Draw your way to holiday sanity
Family escapes are magic. Precious moments with the kids away from school and activities, the chance to finally make a good dent in a Harry Potter book together and a time for everyone to re-connect. We can step away from our bubble and be inspired again from the world around us. Pure magic right?
Whilst there are bound to be many precious moments creating family memories, holidays can also throw us some almighty challenges.
We recently took a two week summer trip to Europe with the kids. An amazing experience, and we were so grateful to show them parts of the world which we love and visited before they came along. Yet dealing with bad jetlag, over-compromising each day on what we all wanted to do and sharing the one hotel room…well it took its toll. Normal family ‘swings and roundabouts’ holiday stuff I know, but it wasn’t long before I was gagging for a bit of ‘me time’ to keep my patience and sanity in order.
And for me, the perfect way to keep calm is the art of including ’art’ in my holiday.
Here’s why I LOVE sketching on a family vacay:
Transitional. Holidays are a chance to relax and switch off, but really, it doesn’t take me much before I start to go a little stir-crazy. I get edgy, I need an outlet. Having my sketchbook with me fills that transitional gap between leaving the routine at home and embracing the break. It helps my mind slow down to a new pace.
Inspiration. Once you open those black-out hotel curtains each morning, there’s a whole new world to explore. Sights, colours, different architecture, street scenes, new types of food. Drawing is the perfect way to capture everything you’re experiencing. Right then and there. For me, photographs are great to work on when I get home, but sketching on holiday is a better way for me to capture the inspiration I feel.
Meditation. Something hypnotic happens when I pick up a pen or pencil. I’m lost in the moment. My mind becomes quiet (which is rare), I let go of stress and I’m genuinely happy. I feel like when I’ve finished my sketch, I’m a clean slate again. For me sketching has become meditative and when I’m done, my cup is full again and I’m ready to give more energy to my family.
Draw absolutely anywhere:
- Rather than let hunger and cranky kids get the better of you waiting for your meal, take a breath, give the kids some breadsticks and bring out your pens to sketch around you
- Before you start on that second Aperol spritz that’s just arrived, contemplate the colours and the reflections on the glass and capture it on paper
- On the train to your next destination – it’s a beautiful way to pass the time, and you’ll get a sense of achievement at the end.
- Make the most of those moments where you are somewhere you really don’t want to be. Draw while your kids are playing at a playground as you tire them out before dinner. No you didn’t fly ten hours to be at a playground, but it’s all about compromise right – so sketch this time away
- And draw back at your hotel room when your kids are finally asleep. Again, you’d ideally be exploring the city than in your hotel room at 9pm so spend this time drawing scenes in your room or from your photos from the day with a glass of wine.
What to pack:
A few supplies I’d recommend which are easy to carry around – an A4 or A5 sketchpad (and a smaller one for quick doodles), some lead pencils, ink pens, a few highlight colours which could bring a scene to life and a portable watercolour set (Windsor & Newton do great ones) with Pentel water brush pens. Fill these with water before you leave the hotel and use on the go.
What you’ll need to negotiate with your team:
Make sure to keep kids occupied with their own things they can do independently in case you can’t leave the family and go off by yourself, and bring some art supplies for them too if they get inspired. And if you are able to sneak off and have some solo sketch time, remember to give your partner some time out in return so you both get a chance to switch off.
Happy drawing and happy travels!
