Holiday Sketching - Why?

Passport. Check !
Tickets. Check !
7 sets of undies and something to wear if it gets cold. Check !
Book to read. Check !
Sunglasses. Check !
Sketching kit. Check.!
Oh goodness me, I nearly forgot the money. Check !

Mary Kemp. Galician Coast.

Freedom from everyday life. Throw off the shackles, forget your responsibilities you're on holiday. A week in the sun, lots of sightseeing to do, a mountain of different food to consume and loads and loads of glorious unfettered guilt-free sleep to be had in a bed that you don't have to make yourself.

So why, with this severance from ordinary life would you want to sketch when it's something you do as part of your job. Does an engineer start fiddling with engines on holiday? does a cleaner indulge in a little light polishing while abroad ? does a nurse start looking for someone sick to care for?

And yet as I looked at these examples I realised that for many people what they do is something that is ingrained in them and something they enjoy. I'm married to an engineer and he's always looking to see how things work, and given half a chance will take them apart !

So it's not unreasonable to sketch on holiday. Thank goodness for that !

Mary Kemp. Sea at La Corunna.

This time I didn't do many detailed drawings of ships and buildings. It all seemed a bit like hard work, especially after a glass of vino tinto with lunch. So I concentrated on the feeling of the holiday, of finding the colours I saw and when I looked through my sketchbook today I thought, yes, that's what I experienced. Sometimes I get caught up in producing a drawing or painting and not capturing the moment, so on this holiday I did very little but did catch a fleeting feeling or two.

Mary Kemp. View From the Hotel. 

Mary Kemp. Portuguese Seaweed.

But the answer to why do I sketch on holiday is...

Because I enjoy it of course.