Drawing of Cusco’s rooftops from the hills of San Blas
While wandering aimlessly through Cusco, Peru‘s hilly San Blas neighborhood, the choice is pretty much just up or down. We choose to wander up and up until we come across a small terrace. Seats at a table. Coca tea. And this, the best view of Cusco we’ve found.
View from San Blas, $60, marker and pencil on paper, 8 in. x 10 in., 2012
What a fun sketch, Todd! I’ve really enjoyed looking through your travel art – I also sketch on the road, but really admire your style. I tend to focus too hard on getting every detail right – I love your more whimsical approach to some of your subjects. Hope you’re both still enjoying Peru!
Thank you, Candace. Keeping my drawing style loose and gestural allows me to capture the moment without slowing down our travels too much.
Drawing while traveling is a great way to make sure that you do slow down enough. If you feel you’re getting too caught in details, try to start the drawing by lightly sketching your composition to make sure you get the proportions right, then have fun giving life to the forms. By all means, have fun with it.
Wonderful sketch! So interesting to see all the green. I was just in Cusco last August, and there was not a drop of green – very brown and dry!!
Thanks Betsy. It was so so very green when we were in Peru — one of the benefits of visiting in March, when the rainy season is just tapering off. I bet Peru is amazing any time of year, though I highly recommend the green season.