Jim Good

While I love drawing, painting, and printing scenes from my own neighborhood, I always paint and sketch when I travel too.  As an international consultant for almost 30 years, I have had more than my share of travel time and have sketched hundreds of littles scenes from airport departure gates and lounges around the world as well as local landmarks and scenes from hotel windows.  Waiting for planes is a good time for drawing, and there are often interesting things going on in airports that need sketching.  My pocket-sized notebook and pen are always in my pocket, and these little drawings are usually done within 10 or 20 minutes.

When traveling for vacation, and a little more time can be allocated to goofing off, small watercolors are just the thing. I have little sketchbooks full of watercolors of scenes that have caught my eye. Somehow, everything is more interesting when you are out of your own backyard. These are also, usually, relatively quick to finish, and can dry and be packed away with the sunscreen and snacks easily. My watercolor kit for these little paintings is about the size of a deck of cards and that is all I really need.

On returning home, I often paint things I’ve seen on my trips from sketches or from photos. These paintings, while still small, are bigger than my travel sketchbook sized efforts and are often much more detailed. It is nice to just take your time sometimes and paint a little bit at a time when there’s no deadline, no plane to catch, and no one asking you to hurry up.  These paintings usually take a few days, mainly due to procrastination and just enjoying not being in a hurry.