Sketching in Greece

Need I say, Greece is an awesome place to visit!

Not only did I take about a thousand photos, but manage to do some sketching along the journey. Since I traveled with just a backpack, I took a very tiny Windsor & Newton watercolor set, a set of twelve watercolor pencils, one pencil, and one permanent pen marker. My sketch pad is a good quality paper 9" x 6".

It was challenging adjusting to a limited palette and different media as well as the very warm climate of Greece. I learned that doing a watercolor wash was impossible because the water dried so quickly. I found myself drawn to details and did several sketches with pen and ink.

Sometimes I traveled to a lovely spot to paint and other times I sat in a taverna painting after consuming some fabulous Greek food.

In the next several blogs I will be sharing my sketches and experiences.

After a couple days in Athens, I traveled to Meteora to see the clifftop monasteries. Out of a rather flat landscape, you will see unusual shaped mountains with layers of color that seemed to flow down its sides.

I planned to hike up to the monasteries the day after I arrived, but it rained solidly and not even this Washingtonian was willing to go out in the downpour. Instead I spent the day painting. Here is the view from the balcony of my room in Kastraki.


It was raining so hard that several waterfalls formed down the crevasses in the rocks. Can you see them?

I did another version with just the mountains. They are rather organic wouldn't you agree?


Thankfully the rain subsided and I stayed another day to visit the monasteries.