Painting and Travelling
The Fine Art of Painting & Travelling
Jacqueline Coates, an artist who likes to travel and paint shares her travel tips.
The trouble with being an artist and travelling to an amazing holiday destination is that I feel bound to paint it. My senses are on fire and there is no way I can switch off from the amazing stimuli I find myself surrounded by till I have engaged with the location and the paints. A lazy holiday? No chance. I’m straight in there with the art gear making a mess and loving it.
Whether by car or plane if I know I have time on holidays I like to take an easel and a large selection of paints as I hate to miss an opportunity. Here I am on a road trip in South Australia painting with the tide coming in round my ankles in the middle of capturing a painting.
So I’ve become adept at packing the art gear in my suitcase and learned to strike a balance between relaxing with the kids and sneaking in a cracking painting.
There simply is no better way to truly appreciate and observe a new location than to paint it. Although a good limoncello at an Italian bar comes a close second.
But what to take with you on holiday when there are luggage restrictions and some art materials were never meant to fly?
And what do you do if you are travelling with other people? The truth is, being an artist can be a selfish pursuit that excludes others. You can’t very well be hissing ‘shhhhh’ at your partner as you paint whilst he’s bored to tears waiting for you all the time!
If you are taking the kids with you, you are really going to have to learn how to steal time for painting so they barely notice it. You know how vocal they can be if they are not into something!
Luckily I have travelled and painted heaps of times, with kids and friends in tow and I have some great solutions to getting your creative urges satiated whilst still enjoying a holiday.