The Work of a Travelling Sketch Artist: Watercolour Observations of the World by Candace Rardon

Today I’m excited to bring you the work of Candace Rardon, a traveller and sketch artist who I have admired for some time. As she travels to amazing places all over the world, Candace immortalises the sights, sounds, and smells she encounters in beautifully detailed, watercolour sketches. I’m sure you will enjoy her work as much as I do! 

Your sketches have a very distinct style. How did this develop?

I’m not quite sure, to be honest! I took a few different drawing and watercolor classes when I was younger, but then I didn’t pick up a paintbrush for about ten years during high school and college – I was more focused on writing, music, and songwriting. When I got back into sketching three years ago, I started doing pen drawings with watercolor pencils. Six months later, two friends gave me an actual watercolor paint kit and I started using that as my primary source of color.

One of my favorite things about art is that we can all interpret the same object or scene differently on the page – or as I like to put it, we each draw with our own voice. There is such a range of sketching styles – many artists have a loose style, or go over the same line multiple times. I tend to fall on the other end of the spectrum – I like my sketches to be a little more precise, while still having a whimsical feel to them.

Let’s talk about process. What are the steps you take when creating each piece?

I try and do all my sketches on-location. The only times I won’t finish them in the same spot are if it starts raining, gets dark, or – as I discovered in Seattle last week – it just gets too darn cold. Otherwise, I love doing the entire sketch from start to finish at one time. I really think of each sketch as telling the story of my experience in that place, so doing both the drawing and painting on-site is my way of ending that particular story.

In terms of my actual process, I start by doing a quick outline in pencil. This helps work out all the kinks of the sketch’s layout and perspective (especially the angle of rooflines, which I find particularly troublesome). I then spend about an hour filling in the details with pen, and another hour bringing the sketch to life with watercolor paints and pencils. I also make little annotations on the sketch itself – these can be anything from sensory observations to snippets of overheard dialogue to personal reflections.

It’s obvious travel is a huge inspiration for you. Where has been your favourite place to sketch and why?

Travel is definitely a big source of inspiration for my sketches – it’s the reason I started sketching, to make the most of my trips. But sketching has also enriched my journeys in ways I never expected, so I now can’t imagine doing one without the other.

Although it’s almost impossible to name a favorite, one place I particularly loved sketching was Turkey. I recently spent a month there trekking the Evliya Çelebi Way, a 370-km pilgrimage across the northwest region of Anatolia. I did a sketch a day as I walked, not realizing at the beginning how helpful it would be to have this kind of visual record of the trip. Many of the villagers I met along the way didn’t speak English, so showing them the series of sketches was the perfect way to share my journey with them.

Aside from travel, what else inspires your work?

For me, travel is this overarching umbrella-source of inspiration (if that phrase makes any sense!), and beneath it there are all sorts of things I’m inspired by – intriguing streetscapes, compelling details, sacred places such as temples and mosques, new foods and drinks, and especially the people I meet.

I am most drawn to everyday moments in a new place – the little things we sometimes overlook on our way to the world wonders and guidebook attractions. I love observing how people go about their day, seeing what their homes and shops look like, and then conveying the details of their life on the pages of my sketchbook.

Why do you sketch when you travel and what does travel mean to you?

Sketching slows me down when I travel, and helps me have stronger memories of the places I visit. As I spend at least two or three hours in the same spot working on a sketch, my senses are more open, and I myself am also more open to serendipitous encounters. People come up and say hello, and I might end up spending an afternoon with them or being invited into their home.

But what I really love about sketching, and why I now can’t imagine traveling without a sketchbook, is that it makes me incredibly mindful of a place. In a way, it’s almost like meditation. A friend once asked me if I remember every place I sketch, and I genuinely do. I remember everything I could smell and hear and taste, I remember how I was feeling, whether the sketch was going well or not, and I remember the people I meet.

For me, travel is less about the destinations we visit and more about the journey, or the process. It’s about taking risks, leaving our comfort zone, and being open to the world. Sketching has become a natural extension of this – it isn’t always easy, especially when it’s boiling hot outside or I’ve royally screwed up the perspective, but at the end of each sketch, I’ve never regretted taking the time to absorb and be aware of that scene.

If you could sketch anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I don’t really have a bucket list of places to sketch, but I do have my sights set on South America and Africa, and I’m hoping this year takes me to places like Ethiopia, Zanzibar, Brazil, and Panama in particular. The awesome thing about sketching is that when you pull out your sketchbook, any place becomes interesting – even a scene we might not normally deem “beautiful” – so I’m not too picky about where my sketchbook takes me.

Finally, do you have any tips for readers who might want to sketch whilst they travel?

I’m speaking to myself here as much as to anyone who is thinking of getting started as a sketch artist – it doesn’t have to be perfect! Sometimes I get so caught up in the details and worrying if the sketch isn’t going well, that I forget to just enjoy the process. And while sketching is definitely about the art, for me it’s also about awareness. Just keep doing it and doing it, and practice truly will make perfect – perfect in this case simply being a sketch that conveys the emotion and feeling of your experience in a place.

You can see more of Candace’s work on her brilliant blog, The Great Affair (I’m a big fan!), and you can buy her first book of travel sketches, Beneath the Lantern’s Glow, on Amazon here.

What do you like about Candace’s work? Let us know in the comments!