Drawing with (new) Friends

Drawing with (new) friends
Aka, “How I Spent my Summer Vacation”

This Summer, my wife (and studio partner) Katrin Wiehle and I did something very different for our family vacation: We stayed in a nature preserve in Spain and focused on drawing in our sketchbooks. Oh, and we brought along eighteen people we’d never met.

Two of my favorite things are traveling internationally and getting together with friends to make art.  And for obvious reasons, we’ve not been able to do much of either for the past two years. So, when the opportunity came up to lead an art retreat in Andalusia, Spain, we jumped at the chance.

 
Sketchbook Journaling

We decided to focus on Sketchbook Journaling, which means keeping a daily, illustrated diary. It’s a great way to find your style, keep a record of trips and daily life, and try new approaches to making art. My sketchbook is where I brainstorm ideas for projects and declutter my brain. It’s an essential part of my process as an artist.

Plus, it’s a really fun way to make art while traveling. You can draw/write about new foods you try, sketch out what you packed (or forgot to pack), and make notes about various aspects of the trip. I love keeping a sketchbook when I travel (I even made a book about it a few years ago), and we shared with this group some of the things that we’ve learned over the years, from what pens we like, to exercises you can do when you can’t think of what to draw.

The Retreat

We met in an absolutely gorgeous nature preserve in Andalusia, Spain, roughly two hours from Malaga. We were surrounded by mountains and lush vegetation. Dirt roads connected all of the buildings and pools on site.

A typical conversation during the week would go something like this:

Mike (looking around): Hey, I know I’ve already said this, but…

Katrin: Are you going to say again this place is amazing?

Mike: Yes.

Katrin: Well, go ahead.

Mike: This place is amazing!

Eighteen of the most incredible humans from all over the world joined us. There were artists from the US, Germany, Canada, Japan, and even one participant from Spain. We were worried that it would be weird traveling with a big group of new people, but the moment they started to arrive, our anxieties disappeared. Maybe we just got unbelievably lucky? Everyone was so talented and fun to be around.

It’s easy to feel isolated as an artist. Katrin and I both work from home, and spending so much time around other people was rewarding and inspiring. 

We were drawing all week, but we had a few dedicated workshops in the art studio each day. The space was a converted yoga studio, which helped add to the meditative aspects of keeping a sketchbook.

The sessions were low-stress, fun ways to approach making art. There were artists at all different levels, from beginners to published pros. So, we wanted to ensure that the lessons were accessible to everyone and helped achieve high-quality results. 

We even had a self-proclaimed “non-artist” on the trip who came to join his wife, an illustrator. He easily followed along and created great work in his sketchbook.

We left plenty of time to discuss anything related to art like agents, publishing, contracts, submitting work, getting clients, and much more. I had a few guests reach out before the trip about drawing digitally, so I brought my iPad and gave a few lessons about using Procreate as a sketchbook.

The week was full of making art, exploring nearby villages and towns, climbing up castle steps, visiting a traditional olive oil factory, and lots and lots of tapas.

We tried local wine. Lots of local wine. I could write a separate entry for the food on this trip alone. The retreat center had a dedicated chef who was somehow able to stun us each meal.

Those conversations about art (and everything else) often began in the art studio, spilled over into the dining room, and continued for hours after dinner had ended. 

 It was magical. 

We had a perfect week, but the biggest reward has been to hear about the transformations of the artists who joined us. Making time to draw when you’re on an art retreat is easy. The tricky part is keeping it going and finding the time when you’re back home and there are more distractions. Several attendees have emailed to check in and let me know they’ve stuck with it and are drawing daily. They were able to make it a habit in just that one week. We are blown away.

So, that’s the recap. It was fun and inspirational and changed how we think about our vacations. We are already planning the next one.

Join us in France!

We want you to join us on our retreat to FRANCE in 2023.
Sign up now to hear about it first. There will only be a few spots available, and they will go very quickly. We will be announcing all of the details in an upcoming newsletter. We hope you can join us!