post-travel journal

What happens when wonder | wander | women put together the perfect sketchbook kit for travelling... and then leave it behind? There we were in Paris, the jewel of the continent, beauty in every direction, and we were empty of sketchbook, watercolours, pens or pencils.

Sunset at Pont Alexandre

On other trips we brought the notebook, journal, pens...everything ready but us. There was no time to sketch because we were busy seeing everything, keeping company with friends or family, or moving to the next location. What to do?

Train sketches from Scotland

Before the days of smartphones and even digital (the trusty and ubiquitous Sony Cybershot), we always brought a camera with us to record the world through our eyes. It's second nature now to use a camera as spare memory, but it can also be the starting point for many drawings and paintings. 

Robin drawn and painted from reference

I arrived home and found the kit sitting where we had placed it, ready to be packed. With a sigh I unpacked it again, but as I sat down with the sketchbook and paints and started looking through my phone, not only pictures but emotions and memories kept welling up as I drew.

Maison Delano Hotel in Paris

Being picked up by car after the train ride from London and checking into an elegant hotel. Greeting family I hadn't seen for half a year. Driving through the glamorous city I had last visited on a freezing wet March in 2019, now blazing with summer heat.

Lunch at Cafe del'Homme, overlooking the Eiffel Tower

We ate at a Michelin-starred restaurant at the Museum of Man. Drawing our plates, I could taste them again: the freshness of the sea bream, the richness of the roast duck and the tartness of the strawberry tiramisu. Do artists who love drawing food enjoy the memory of eating while they draw?

The Three Ladies (actually 4!) of the Louvre

Late in the afternoon we went on a guided tour of the highlights of the Louvre with a fun guide who was especially excited to show us what she called "the three great Ladies of the Louvre": the Venus de Milo, the Victory of Samothrace, and of course, the Mona Lisa, which was behind a low wall and guarded by museum docents.

Long shot of Mona Lisa

We finished the tour with the unofficial fourth Great Lady of the Louvre: Liberty Leading the People by Eugéne Delacroix. While we were on the tour we were busy appreciating one artwork after another, and marveling at the architecture of the Louvre itself. Once home and drawing the Ladies all together it occurred to us that it would be fun to tour a museum while following only the pieces that were centred on women. Maybe next time.

Ballpoint sketch of the golden gates of Versailles

Versailles was an incredible place to visit, but even if we had brought our art kit it would have been hard to stop and sketch anything. The crowds were flocking even first thing in the morning, and our entire way through the Palace we were surrounded by a slow-moving, chaotic river of shuffling tourists.

The Hall of Mirrors

The Palace's legendary Hall of Mirrors was flooded with tourists, bodies filling the glittering space much as they had done in the days when the royals were holding their sumptuous parties. Instead of editing out the visitors as I often do when drawing a location, I tried to fill the hall as I remembered it. It made me smile to think of the aristos' expressions if they could see their palace filled with the common people of so many countries.

Procession of tourists through the rooms of the palace

Going through the photos, translating them into drawings in the journal, and then looking through the journal again when it's finished - it's our favourite way of fixing a memorable trip in our minds. With feet, eyes and hands wonder | wander | women will continue to gather and share new experiences. We look forward to more!