As you have probably gathered by now, one of my favorite things to do on vacation or on a “day off” is paint. I challenged myself to paint every day while in the Adirondacks last summer and one of my favorite Parisian pastimes is painting for the duration of my daily cafe au lait.
There is something about painting outside that is both urgent and relaxing. You can’t be too precious about what you are painting or the quality of the work, which feels very freeing.
Here is a recap of my 2023 excursions so far -
January - Florida
In January we made a quick trip to Ft.Lauderdale to visit family. We spent one afternoon at a natural preserve with our friend Josh. I embarrassingly did not bring any art supplies on this excursion, I thought we would just be walking around the park. Josh thankfully came to my rescue with an array of colored pencils and oil pastels so we could capture the surrounding flora. Working spontaneously on scrap paper and with unfamiliar tools turns out to be a great way to get out of your head and experiment.
March - Italian Alps
I visited Alagna Valsesnia for my friends’ mountaintop wedding. (Yes, they are very cool). While everyone else skiied, I visited the little alpine lodges - accessible by gondola ride and my handy microspikes - and painted.
This was one of the best painting set ups I could ask for, beautiful weather and scenery, my friends skiing by every so often to say hi, and apple strudel on tap.
I didn’t particularly love anything I produced during my 3 days in Italy. It had been a while since I just painted watercolors and I felt very rusty. But this was probably one of my favorite painting experiences ever.
March - Marrakesh, Morocco
Right after Italy, Matt and I took a quick trip to Morocco as our official “baby moon”. We quickly got into a morning routine of poolside breakfast, me painting, and Matt swimming. At this point, I was a lot more “warmed up” after painting in Italy and I really like what I made in Morocco. Perhaps training in the high altitude of the alps helped prepare me - it works for runners so why not painters?
April - Brooklyn Botanic Garden
I visited to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on my birthday, which happened to coincide with the cherry blossom festival. I arrived planning on painting flowers but it turned out the MANY people there were much more interesting. The Gardens are a great place to draw people, as many just sat in the same position for a very long time.
Many people also meant many onlookers. Just like in Paris I had a little crowd of children around me at one point just quietly watching me paint. I am really hoping that this is just how all children are entertained.
I also met another “grown-up” artist, Hannah La Follette Ryan - but you might know her as her photo project Subway Hands. We had a long chat about secretly capturing people in public - in photo or in painting.
May - back home
Now we are home and no travel plans for a few months until baby arrives. I am excited and nervous to see how traveling with a baby will change my painting excursions in the future. Or just how having a kid will change my entire creative practice! July seems both very far away and right around the corner.