Continuing on from my travel sketches I did while traveling from Portugal to Istanbul, I carried on doing ink sketches in Istanbul, and other places in Turkey. I used an A5 Hahnemühle sketchbook, which I drew some rectangle shapes in pencil, to help with some layout decisions when I was sketching.

I’ve been thinking a lot more about creating pleasing page layouts during my urban sketching adventures. I tend to just start sketching, and then wish I’d laid out objects and subjects a little differently, so I thought these grid lines might help me make more pleasing composition decisions.

Istanbul Travel Sketches

I usually focus on sketching people, but we sat at a cafe on the Galata bridge one afternoon, and I had a go at sketching the riverbank scene.

On the Galata Bridge, enjoying a beer,
It might be high, but we have no fear.
We're in the shade away from the sun,
Taking a break and having fun.

This guy was at the table next to us. And then later in the day I amassed a collection of little sketches of people carrying bags. This is an example where the sketching of two oblongs to helped me plan my layout a little better.

I like the separation of the border around the one cafe guy, and the random collection of different overlapping people on the other side.

Carpet Village Travel Sketches

Not a successful sketch. Just not much interest. But I’ve included it here to show that some sketches just don’t work.

I did make a note of the earth tones for the weaving and the vivid colours of the weaver’s clothes, but never got around to adding watercolour. But this bland sketch could really have benefitted from a zap of colour.

Bitez Beach Travel Sketches

I do like a beach sketching session. Airports and beaches both always have loads of people just sitting around and doing nothing. Great for capturing them with my pen.

This old lady with her anchor tattoo was my favourite in the sketch above, and the lady wrapped in her towel on her phone was my favourite in the sketch below.

Bodrum Cafe Travel Sketches

A random beach sketch, and then a sketch of a person at a Bodrum Bistro. This is another sketch that could really have done with some colour.

Bodrum to Datca Ferry Travel Sketches

It was a windy day on the Bodrum to Datca ferry, so it was a good chance to experiment with some fly-away hair.

I loved the posture and simplicity of this sketch of two people sat on the front row of seats on the ferry. I think this is my favourite sketch of the holiday.

I always wish I sketched more. But I can’t spend all my travel time with my nose buried in a sketchbook, so I have to pick my moments.

My favourite urban sketching spots are:

• At the Airport
• At the beach
• At the cafe

This is probably our last trip to Turkey for a few years at least, so I’m glad I got the opportunity of sketching some of this adventure, but I wish I’d captured more of the elements that made the location Turkish. I managed to do that with the Istanbul sketches, but the sketches in Bodrum on the beach and on the ferry, could have been anywhere. I should have included a Turkish flag or two, or maybe more bougainvillea!