easily available, now that a new shipment is out! This is the color I got...quite nice.

They are smaller than a lot of pens, but I like that...fits my hand, and my need to lighten up!

New book in Kindle edition!

Well this is interesting! You can get the new book on Kindle, right NOW--one of my students is reading it (bound copies are still a week or two out.) I'm not knowledgeable about these things, but looks like it's available for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, PC and Mac, AND they let you read the first chapter free. Cool!

Has anyone tried it that way?  Any idea how it looks?  I gather it's not color on her Kindle...and it NEEDS color, with all that lovely art from our contributors!

Noodler's Flex Pen

I got mine today, and I am VERY pleased.  It's amazingly versatile, with a wide range of line widths.  Interestingly, when you fill it with their Lexington Grey ink, the lines vary in value too...thinner lines put down less ink, so are grayer.  Press on the nib to flex for a wider line, and you get quite dark ones!  (You do need to wait a bit for those dark ones to dry...)

The pen is lightweight, which I like, and it writes and draws smoothly, particularly on this paper--Fabriano Hot Press.  No feathering or sinking in in blobs...

It has a screw cap, which I like and my husband doesn't--I LIKE it to stay put.  It has a built in piston so you don't need a separate converter or a cartridge to fill it, and little translucent "windows" so you can see how much ink you have left.

All in all, I am well pleased...it was worth the wait!  For $14, I am in LOVE.

I got mine from Goulet Pen Company, who were very nice to work with, but I understand there are a few other places that sell them, like ISellPens.com.  They go fast, though...looks like Goulet's mostly out again!

For this price, they can't be beat...and I'm delighted that they flex as much as my beloved antique Waterman 152, which wants to leak all over the place!

*Note:  There have been some negative reviews too, please read the comments below...

And nope, I don't get a cut from Noodler's, I don't work for them, I just trust Nina's judgement and had to try one.  As I said, for the price I am delighted!

Interview #11--Meet Lapin!

Meet Lapin!  He's a charming and talented guy whose work I first saw on the wildly popular Urban Sketchers blog--I fell in love and I know you will too. As we noted in our teaser--and as you can see in this interview--he works on old ledgers and lined paper a lot, to amazing effect. 

He goes by lapinbarcelona on Flickr, so take a peek, there's a lot to delight you there.  His portfolio shows a lot of his illustrating work, as well...a versatile fellow!

Here he is in his own words, but keep reading--interview below!

--------------

I'm a French illustrator living in Barcelona for 4 years and a half.

I’m graduate of the private art school Pivaut (2001, in Nantes, France), and worked for 5 years as a graphic designer in Paris and in Barcelona, and than decided to work as a freelance illustrator.

I'm working for edition, fashion, advertising and magazines, and participate to many exhibitions in Europe, mostly about travel books and sketchbooks. I’m also used to teach “sketching” during workshop in university and in art school.

I am an Usk correspondent from Barcelona, and was one of the instructor of the first urban sketchers symposium in Portland last summer.

My illustrations were published in “Illustration Now 3” (Taschen) and “Illusive 3” (die Gestalten Verlag) and by many creative review as Elephant (UK), Computer Arts (UK), Grab (Italy)…

Whether he's drawing boats, buildings, people or nature, Lapin's work is immediately eye-catching..

And now to our interview!  This time, Lapin's answers are in italics...
-------------------


Q.- Do you work in your sketch journal every day?

A.- I have to sketch in it every day, and I’m in a very bad mood when I do not have time to do so. It became an habitude and a necessity.

I love this whimsical tree with a face, feet, and tail...

Q.- How did you happen to start using ledgers and graph paper?

A. -I’m sketching in notebooks for nearly 10 years now, and very quickly, I was wondering which kind of notebooks will fit the best to me.
 
My love for the flea markets is part of the answer. I found there some old diaries of the 60’s and 70’s, and decided to bring one for a trip in Mexico. I immediately fall in love for this lined paper that create a new dimension to my sketches, and I’m still amazed by the quality of this “vintage paper”.
 
Each time I show one of those sketchbooks to some other sketchers, they can’t believe that a paper that fine support some watercolour on the both side.
 
So I’m looking for new ones every time I go to a flea market along my trips.
 
I actually published 3 facsimiles of my sketchbooks numbers 98, 108 and 120, which are originally some old Spanish book accounts.

Q.- What interests you most? (people, travel, buildings, and why?)

A.-More or less in that order, meeting people, travelling every day, and sketching the cities I visit. It’s how I record my surrounding, and all my sketchbooks are my personal archive.

Q.- How does your sketch journal relate to your job, if it does?

A. It relates to the place I visit for my job, but today my sketchbooks ARE my job, the most important part of it. I had some commissioned sketchbooks about some village in France, more recently about the Sagrada Familia of Gaudi in Barcelona (coming soon), and I'm working secretly on a personal guide of Barcelona, and this will be a very long job, there is so much to tell about this lovely city.
I could tell you a scoop, I will publish my very fresh Istanbul's sketchbook, but don’t tell it.
Q. - Other thoughts? Whatever else you feel is more important, personally, to YOU...

A. I like the way sketching every day what I have in front of me keep me curious and attentive to the most simple details of my life. It’s also a spontaneous way to meet any kind of people everywhere!

Lapin's sketch of correspondent Nina Johansson

Lapin gets to meet up with a number of other sketchers, many of whom are devoted to travel sketching.  He's met our own Laura Frankstone (Interview # 5, here), Liz Steel (Interview #2), and again, Nina Johansson, Interview #10!  (Click on the links if you missed them or would like to revisit!)

Don't miss Lapin's blog, with new work all the time...it's HERE.

And thank you, Lapin, for sharing with us, here an in the upcoming book!