Travel Sketchbook #1
“If you do something with passion, dedication, precision and faith then you will always get what you want. In that case even failure will not matter.�
Publisher Priyanka Kanhare Patel, Ahmedabad First Edition: December, 2019 Cover page sketch: Priyanka Kanhare Patel Location: Rameshwaram temple street la.p.kanhare@gmail.com ISSUU blog link: https://issuu.com/priyankakanhare
Dedicated to Mom, Dad, Rajen,Frodo and Kavish
Preface Sketching and drawing form a major part of my study of paintings. I like sketching more than painting as it connects me to my surrounding more consciously than making painting. Sketching gives practice to one’s hands and eyes. While improving the sense of perspective and proportion, one can also observe compositions better. Above all, sketching develops one’s own point of view. Sketching is extremely personal and it reflects a personal point of view. A sketch is often spontaneous. It is the artist’s direct response to a subject he/she comes across or sees. At that stage, points such as how to do the composition and which technique to use generally do not crop up. The real secret of good sketching lies in visual understanding of buildings and its surrounding spaces, and a few strategies, which help one simply his/her observations. This book is a primary idea, and I look forward in developing my skills as well as the representations. I hope I can work towards creating more profound work in my future publications.
The World map on the following page indicates the location of all the places travelled and hence location were sketching was done. The major countries in this case were India, Canada, United States of America, Indonesia, and Thailand. The places/states or cities were as follows: 1. In India: Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa, Tamil Nadu, and Andaman and Nicobar Island. 2. In USA: New York 3. In Canada: Montreal, and Quebec 4. In Indonesia: Bali 5. In Thailand: Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket
The sketches in this book are result of exploration from 2007 (beginning of the Architecture education - Undergraduate) till 2019. More detailed travel sketchbooks of each location and many more are yet to come.
3
2 1 5 4
1. INDIA (Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Island); 2. USA (New York); 3. CANADA (Montreal, Quebec); 4. INDONESIA (Bali); 5. THAILAND (Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket)
1. Ghoshal village, Himachal Pradesh, India April 2010 Medium : Ink This particular temple is a popular village temple (Ghoshal village). It is located on the highest point in the village and is made of wood and stone. Beautiful intricate carvings on the main door and joinery details were key notable features of this temple.
2. Ghoshal village, Himachal Pradesh, India April 2010 Medium : Ink View from the main entry- pathway. This particular temple is a popular village temple (Ghoshal village). It is located on the highest point in the village and is made of wood and stone. Beautiful intricate carvings on the main door and joinery details were key notable features of this temple.
3. Bharatpur Bird Santuray, near Mathura - the way to Agra from Delhi, India December 2015 Medium : Pen Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary happened to be an accidental visit as our train got cancelled from Delhi to Agra due to winter fog. So we had to take a car and go by road. On the way we decided to drop down to see the place, and it was bliss. Beautiful dense forested area, with lot of deers, and other birds. Through the sketch, one can see the dense layers of vegetation...
4. Bharatpur Bird Santuray, near Mathura - the way to Agra from Delhi, India December 2015 Medium : Pen Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary happened to be an accidental visit as our train got cancelled from Delhi to Agra due to winter fog. So we had to take a car and go by road. On the way we decided to drop down to see the place, and it was bliss. Beautiful dense forested area, with lot of deer, and other birds. Through the sketch, one can see the dense layers of vegetation...
5. Mehrangadh fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India October, 2008 Medium : Pen Mehrangadh fort is built on a large mountain and then can be seen from all points in Jodhpur. The entire city dwells at its foothills. The sketch is drawing in a way the once can see how it molds itself in the rock and with the sky.
6. Alang Ship breaking yard, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India April, 2011 Medium : Pen Alang, situated near Bhavnagar, is popular for its ship-breaking yard. It was a very dominant and dynamic view. This sketch is of a ship which was yet to be broken down, so was anchored below in water.
7. Champaner, Pavagadh- Vadodara, Gujarat, India April, 2011 Medium : Pen This is UNESCO World Heritage site, located near Vadodara. It is a popular architecture building and worth sketching. I loved the way the profile of the entire built form looked. This sketch kind of shows only the massing.
