I’ve been away from the studio and running around Northwest Oregon with my family for the last week. We’ve been standing on windy beaches and hiking up volcanoes as Philadelphia experiences an earthquake and now braces for an oncoming hurricane. Go figure!
Something I’ve noticed about vacations for me over the last few years is that I’ve not much interest in drawing while I’m on them. In the past I’d take watercolors and brushes and inks on trips, and make time to sit and stare at cathedrals and mountains and boats while I record these sights into a sketchbook. Lately, however, I’m loathe to break out the journal or anything more than making packing lists or travel notes; and I’m much happier to play around on the ukulele or read or merely look out a window than draw.
I figure this could be due to the fact that for the last five years I do nothing but draw while I’m at work, while in the past I also taught and did graphic design among other tasks. Furthermore I’m working on these very dense, heavily detailed Everything Goes books right now which, as fun as they are, is real work and taking a break from working means taking a break from drawing. It could also be that now I’m traveling with kids. That doesn’t hold up, however, since even when Sacha and travel together sans little-Biggses I still don’t want to draw pictures.
In any case, I do love taking pictures of the places we go and the things that we do. So rather than sketches of my journeys, I’ll share a few photos.
Wilson and Elliot getting their feet wet in the Pacific for the first time at Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Oregon.
A seagull on Cannon Beach.
Hiking to Smugglers Cove, just north of Manzanita, Oregon.
Huge driftwood trunks on the beach just north of Manzanita, Oregon.
The beach at Smugglers Cove.
Surfers on the beach at Smugglers Cove.
My daughter Elliot paddle-boarding at Hood River, Oregon.
Looking up at Mt. Hood.
Taking the Magic Mile up high on Mt Hood from Timberline Lodge.
More to come. Enjoy the hurricane.
