by John W. Johnston

You pull into the rest stop for that well-earned break, brew a refreshing cup of tea, take a chair outside and sit down to unwind, relax, chill out and breathe in the views, smells and vista of your surroundings. Now all you need is a sketch pad and a pencil. Before you star complaining that you can’t draw let me say “Yes … you can”. I firmly believe we can all draw, but most of us don’t really try very hard. I would love to encourage you to have-a-go … you’ll be surprised.

A while ago, my wife and I pulled into a 'rest stop' for a break and to enjoy the view. I found a piece of paper and a pencil and tried to sketch the landscape in front of me. It didn't turn out to be a masterpiece but that didn't matter. What I gained from that experience was so much more than a few scribbled lines on paper. To draw something you must look at it ... I don't mean 'see it' as everyone else does, but 'look' at it and analyse every line, every curve, and every detail. Because of the hour spent doodling not only did I see things that I would otherwise not have noticed, but that scene is so ingrained into my memory I can recall the view in great detail.

Start with the basic outline of the major features … the horizon and any hills or mountains … and then put in other features in order of size and importance to the view, the biggest most relevant first and the smallest most insignificant last. You will soon be noticing small details that you hadn’t seen on first looking. Be relaxed about you’re drawing. By all means try and make every shape as accurate as you can, but not to the point of frustration. Enjoying the experience is much more important than the end result, and if your final picture isn’t a masterpiece, so what? Keep it anyway. One day you will come across it again and the original view will flash back into your minds eye just as surely as if you were looking at a photograph.

Through my web site I try and encourage people to have-a-go at drawing and painting and there are plenty of examples of what not to do as well as those pictures that turned out reasonable. If you ‘have-a-go’ I would love to hear from you.

Happy sketching, and safe traveling.