Travel: thoughts and pictures

Travel is a concept as much as a much-loved activity. My sketchbooks have always been a record of my travels, inside, outside, far, near, upstairs, downstairs. I love the 'travel' log of my home during the pandemic as much as the many sketchbooks of travels to nice places over the years. There is no better way to get to know a place than by drawing, taking the time to really observe and transfer what you see into your mind and on to paper.

'Lines and Places' is my Etsy shop for fine art prints from my travel sketchbooks. I recently sent out a print of St Peter's Piazza at the Vatican in Rome to someone in England, a nice bounce across time and place. In January 2018 I was lucky enough to have a week to myself in Rome, dedicated to walking, seeing, and drawing. Many of the finished scenes from those sketchbooks are now in the Etsy shop (as well as on my website and on a new shop at INPrint.com). Take a look and watch for new scenes to come - lots of drawings still waiting in  sketchbooks from Rome and elsewhere.

Two of my favorite drawings from that week show my inevitable twist - a bit of a wink and a tug at the seriousness of a grand scene. Here, the august Pantheon, emblem of high Roman belief and public display, surrounded by colorful crowds of modern day humans. And the Dora Pamphili Gallery, magnificent art museum crammed with very important objects. I couldn't resist tweaking the seriousness of those ancient Roman heads.

In contrast, here are a couple of my 'pandemic' At Home drawings, now - hopefully - as much a mark of a past era as memories of a bygone trip. Doing them each day took me up and down and around my house, finding new ways to see and think about what is right in front of me. Much like travel to Rome and other wonderful places.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LinesandPlaces
https://www.inprnt.com/collections/macgregorart/italy-1/
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