Sketching In: Lisbon
Olá! If you follow my stories on instagram, you’ll know I was just in Lisbon, Portugal. After almost two years of staying put like everyone else, I finally got to travel. I didn’t expect to go abroad this year, but my husband, Paul, got invited to a conference in Lisbon with his job. And with the high vaccination rates in Portugal, there was no way I wasn’t tagging along!
It was a short trip–just under a week, and I always try to pack light. But one thing I never travel without is my sketch kit. If you don’t have one, I encourage you to put one together. It’s a great way to practice seeing, take a break, create souvenirs, and even meet people (if that’s your thing).
I joke that when I travel all I do is walk up hills. It’s a good way to wander off the beaten path and I’m often rewarded with a nice view. On my first day in Lisbon, I did just that and stumbled upon Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, a small park overlooking a spectacular view of terracotta-topped houses, an old moorish castle, and a river so wide it’s practically the sea.
I parked at a little table and sketched while I waited to hear about dinner plans with Paul. I tried to sketch only a small part of the view, because I didn’t know how much time I’d have, and I’ve learned that the less I attempt, the better (usually).
But I don’t care about things being perfect. This isn’t about capturing a scene flawlessly. It’s about soaking in the moment and filling up the book with memories. Perfect sketches are an oxymoron anyway, right?
Here you can see my sketch kit in its entirely. It’s lean and lightweight, while still giving me a lot of options so that I can use different techniques depending on how much time or space I have. Sometimes I have plenty of time and a nice table to sketch at, like in the scenario above. But sometimes I’m standing and only have two minutes, so I like some versatility.
Here’s a list of what’s in my kit. I’ve provided links, but you can source most of the items at your local art store. (Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links. If you use them to buy anything, it will help us with hosting fees for The Secret Treehouse.):
a watercolor palette I made out of an old business card holder. (I filled mine with Daniel Smith watercolors. You can find similar palettes on Etsy (here and here) or make one yourself.)
Field Artist 4”x4” watercolor sketchbook (similar)
Caran D’Ache Bicolor pencil in water soluble red and blue
Escoda #6 travel watercolor brush (similar, more affordable option)
Guerilla palette cup that I put a piece of natural sponge inside
Blue Q pencil case made of recycled materials. Everything but the sketchbook, fits easily inside. If you prefer to include the sketchbook, they make bigger ones. For an upgrade, consider The Drafter Pouch from our friends at Peg And Awl!
Binder clips (not pictured because they’re tucked inside the bag–they come in handy on windy days or when I don’t have a place to rest my palette and want to clip it to my sketchbook).
Of course, if you’re just putting a kit together, you only need paper and something to draw with. I often use just the palette and a waterbrush, but pencils, pastels, and paint pens are all good options. I don’t include any water in my kit, because I take some from my water bottle when I need it. I also use a napkin for blotting, but those are easy enough to come by.
Another day, I found myself walking along the water at sunset. The genius who designed the area around Cais das Colunas must have realized that people would want to sit and watch the ships sail by, so they built little seats into the retaining wall. It was the ideal place to sketch.
Capturing a sunset is challenging, because the light changes so quickly. I kept it simple by going straight in with watercolor (no preliminary pencil sketch) and limiting the colors to just Prussian Blue, French Ochre, and a dab of Nickel Titanate Yellow.
The weather was absolutely perfect, and I spent a very pleasant hour sketching and watching sailboats, seagulls, and dogs frolicking in the waves.
You can’t tell by the photos, but there were a lot of people around me watching the action, too. A man on the seat next to mine tried to speak to me, first in Portuguese and then in Italian, but my knowledge of those languages amounts to “I love dogs” and “I would like cake, please”, so he resorted to pointing at my sketchbook and smiling. I find that people don’t bother me much while I’m sketching, and when they do, it’s invariably to share a compliment.
Occasionally someone will look over my shoulder for a bit, but I guess I’ve been doing it long enough that it doesn’t bother me. I suppose when I started sketching in public, I worried that people might be judging me and my rather slapdash sketches, but now I know they’re just fascinated. You just don’t see people sketching in the wild much. We’re a rare breed.
My last sketch in Lisbon was completely unexpected. In fact I almost left my sketch kit at the hotel, because I was certain I wouldn’t need it. (Note to self: always always bring your sketch kit.)
We had the opportunity to take a day trip to Sintra with Paul’s coworkers. They signed up for a guided tour, which is generally not my thing—I prefer to wander at my own pace even if it means missing out on some historic details. But I’d heard wonderful things about Sintra, and I quite like Paul’s teammates, so I was happy to go with the flow, even if it meant no opportunities to sketch. But that’s not how things played out.
As it happened, our guide didn’t leave enough time to get from our meeting spot to the train station, get tickets, and actually get on the train, so we missed the first one by a couple of minutes and had to wait a full hour for the next one. We decided to wait it out at a nearby café. I’d already had breakfast, and I don’t drink coffee so…out came the sketch kit.
This time I sketched the chandelier. And as I drew, I got to work on reframing my annoyance at missing a whole hour in a city that Lord Byron called a “Glorious Eden” to…well…a good opportunity to add to my sketchbook. And yes, it’s just a chandelier, but in my ongoing effort to stop caring about perfection, I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter what you draw. It only matters that you draw.
In my next post (you can find it here), I’ll share a sketch I did of the Pavilhão Carlos Lopes, a beautiful pavilion in the Parque Eduardo VII. I had some more time for that sketch, so I took a bunch of process shots which I’ll share in a step-by-step tutorial.
Until then, tchau!
