From The Summer Trip: Sunrises on Adriatic Sea (Part 2)

Images below are the second half of my experience of following the sun getting out from behind the mountain. (Part 1 is here). 

I shared these sunrises with my parents (who continue meeting the sun regularly), people sleeping on the beach, people cleaning the beach, many birds (pigeons, seagulls, crows, and some I did not identify), several serious cats, and a few agile kittens. After the sun would get up and I would get my swim, locals would arrive for their swimming time, many already knew my parents and greeted them in Ukrainian, and others got a reply from my parents in Croatian. Then dogs and their walkers. First shop owners and farmers arrive at the market. It was amazing - seeing a town waking up slowly. Now I am thinking that I should have drawn all of that - but by that time the temperature was scorching! You cannot have it all - and I had my sunrises :) 

From The Summer Trip: Sunrises on Adriatic Sea (Part 1)

Sunsets are amazing! Never-ending attempt to see everything and notice simultaneously all the changes, enjoy the view, and try to put it on paper. It is a challenge that you can rely upon. Even when it is cloudy and looks like there is no change in the light - there is so much to see. In short: I love sunsets. But as I learned on my summer trip - sunrises are just as amazing :) Not that I never saw a sunrise - but this time I saw a whole bunch of them in a sequence. It added such a glorious rhythm to my days and a relished layer of memories about the trip! I would walk through the dark streets, sit on the beach, and enjoy painting up until the sun would blind me and make me go for a swim. I divided my sketches into two parts - here is the first of them:

Video Tour through Sketchbook 151: Travel Log

I made a video of a flip through my Sketchbook #151: July-August 2023 - it started with my trip to Croatia, then Denmark, then Estonia and Latvia. 

I will be posting some detailed sketches next week but for now, here is one that did not make it to the video - I guess I just turned two pages at a time:

this is center square in Tallinn, Estonia. There was so much going on there that I ended up concentrating on the sky :)

Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 3: Process Photos, Sketching Materials and Sketchbook Flip-Through

I started telling a story of the trip to Croatia in my previous posts:
Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 1: Cities 
Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 2: Views

And this is Part 3 - where I will share some photos of the sketching-in-process, as well as a list of my materials which I made to start the trip and some thoughts on what materials I used the most at the end of the trip. And to combine it all - a video of a sketchbook flip-through where you can see how it all look in real life.

Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 2: Views

I started telling a story of the trip to Croatia in my previous post: Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 1: Cities and continue it with a Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 3: Process Photos, Sketching Materials and Sketchbook Flip-Through

Apart from the old cities, the places I enjoyed the most were the mountaintops. To me, there is no better way to get a feel for a place than to get as high as possible and try to make sense of the general idea of the land. And the seashore with views of endless islands and water of colors that change while I try to name them, captured my heart for good! I will have to come back and sketch these again! 

Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 1: Cities 
Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 2: Views

Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 3: Process Photos, Sketching Materials and Sketchbook Flip-Through

Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 1: Cities

In February of this year I went to Croatia to visit my parents (I've uploaded a bunch of portraits from the visit here) - and now I scanned and sorted out a bunch of sketches to share here. 

First and foremost - February is an amazing time to visit Croatia - we were lucky with the weather of course but having all the historical places to ourselves was such a treat! Taking a tour guide (which we did for Split) is always a great idea! We enjoyed a curated approach to a city where one can spend years researching things and connecting epochs! The nature was stunning and I got my feet in the Adriatic sea even if for just a minute :) We tried some local fish dishes, famous lamb roasted on a spit, both red and white wines, and some gorgeous desserts! Here are some sketches from the visits to the old cities:

Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 1: Cities 
Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 2: Views

Trip to Croatia (2023) - Sketchbook - Part 3: Process Photos, Sketching Materials and Sketchbook Flip-Through