sketchbook ode & the last of the Italy sketches

These 2 sketches were the last sketches I did in my now ENORMOUS sketchbook that lasted my whole stay in Europe, starting way back in May 2010 until this past December.

The first one is from when I went to visit my good friend Vanessa in Lucca. It's such a fun little town with amazing food and the greatest raised wall that encircles the older part of the city. And you can rent bikes to ride around on top of it!

The second image is the last sketch I did in Italy, as I was waiting in the airport to catch my dreaded flight to Switzerland.

Unfortunately, there are still 5 blank pages in it and I can't bring myself to sketch anything from photos after all the time I spent on the other drawings on location...I guess I'll just have to go back, what a shame!

 

I really love how fat this sketchbook is now. Nearly all my train tickets, museum stubs, business cards and other randomly assorted paper scraps and items are kept in the back pocket. It is now so full that the binding is coming undone!

I still like to carry this guy around with me, it's kind of like a comfort blanket now. Aside from my lucky bag, this is the one item that was constantly with me through my travels and daily life.

It travelled all over Europe with me. From Belgium to Sicily (in one day!),

to Switzerland and across France,

across Spain and everything Gaudi,

and, of course, all over Italy.

I branched out to using mini sketchbooks while I was travelling but this big guy was my go to every time I needed to draw some thing/place amazing.