T is for Traveling Artists

'Summer in Taos'             5x7           pastel         ©Karen Margulis
purchase here $75

I admit it. I have serious wanderlust.  I am always planning a trip. Always.  When my kids were young we would take a family trip each summer and spend three weeks visiting National Parks.  I would spend a year (pre-internet) poring over books and travel brochures planning our big summer adventures.  We cherish the memories of seeing the wonders of our great country.  Now that I have been painting traveling takes on another dimension.

I now see things through the eyes of an artist and not a tourist.

I am fortunate to have two wonderful artist friends who share my passion for both art and travel. We are perfect travel companions. We are low maintenance and amazingly on the same time schedule.  And we LOVE the same adventures.  We once spent an entire day in Amish country riding down every road taking photos of barns. We could spend hours watching a bird build a nest or waiting for the perfect shot of a dragonfly.  We don't always paint but we are alway collecting photos and the sights, smells and sounds of a new place.

This summer we are taking a long awaited adventure in the Southwest.  We will drive form Georgia to Albuquerque for the International Association of Pastel Societies Convention. After the convention we will travel for three weeks around Arizona and Utah.  Highlights include Canyon de Chelly, Monument Vallley, Capitol Reef National Park, Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon, Grand Canyon North Rim and Sedona.  I can't wait to immerse myself in the landscape that I truly love.

I will be bringing my pastels and I am working on putting together a lightweight and portable set up.  Today's painting was done with the small set I am testing.  My plan is to do a 5x7 painting everyday to document the trip. I will be blogging about the trip so you can follow along with us. More details to follow before we leave in June.

TIP for traveling artists:  I always try to bring some kind of art supplies with me on a trip.  Even the short trips.  Many times I never touch them but I have something even a few colored pencils and a sketchbook...in case the time and circumstances allow for art.  The times I don't pack any supplies are the times I get the urge to create and I have nothing with me!