A Passion for Passenger Sketching...

About 10 years ago I started sketching on road trips, whenever I had the good fortune to be the passenger.  They started simple and small with just pen and ink...a way to see how much I could catch of the scene rolling by at 65 mph.  Now, depending on the length of the trip, I work with layers--throwing down the first impression sketch quickly, and then adding whatever seems to work in the moment.  Of course, terrain that doesn't change too quickly makes it easier!














When you're traveling a familiar road, the fun begins when you see how you can sketch it differently every time.  Of course, it really isn't the same road...the season, weather and time of day can radically alter what you see...

A weekly shopping trip--up the hill above Los Angeles, and then down again...an opportunity to play and experiment.  I like to keep it simple sometimes, and other times keep layering until I've gone just a little too far!

Passenger sketching in town usually means drawing the traffic...

The greatest passenger sketching is on a nice, long road trip.  I travel from Los Angeles to the Mojave Desert several times a year, and count myself very lucky that I get to be the passenger--sketching all the way!  Here I'm working with pencil, watercolor and gouache layered on tan paper...

 Once in awhile, a vertical format--why not!

Driving through Joshua Tree National Park...splashing down some ink washes...

 The desert in December...golds and earth colors, and purple sky...

And returning to the city...

Sketching on the Road...

This past spring I've enjoyed traveling twice to Joshua Tree and the Mojave Desert town of Twentynine Palms--in March and again in May.  As much as I love my city, Los Angeles, I love the contrast of the desert--the wide open terrain and slower pace of life.

The trip always begins (happily for me) with passenger sketching...

Sketching life and my friends in the desert makes me feel right at home there...

Every desert trip includes at least one visit to the Country Kitchen in Joshua Tree...love this place not just for the great breakfast, but the wonderful atmosphere, a mix of the homey and exotic...

And then there is the Twentynine Palms Drive-in movie theater--what a treat to watch a movie wrapped in a blanket under the desert night sky munching popcorn!  "Zootopia" in March, and "Jungle Book" in May...(have to admit here that color was added a bit later from memory!)

 One of the things I love about these desert visits is painting what has now become familiar landscapes with media I want more practice in...gouache paintings in March and May on the outskirts of Twentynine Palms.  March's painting on a yellowish handmade paper, and May's painting on Canson Mix Media Artboard (ideal for gouache!)  More gouache painting to come!

 And of course, there is Joshua Tree National Park...I can never get enough of those rocks and that beautiful high-desert terrain.  Experimenting in thumbnail sketches with the set of Kuretake Gansai Tambi opaque pan watercolors I bought in Singapore...

A dry, drought-ridden landscape in Barker Dam...

And I keep returning to a favorite spot in Hidden Valley...

And finally, the drive home, back to the city...

December in the Desert

Every year just before Christmas, I travel from Los Angeles to the Mojave Desert...Joshua Tree National Park and the desert town of Twentynine Palms.  I love Los Angeles, but--I really look forward to these trips--a few hours and a world away from the city!


The trip always begins with passenger sketching!

First night in the desert, watching the sun go behind the hills overlooking the outskirts of Twentynine Palms...

Visiting Noah Purifoy's Desert Art Museum in the town of Joshua Tree...a wonderful collection of sculpture I hope to revisit for more sketching!  More about Noah Purifoy...

Sketching in Joshua Tree National Park...at Keys View with Palm Springs in the far distance...and Mt. San Jacinto...

Split Rock, drawn with pencil and watercolor graphite...

I never get tired of visiting Hidden Valley...called a "transition zone" for the range of plants there that grow in higher elevations.  Always some climbers and other visitors here...

Breakfast at Andrea's, a neighborhood place in Twentynine Palms with regulars who sit together and discuss all the news of the day...

Light on tamarisk trees...












And evenings in the desert...

 Driving in Joshua Tree National Park...

Leaving the Park...







...and heading home to Los Angeles with a storm coming...

 ...passing Morongo Casino, and back to the city...