St. John USVI Sketchbook Part 01

In February 2017, I travelled to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands to snorkel, practice underwater photography, and sketch.

I'll include some of my sketches here (I filled two sketchbooks in 14 days).  For a summertime change in the blog, I'll post every day for a few weeks until I complete the St. John sketches.

I worked in Strathmore 500 mixed media softcover sketchbooks, which I customized by providing them with a hardcover before I left.   I love this sparkly Japanese book cover paper I found!

I kept the title page simple, with just a cut-out from a photograph I took during my last trip there a few years ago.

I always start my travel sketchbooks with a reminder of the palette I took with me.

And also a list of the art supplies I took with me.  Later, I'll make notes about what I used and what I didn't, so that on future trips I can cut down on the stuff.

This next spread I did right before we left, setting my intention for the trip:  to see lots of beauty underwater and to capture what I saw in photographs and sketches.

While I do make packing lists, I also have fun drawing the luggage, because it's not just what I take but what I put it in that I'll want to remember later!

This is my most favorite sketching bag.  Years old and it wears like iron.  Still, I tried to buy a new one the other day (for a back-up) and they don't make this size anymore.  Or at least, I can't find them.