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Travel Drawing: Japan

As you may have read in my recent post, Travel Drawing: Austria, I really enjoy drawing architecture and landscapes whenever I get to go abroad. Japan was especially fun to draw because the style of buildings and monuments are so different than from here in Boston.


I specifically loved the torii, a traditional Japanese gate. This was my favorite one I saw because the tree in front of it makes you have to bend down to go through it, and so the tree feels like a second gate.

Torii and Tree – Watercolor and Pen.

In contrast to the shrines, it was a lot of fun to draw the bustling streets and delicious food stalls. The time it takes me to sketch these ranges between 5 and 25 minutes.

Osaka – Watercolor and Pen
Food Stall – Watercolor and Pen
Rain in Kyoto – Watercolor and Pen

I typically keep my travel drawings to my watercolor sketchbook, but sometimes I use my photos as reference and spend a bit more time on a pastel drawing. This was the entrance to a short hike up to the Chureito Pagoda, which gives you the most iconic view of Mt. Fuji.

Torii Entrance – 5" x 7" – Hard Pastel

I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I hope to travel again soon!

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