8. Polo forest, Idar-Polo, Gujarat, India June, 2012 Medium : Pen Polo forest is by far the only most visited forested area around Gujarat (after Sasangir). This place has an old ruined temple complex, but what fascinated me was the dense forest. This sketch mainly shows the porosity in the middle of the forested areas - how one can see very little portion of sky...
9. Junagadh, Gujarat, India May, 2018 Medium : Pen This gate appears when you enter Junagadh. The landscape feature at the location added a certain charm to the overall composition. Both were a proof of each other’s legacy and historic importance.
10. Modhera Surya Mandir, Patan, Gujarat, India October, 2011 Medium : Pen This is the famous Sun temple at Modhera. The best part was that we reached this temple exactly at sunrise. This sketch mainly shows light and shadow, and hence the beautiful articulation on the surfaces (sculpted columns).
11. Polo forest, Idar-Polo, Gujarat, India June, 2012 Medium : Pen This is a famous temple near Polo forest. It is world heritage site. When we visited this place it was in ruins and under conservation program. So the column and other parts were numbered and assemble on sides.
12. Gujarat, India May, 2018 Medium : Watercolor and Pen While driving back from Sansangir, along the highway, one can see fields which are ready for harvest as well as those, which are still growing. The bands of shades and tints of green are amazing and sooth eyes.
13. House of Goa, Goa, India May, 2011 Medium : Pen Architect Jerrad Butler has designed this particular place as children’s school. It is sustainable built form and has used all reusable material. The dimensions and anthropometric of the place were such that it was very friendly for kids. Also the way the building merges with he landscape is very interesting.
14. Goa, India May, 2011 Medium : Watercolor and Pen Goa is a land of beaches and this famous spot here, is where shooting of the many Bollywood movies have happened. The best part here was the view of water, waves and the surrounding vegetation.
15. Goa, India May, 2011 Medium : Pen While driving along the beach, one would come across many small settlement and villages. The old Goan houses, with slant roofs and coconut plantations are mesmerizing. Simply loved them.
16. Goa, India May, 2011 Medium : Pen While driving along the beach, one would come across many farmlands, which have rice plantations. They were so lush and green and soothing to eyes.
17. Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, India December, 2015 Medium : Watercolor and Pen Rameshwaram is a temple town on Pamban Island, in Tamil Nadu. This place has many small and large temples. As per Hindu mythology people worship tree as a symbol of religious significance. The colorful saree draped around the tree was very interesting.
18. Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, India December, 2015 Medium : Pen Rameshwaram is a temple town on Pamban Island, in Tamil Nadu. This place has many small and large temples. This particular sketch is a view from the north gate of the Rameshwarm temple complex.
19. Pamban, Tamil Nadu, India December, 2015 Medium : Watercolor and Pen Pamban is an island in Tamil Nadu. This place has one of the most scariest railway lines in the world. This particular sketch is of boats, which are waiting to go off shore. The main occupation of people on this island is fishing.
20. Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu, India December, 2015 Medium : Pen Dhanushkodi is on the edge of the this island. Visually one can see Sri Lanka from this tip. It is only 30 km away from here. This place was ruined completely in tsunami, which hit the island a few years back. It felt quite haunted.
21. Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, India December, 2015 Medium : Pen Rameshwaram also has small village nearby where some interesting houses and old buildings lie. This particular location had a house whose roof was filled with scrap materials and the tree in front of it adds an element to this frame.
22. Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, India December, 2015 Medium : Watercolor and Pen Rameshwaram is a temple town on Pamban Island, in Tamil Nadu. This place has many small and large temples. This particular sketch is a view from the south gate of the Rameshwarm temple complex. The small narrow streets, which lead to the temple, have interesting elements.
23. Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, India December, 2015 Medium : Watercolor and Pen Rameshwaram is a temple town on Pamban Island, in Tamil Nadu. This place has many small and large temples. This particular sketch is a view from the west gate of the Rameshwarm temple complex. The small narrow streets, which lead to the temple, have interesting elements.
24. Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India December, 2015 Medium : Pen This particular temple in Madurai was build under a rock (not exactly a rock cut temple). Also behind this temple were some old famous caves. This temple was of Lord Kartikey.
25. Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, India December, 2015 Medium : Watercolor and Pen When we went to this place, there was heavy flood and disaster in Chennai. So all the trains coming to Rameshwaram were cancelled. So the railway station was completely abandoned.
26. Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Island, India December, 2014 Medium : Pen This view was outside the hotel that we were staying in. The tall coconut trees and the slant metal roofs were an interesting composition.
27. Havelok, Andaman and Nicobar Island, India December, 2014 Medium : Pen This view is of a beach at the Havelok Island. The small hut or waiting areas and the background of dense forest was very interesting.
28. Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Island, India December, 2014 Medium : Watercolor and Pen This was a small abandoned island in Port Blair. It was beautiful and the water was very clear.
29. New York, USA August, 2016 Medium : Pen This particular sketch is of the New York skyline. May be I have not been able to make the best of it but just tried to make something.
30. Montreal, Canada September, 2016 Medium : Watercolor and Pen This place is located on the Harbor of Montreal waterside. It has a railway line and the amazing red color engine was quite dominating.
31. Quebec, Canada September, 2016 Medium : Brush Pen This is a famous church in Quebec, very near by our motel. When we reached there, a Sunday mass was going on, so couldn’t really go inside the church, but from outside the tints of white and sunlight was amazing.
32. Floating Market, Pattaya, Thailand February, 2018 Medium : Watercolor and Pen This place has a floating market, where one has to sit in a boat and sail and shop. It was very interesting to see small boats, which carry food, flowers and other similar goodies and regular stuff which one can buy or sell.
33. Bangkok street, Thailand February, 2018 Medium : Pen This is how a regular street facade in Bangkok looks like. This one is in downtown.
34. Floating Market, Pattaya, Thailand February, 2018 Medium : Watercolor and Pen This place has a floating market, where one has to sit in a boat and sail and shop. It was very interesting to see small boats, which carry food, flowers and other similar goodies and regular stuff which one can buy or sell.
35. Phi Phi Don Island, Phuket, Thailand November, 2019 Medium : Alcohol Art Markers This is the famous Phi Phi Island, which is the most scenic and popular place. The color of the water, rock and mountains, and the most interesting of it is the BOAT!
36. Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, Ubud, Bali June, 2017 Medium : Pen These are the famous rice terraces in Ubud. The weather at this place was so romantic and the lush green fields looked amazing. It was a site to see the bands of rice plantation some banana plantations in the background. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
37. Tegallalang Rice Terraces, Ubud, Bali June, 2017 Medium : Watercolor and Pen These are the famous rice terraces in Ubud. The weather at this place was so romantic and the lush green fields looked amazing. It was a site to see the bands of rice plantation some banana plantations in the background. Here there were small pools of water filled up to help in farming.
38. Barong dance, Bali June, 2017 Medium : Watercolor and Pen Barong dance is a traditional dance form of Balinese people. They wear masks and perform dance, based on the popular story of the culture, which include tigers, monkey, kings, queen, etc.
39. Kitamani volcano mountain, Bali June, 2017 Medium : Pen This place is a famous volcano mountain. It’s not an active volcano. When we went there we saw that the entire mountain is covered with vegetation. The lake at the foothill of the mountain was a popular spot. Many people walk upto the crater of the mountain.
40. Tanha Lot, Bali June, 2017 Medium : Pen This is a famous tourist place in Bali. It has a temple complex, but unfortunately it was closed when we visited this place. The splashing water on the rock and trees growing from within the rocks and the roofs of the temple complex were the best features.
A Special thanks to all friends, family members, and teachers for encouraging me to do what I do....
Priyanka Kanhare Patel
Architect Landscape Architect Academician Urban Sketcher Independent Researcher
la.p.kanhare@gmail.com Contact: (+91) 9825071314 1/A, Paliadnagar Society, Near Darpan six road, Naranpura, Ahmedabad - 380013, Gujarat, India