I have dozens of travel sketchbooks in my studio, and whenever I browse through them, memories of specific places come flooding back — and not just the sights. Snippets of conversation, mission bells tolling, seaside breezes — the scents, sounds and flavours are all still there, fresh and ready to come bubbling to the surface the moment I crack open a sketchbook. 

That’s what I love best about travel sketching, and what I want to share with you. How the act of putting pencil and paint to paper enriches the total experience, and preserves it forever. 

Let’s sketch together in Carmel and Pacific Grove

Whenever I arrive at a new place, I immediately ask myself: What colours and shapes best define the coastline and architecture? What about the plant life, trees and butterflies? What make this place special, worth capturing in my sketchbook? 

Join me in Carmel and Pacific Grove, where we’ll experience the wild beauty of rugged Pacific shores, the enchanting fairy-tale cottages, and historic Mission architecture that make this place so unique. I’ve designed this workshop to give you confidence sketching wherever you happen to be. I’ll show you how to keep your watercolour sketches loose, fresh and vibrant. And I’ll share my techniques for capturing the beauty that surrounds us, so you can savour it for years to come. 

We’ll begin each day with a short demo and end with a review, leaving plenty of in-between time to work on your own sketches. As part of a small group, you’ll get plenty of individual attention and feedback, as we work on value studies, vignettes and composition — the essentials to simplifying a scene and capturing its essence. Most important, we’ll make sure to have fun as we sketch, recording our daily impressions as we move from coastline to village, from Mission church to lighthouse to market. At the end of the week, m