Viewing the world through the sketches of graphic artists

In the age of instant click-and-posts, these artist-travellers slow down to document their experiences

Mar 07, 2017, 09:14 IST11 min

<strong>Kriti Monga</strong><br /><strong>Age:</strong> 35<br /><strong>Lives in:</strong> New Delhi, India<br /><strong>Favourite Places to Travel:</strong> I travel without bias, but I do love going back to Paris, to the Provence region in southern France, and have recently fallen in love with Japan. I also love the excitement and sense of discovery in places foreign to me, like Mexico.<br /><br /><strong>Preferred technique:</strong> While travelling I open myself to influences from my surroundings. For the sake of convenience and frugality in packing stationery (I&rsquom quite a hoarder!) I lean most heavily on a set of fine-point pens and a small travel case of watercolours used along with a Pentel water brush. But I&rsquove also used black pencils, coloured pencils, brush-pens, neon and metallic pens, and so on, depending on the place I&rsquom in and the lettering/art/visual influences I become inspired by. And I do a lot of lettering and calligraphy in a range of styles, of course.<br /><br /><strong>Occupation:</strong> I own Turmeric Design, a studio that specialises in graphic and branding design, particularly for upscale hospitality and retail businesses. I also work as an illustrator and hand-lettering artist on commissions. I am a guest faculty member at India&rsquos top design schools, and run workshops on calligraphy and working with type. <br /><br /><em><strong>Il Santino, Florence, Italy: May 2016 </strong></em><br />I document meals on my travels, not only because it&rsquos convenient to draw while sitting in a pretty space, but also because food has such significance while travelling. Local food discoveries become extra delightful. Meals shared with people, or eaten while soaking in the surroundings, feel like luxuries. This page is from an evening in Florence, last May, when I wandered into a tiny bar in an alley off the tourist map.

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Kriti MongaAge: 35Lives in: New Delhi, IndiaFavourite Places to Travel: I travel without bias, but I do love going back to Paris, to the Provence region in southern France, and have recently fallen in love with Japan. I also love the excitement and sense of discovery in places foreign to me, like Mexico.Preferred technique: While travelling I open myself to influences from my surroundings

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Kriti MongaA Good Traveller Expects Nothing and Finds Everything: June 2011 I was couch-surfing in Barcelona and found myself living in the home-studio of a Spanish musician. On a relaxed summer afternoon, watching the sun bathe the living room in golden light, I felt centred, blessed and content. This drawing of Joe&rsquos living room transports me to that moment when so many cherished t

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Chandler O&rsquolearyAge: 35Lives in: Tacoma, Washington, USAFavourite places: My travel blog focuses on North America, so I&rsquoll just list my favourites there. New Mexico and the San Juan Islands make the cut, as well as New Orleans, the California coast, the Palouse region of south-eastern Washington state, the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, New England (especially in the f

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Chandler O&rsquolearyEastsound, Orcas Island, Washington, US: April 2012Orcas Island is one of the San Juan Islands, an archipelago that forms the maritime boundary between Washington and Canada. The San Juans are one of my all-time favourite places to visit and draw. The islands are impossibly beautiful, with tiny villages and dramatic, rugged landscapes. The best part is getting there o

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Allen ShawAge: 43Lives in: Berlin, GermanyFavourite places to travel: Russia, Finland, Czech Republic and Kutch (India).Preferred technique: Watercolours on paper.Occupation: Travelling artist, illustrator, storyteller and co-owner of a design firm.Description of experience: I love the way the spaces and the experiences influence my work. I feel I also slowed down to match the pace of lif

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Allen ShawI spent hours looking at the tranquil lake. When it got cold in the evenings, I watched it from the warmth of the kitchen table of the log house. Some pages of my sketchbook from this time are soaked in watercolours and the evening sun.

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Allen ShawMy quest for discovering new places, cultures and people through my sketchbooks has taken me to different parts of the world, but Russia was special. I have known Russia from the Soviet-time propaganda material that found its way to my small town in North India. Living in a log house next to Lake Lekshmozero for me was like living a childhood fantasy.

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Ishita JainAge: 23 Lives in: Currently, New DelhiFavourite places: Étretat in Normandy, France, is one of the most beautiful places I have visited. But I love beaches, and I love places with ruins or old monuments.Preferred technique: While travelling, I usually stick to watercolours and fineliners.Occupation: I am a freelance graphic designer and illustrator.Description of experience: I

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Ishita JainSacré-Coeur, Paris, France: April 2014I visited the crazy artists&rsquo market at Montmartre and got lost in the weekend crowds at the Sacré-Coeur lawns.

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Ishita JainMusée du Louvre, Paris, France: March 2014In 2014, I was lucky enough to go for an exchange semester to Reims, a small city in France. In my five months there, I never ended up going inside the Louvre. It was, sort of, a conscious decision. The crowds at the Vatican had really put me off, as did the crazy queues for the Louvre. I had the option of spending precious time in line

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