Travel sketchbooks

When we were in Hong Kong in October ’09, it was raining too hard to hike Lamma Island, so we decided to look at old maps at Picture This! Gallery (Ste. 1308, 13th Floor, Office Tower, 9 Queen’s Rd., Central, Hong Kong, China; phone +852 2525 2820).

As we walked in, we saw piled on a table published sketchbooks of the places we’d just come from as well as Central Hong Kong, where we now were. The sketches, paintings, research and humorous asides were captivating in a way no travel guidebook could ever be — and the books became treasured reminders of that trip upon our return home.

The books, by Lorette E. Roberts, were “Sights and Secrets: Sketches and Paintings of Hong Kong” (2007, Midas Printing International — ISBN 988-97328-1-5. £23.50) and “Singapore: Sketches of the Lion City” (2009, Bridge House Design — ISBN 978-988-97328-3-7. £23.50), available through her website, Amazon.com, etc. Each hardcover book measures about 11"x14".

A year later, in November ’10, I returned to Singapore and Hong Kong and had a very special opportunity to study with Ms. Roberts and learn how to create my OWN painted travel books.

Now when I am going on a trip, I use published travel sketchbooks the way others use Fodor’s… and get pretty unhappy if somebody HASN’T published a sketchbook from a choice destination. Www.alibris.com is one place where you can run searches for travel sketchbooks.

Carol Bonomo
San Marcos, CA