Transformative Travel
Travel. It’s everything a creative needs. And in this digital world, we are served up so much of the same. Its the analog experience I crave that only exploration can bring.
Monaco Ville / a page from one of my travel sketchbooks
Travel gets me out of my every day and immersed in different cultures - different colors, different foods, different architecture - it floods my head with creativity. Sometimes it translates directly to painting or wallpaper, but mostly it offers opportunities to experience new things that I might now seek out or evenknow I liked.
Sandstone Wallpaper in Golden Hour inspired by Bondi Beach
Me at the famous Bondi Beach sandstone cliffs in Sydney, Australia
I don’t know if it’s because we are more open when we travel or if it’s just the magic of adventure but some of the most unexpected treats have happened to me on trips. I was exploring the gardens at Villa Ephrussi in Cap Ferrat when symphony music started playing from everywhere. The fountains suddenly sprung to life and there was a choreographed ballet of water and music. It was magical! I stood in awe and wonder until the final note played and the last drop of water fell. That place and that moment got under my skin and I think of it often.
Another magical moment happened in a hill town above Provence. I struck up a conversation with the British couple next to me at a cafe because their dog kept wandering over to get my attention. I was lamenting not being able to get a reservation at the Columbe D’Or, the very reason I’d travelled to St. Paul de Vence. It turns out the couple live there part time and frequent the restaurant. Not only did they offer to walk me over, but they kindly gave me a little tour of the hotel and the amazing art collection I’d been dying to see.
Would I have had a conversation with strangers in my own town? Probably not because I’d be focused on my routine and whatever tasks came next.
New inspiration, a new perspective and a sketchbook full of memories - I always end up finding something I didn’t set out to discover at all. That’s the magic of travel.
So go! Explore! And let me know what you discover…