Slow down and sketch

Sitting down to sketch not only allows you to relax and reflect on where you are, but also gives you time to capture a scene on paper and make you really look at a place in all its detail.

Regular Inntraveller, David Grech does just that when he and his wife Jennifer travel abroad. David is a highly-accomplished artist (you might be interested in his book, Head to Head: The Sketchbook of a Walk across England), and he regularly sends us a selection of his wonderful pen and watercolour sketches. They are simply exquisite and perfectly capture the atmosphere of the places he visits, from the foothills of the Himalayas and the great cities of southern Spain, highlighting the ornate and delicate design and architecture which flourished under Moorish rule, to the simple cottages and wild moorlands of the Scottish islands.

His sketches capture the heart of a place, and here he recalls a recent trip to Morocco:

“Thinking back to our trip, my one over-riding memory was the contrast between the calm of sitting in the courtyard of our Riad in the shade of the orange trees and the chaos and noise of the city streets and in particular the main square of Jemaa el Fna.

We arrived in Marrakesh quite tired, and were greeted at our Riad with the offer from them to cook us a meal that evening. They set us a table in the courtyard outside our room and we sat there in the warm dusk eating a lovely, freshly cooked meal.

The next morning we had breakfast on the roof terrace, looking out across the city to the snow-capped High Atlas in the distance, before setting out to explore the city on foot. A true city of contrasts!”

We’ve been enchanted by David’s sketches for quite a while now and in 2014 he brought an exhibition of his work to share at our Discovery Day. We're delighted to say that David will also be attending this year's Discovery Day in Cheltenham in December so that more of you can enjoy the chance to see his latest work and to chat with him about his experiences and how he came to get involved with Inntravel.