It’s that time again – for my annual visit to SoCal! The Travelling Artist is on her way!
It’s the end of June, 2024, and tomorrow I head to Sydney for an overnight stay with friends before flying out on Tuesday morning to LAX.
Each year I stay with my friend in Santa Barbara for several weeks, and we travel together, sometimes overseas, but mostly within California. It’s a great time to go there, because Australia is in the grip of winter and, although I live in the subtropics, it still gets quite cold – from my perspective at least. I prefer the balmy warmth of the early SoCal summer with its moderate humidity and soft sea breezes!
Santa Barbara is a city of outstanding beauty, situated between mountains and sea – an artist’s paradise – where morning and evening mists shroud the distant Channel Islands, and the sunsets turn the water to molten gold.
This time, I’ll have the added benefit of an art studio, since my friend has kindly set one up for me in his house. I’ll probably work mostly in my new travel journal, using pen and wash technique, but a local art collector is keen to see some of my larger works. Having the studio means I’ll be able to work on canvas without fear of making a mess, and perhaps have something to offer by the time I return home in August.
I’ve sorted through my materials, trying to be decisive since I can’t tip the entire contents of my home studio into my luggage, and posted a YouTube video detailing the kit I’m taking with me.
Perhaps it’s similar to yours if you’re a fellow artist, or perhaps you use different media. We all have our preferences.
If I need anything else e.g. masking tape, canvases, acrylic media and paints, I can buy it over there at Art Essentials, the excellent art supplies shop downtown. Now that I have at my disposal a studio with storage, I’ll be able to leave those items for my next visit.
I’m really looking forward to documenting the beauty of my surroundings and the work it inspires and will share videos on YouTube each week (time and activities permitting!) The first video will go out on my subscription email, so don’t forget to sign up on the contact page if you’d like to be kept in the loop.
Wish me bon voyage!
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