Travel Memories with Sketchbook Journals

Tiago Nobre is a 36 years old engineer from Lisbon, Portugal and currently lives in Norway. He loves travelling and drawing what he sees.

When I was younger I enjoyed drawing quite a lot, but due to other hobbies and activities I gradually stopped drawing, until one day I had stopped completely.

For many years I neglected this part of me. It was only a few years ago that I slowly returned to a more regular drawing activity and more recently in the form of travel sketching.

I have no background in art related activities, just the simple fact that I enjoy drawing and

painting. I’m self-taught and with time and practice I started improving my technic.

Combining my love for drawing, photography and travelling, I started creating my personal travel sketchbooks from my trips. These provide me of unique memories, which go beyond the simple picture.

I draw on location. Like photography, when sketching, I try to capture a moment.

A sketch can take me from a few minutes to a couple of hours, depending on the level of detail that I decide to put into it. It doesn’t need to be a perfect drawing. Each one of us has its own level of drawing skills. It only needs to provide your view of the moment and you can always complement it with anything you wish. I usually like to add text and collage to my drawings.

Nowadays, where photography as become an open “activity” for all, most people don’t take time to look and to register the moment, but simply “snap” it for later viewing or, in many cases, just to have a picture that you will most likely never see again and will remain stored on your computer’s hard drive. In alternative, sketching on location makes you take your time to draw that specific moment, giving you a more complete and satisfactory memory, either if it is a street view, a dish you have tasted or that specific object that catches your attention.

I relive my trips with my sketchbooks, in a much more intense and detailed way, when compared with the time when I only had a camera full of pictures. Additionally, when you are drawing on location, other people come to you, interested in what you are doing.

This also provides a different way to interact with locals and intensifying that memory.

Of course, I didn’t stop taking pictures on my trips, but I did become more selective and the combine result of my sketchbooks with the pictures I take, complete my travel memories perfectly.

When I’m not travelling, I continue improving my technique. I draw in places I have close from home: the local coffee houses, the city streets, the local museums, etc. My sketchbooks are personal hand-made memories, created with a mix form of sketching, painting, text and collage.

Sketchbook journals are becoming more and more popular and there are a lot of online communities where it is possible to share your work and learn from others.

You don’t need to be a professional artist to do it. Anyone can do it. Your technique will improve with time, but what is important is that you enjoy the process and your work for future recollection.

tiagomgnobre@gmail.com

Don't forget to visit: www.flickr.com/photos/tiagomgnobre/