This is a spread of thumbnail studies in my art journal using photos from my recent trip to Loreto as reference. The idea began with Tansy Hargan’s online class, Finding Your Color Voice, where I learned to do color studies in watercolor—but then I made the exercise my own.

I’m not a landscape artist. I love vistas and views, but when I’m out in the world my eye tends to zoom in to the particulars. Like when I entered the Posado Las Flores on this same trip last week. It was immediate. I had to draw the entryway. I had no real desire to draw the town plaza or the foreign desert landscape all around me.

I do take pictures, though. And I enjoy painting abstracts. And like I said, I’d learned to do color studies.

So one afternoon on the trip I sat down, looked through my photos, and started these watercolor studies in my art journal—and then I finished them this week. I have to say I didn’t know that I would enjoy this kind of abstract work as much as I did! And I really like many of the compositions.

Each column of thumbnails above represents four subjects (from left to to right): Sunrise one morning, a day trip to Mulegé, a small town north of Loreto, views of the backside of Coronado Island (from a boat), and the house we rented during our stay.

So what do I take away from this little exercise—which might help you too?

Start with an idea — in my case, doing watercolor studies as I learned from Tansy. Then add what interests you, which for me is a deep attraction to shapes. And then just start playing in your sketchbook…

Always a good formula for some sketchbook fun—and you never know what you’ll learn.

P.S. I thought you might like to see some of the photo references, so I made some picture collages of each subject:

Sunrise on Thursday morning of the trip - out our back door!

On the way to the small town of Mulegé, two hours north of Loreto:

Here we are in a small boat touring Isla de Coronado, outside Loreto in the Sea of Cortez ( national marine park and UNESCO world heritage site).

As you can see, we stayed in a beautiful home in Loreto! (That’s my brother on the beach.)