Sketches from the Routeburn Track

I've rabbited on about it in some of my monthly round-up blog posts, but getting back into my sketchbook this year has made a world of difference. So when I headed out to walk the Routeburn track last month, I made sure to pack some drawing gear. 

I ran a ruthless packing program. Since everything I took on the walk had to be carried up hills, the scales were quickly pulled out and tough decisions were made. The difference between what I wanted to take, and the culled down version were very different but I ended with my travel watercolour set, a handful of pencils and pastels.

Because I'm a messy sketcher who loves throwing every medium at a page, while I was on the track I ended up sketching the essence of a scene, and then working back into them when I returned home. 

I don't regret bringing my art supplies and sketchbook along, even through it meant extra weight. It was such a treat pulling it out over lunches and snack stops and taking in the beautiful views, as seen in Exhibit A below.