Drawing Amsterdam Dailies, Days 101-150 Video Now Available

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I’ve just finished my latest video showing the progression in my Amsterdam travel sketchbook over the days 101-150. Some days it doesn’t seem like much, but 30 minutes a day really does add up. Take a look! Let me know which images you like best and what you think!

One of my favorites from this video is the spread from the outside of the Rainarai restaurant. It was one of the first time that I used gouache and watercolor in addition to the black ink on my drawings. The color really makes the drawing pop.

Architecture and food on the same page! How could I not like this? Ink, watercolor and gouache.

Architecture and food on the same page! How could I not like this? Ink, watercolor and gouache.

I put together videos from every 50 days of progress. If you want to see the days as they are done, you can see them on my Dailies page or you can subscribe to @anya_toomre on Instagram. The videos can be found on my Dailies Collections page or on my YouTube channel.

100 Days of Drawing Daily

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Day 100. Progress on drawing Westerkerk in Amsterdam.

Day 100. Progress on drawing Westerkerk in Amsterdam.

 

Today is the 100th day I’ve been working on my Drawing Amsterdam Dailies! I’m very pleased with myself to have done this. To celebrate, I’ve made a video with all 100 days of progress:

https://youtu.be/ItOoUG-008E

There’s a lot that can be accomplished by repeatedly showing up, day by day, little by little.

I challenged myself to draw for at least 30 minutes a day using photographs I took on a trip to Amsterdam last year with the additional goal to try to use something from every photo. I’ve been mostly successful with using every picture, but some have been more challenging to figure out how to include. Those few I’ve skipped over I’m keeping in the back of my mind to perhaps use later.

I plan to keep on showing up daily with this but if I miss a day, it won’t be the end of the world. I’ve really been enjoying this and seeing the drawings and spreads develop. I’ve spent a lot of time drawing but haven’t gotten very far geographically from where I started. The last drawing at Westerkerk is about a 20 minute walk from Amsterdam’s Central Station where I started from on Day 1. I like to look at details. :-)

Have you ever worked on a series or creative project and deliberately showed up daily for it? What kind of project was it?

Music in the video is Gypsy Caravan by Vendla.

Noticing

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This week my thoughts have turned towards noticing and paying attention.

I started a different kind of travel journal at the beginning of the month using photos from a trip to Amsterdam last year. My self-imposed creative challenge and restriction is to somehow use every single picture that I took during my trip. And no, I don’t plan to draw all 1000 photos in their entirety. However, I do need to take something from each and use it somewhere in my travel journal. 

Some of my pictures are wonderful, but others really aren’t. 

 
A view of construction and some buildings across the way from Amsterdam’s Centraal Station.

A view of construction and some buildings across the way from Amsterdam’s Centraal Station.

 

What’s very quickly emerged from this challenge is the sense of fun and adventure that I hadn’t expected. I study every picture to see what element I can take from it to work within my creative parameters. Each less than wonderful photo becomes really interesting. What bit of detail can I find in it and use to add to my story? It’s become a game. Everything I notice in one photo then makes it easier to spot in the next. I begin to notice more and more.

 
I chose to draw the cupola from the above street photo.

I chose to draw the cupola from the above street photo.

 
 
As I was drawing this domed building, I realized it was where the cupola I drew earlier resides.

As I was drawing this domed building, I realized it was where the cupola I drew earlier resides.

 

What also happens with spending some time and paying attention, is that I end up liking whatever I’m drawing more and more. The object, not necessarily my picture. It becomes more interesting as I look at it and try to replicate some aspect of it in my sketchbook. In art, most things become more beautiful the longer you spend with it.

If you are interested in reading more on the subject of noticing, I have two books to recommend. One is On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to the Art of Observation by Alexandra Horowitz where she takes walks with eleven different experts.  She shows how differently we all see the same areas based on our experience and interests. The other book is The Art of Noticing: 131 Ways to Spark Creativity, Find Inspiration, and Discover Joy in the Everyday by Rob Walker. This book is full of ideas to re-examine the regular and ordinary to find new and interesting things. 

What have you noticed recently? What have you put your attention towards? 

 

Travel Journaling in Ink and Watercolor

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I like to travel journal after I get home from a trip using my photos and odds and ends that I bring back. This is from a trip to Porto, Portugal. The seagulls are happy to dive bomb unsuspecting diners to snatch treats away. Do watch out!

I use ink and watercolor in Stillman & Birn Zeta Sketchbooks. I choose pictures from a day that have the most meaning and significance to me and then edit and put them into an arrangement that seems pleasing. I make a rough sketch of the elements on scratch paper. Once I like how it looks, then I start drawing in my sketchbook. I use pencil first, then ink - often with a fountain pen but sometimes with a fine liner but always with permanent waterproof ink, and then I watercolor. I try to leave white space for a title and notes.

If you are interested in learning more of this process to create your own ink and watercolor travel journal from your own photos, check out my workshops to see when the next one will be offered. At the time of this post, my next Travel Journal 6-week workshop will be on Wednesday evenings, 6:15 - 8:45 pm, at Cloud 9 Art School in Bothell, WA.

Students' Work!

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I have been teaching a six-week travel journaling in ink and watercolor workshop recently but there’s been two weeks off unexpectedly because of lots and lots of snow which is not the usual for this area. Roads are finally clear and the weather more mild so we were able to meet up again. It’s nice to be able to get back to the regular routine again! Here are some examples of what my students are working on. It is so interesting seeing what people come up with.

A Glimpse into One of My Travel Journals...

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I am currently teaching a 6-week Travel Journal with Ink and Watercolor workshop. My students for this workshop are so interesting. They jumped in feet first with designing their pages and choosing what images to use together to describe a day. With composition out of the way, I can help with how to draw some of the images they’ve chosen and cover some watercolor basics. Even though I like to use ink and watercolor for my sketchbooks, making a travel journal is telling a personal story. If the artist is more comfortable using watercolor pencils, or pencils or colored markers, that’s fine with me. I just want them to try in some areas watercolor to see what it’s like and its possibilities. I will post student pictures soon!

My image is from a picture I took of the staircase in my parent's house where I grew up. I’m lucky that they are still living there so I can both visit them and it. I love the perspective looking down two flights of stairs and the changing perspective of all the balusters. While I don’t always get much work on my sketchbook done in class, I like to work on it as homework between classes too. I like to do what I ask of my students.

My next workshops at Cloud 9 Art School in Bothell will be on Drawing and Sketching Maps, and another on Drawing and Illustrating Recipes.