Summer is here, and the hot weather has all of us finding ways to cool down while enjoying the sunny weather. It’s a great time to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and slow down. You don’t have to travel far away to have an adventure, sometimes a trip to a local park, beach, or coffee shop this summer is all we need to feel re-energized. As you venture out on your summer excursions, document your days in your TRAVEL & SKETCH Spiral Ring Notebook with your TRC USA x Art Toolkit TRAVEL & SKETCH Palettes.
In today’s TRC USA Staff’s Diaries, we invite you to a relaxing day at Long Beach with Job. From the cafe to a warm afternoon on the beach, let’s go on a short trip with our SPIRAL RING NOTEBOOK!
Summer Adventures with my SPIRAL RING NOTEBOOK
Good morning! Today, my adventures brought me to Pine Street, a busy walkable street in Downtown Long Beach filled with a mix of eateries and small shops. I like to walk here in the late mornings to get a coffee or tea to start my day. Today, I stopped by Rose Park Coffee for a matcha latte to fuel myself for a day of drawing and exploring.
I always find that drawing at coffee shops a little daunting until I remember that those in the cafe are also immersed in their own activities. Some locals are meeting their friends over a cup of joe, while others might be working. I packed my TRAVEL & SKETCH SPIRAL RING NOTEBOOK to document today’s trip through doodles and paintings.
When I’m getting creative at a coffee shop, I find it charming to document the drink that I ordered by sketching it. I was so excited when my matcha latte matched my Limited Green TRC USA x Art Toolkit TRAVEL & SKETCH palette. The vibrant green color in both the matcha latte and my pocket palette easily became the main subject to draw in my SPIRAL RING NOTEBOOK. With my stomach full and my hands all warmed up from the painting, let’s head to the beach and do some sketching in the sand.
Although I have lived in Long Beach for almost a year, I haven’t had a chance to soak up the sun at the beach. With the word “beach” in its city name, it seemed like a great time to learn more about the different beaches located in Long Beach.
Alamitos Beach is only a 20-30 minute walk from Rose Park Coffee. With the nice early summer weather today, it’s only appropriate to enjoy this leisurely walk. I made sure to fill up my TF Stainless Steel Bottle with water and bring a probiotic soda with me to the beach since I knew I would be parched after my walk.
After a warm but breezy walk, I was at Alamitos Beach! I was greeted with the sight of palm trees upon entering the sandy banks of the beach, and I thought it was the perfect scene to paint. I used my bronze TRC USA x Art Toolkit TRAVEL & SKETCH palette in the folio size and my Rosemary and Co. round brushes to paint a loose watercolor sketch of the beach scene.
I decided to forgo a draft with a pencil or a fine liner for the outline. It was freeing to simply use the watercolors directly for this sketch. Although this sketch may not be as detailed as it could be, the looseness of the painting echoed the carefree nature of the waves at the beach.
After my initial sketch, I was ready to relax in the sand and enjoy the sound of the crashing waves. I was trying to capture a photograph of my sketch near the water but I underestimated the speed of the crashing waves. My feet and leather sandals got drenched in sea water! On the bright side, the coolness of the water was a welcoming relief for my ankles since I’ve been under the sun all day.
I set up my beach towel and all my creative essentials in a quiet part of the beach so I could enjoy some time with my journals. Filling my TF Stainless Steel Bottle at the cafe with ice-cold water was a good idea because I was thirsty by the time I finished setting up my spot.
After a little snack, I was ready to continue my day of sketching at the beach. I decided to paint another beach scene using my watercolors and my Rosemary & Co. R10 round brush. This pocketable round brush is the perfect urban sketching companion because it can be capped to protect the paintbrush when not in use. When uncapped and posted, this seemingly small brush turns into a full-size watercolor brush, which can be used with your TRC USA x Art Toolkit TRAVEL & SKETCH palette.
I love the fact that the Rosemary & Co. R10 brush is a number 8 round brush, which can be used for large washes in my SPIRAL RING NOTEBOOK while also having a fine enough tip to create intricate details. It’s a great all-in-one brush for people sketching outside this summer!
I kept all my creative tools in a a cheerful summer yellow Toyo Steel Box. It holds my palette, pencil, eraser, ruler, and even my Passport Size TRAVELER’s notebook. It’s a sturdy storage box that holds my valuable tools and supplies securely when I’m in transit – no need to worry about the tools being squished in my everyday bag!
My final sketch for the day was a simple landscape view of the beach. I was drawn to the color of the lifeguard station on the beach, so I chose to make it the main focal point of this final beach scene painting.
Before my trip to the beach, I swapped out some of the tins in my palette so that I could have more blue and yellow paints in my palette to make it easier to paint the beach scenes. The magnet on the back of the palettes makes it easy to customize and swap paint pans between your other Art Toolkit palettes.
As I wrap up my journey through Long Beach with my TRAVEL & SKETCH essentials, I am reminded that every day holds an adventure and an opportunity for creativity. Whether it’s sketching the vibrant hues of my matcha latte, capturing the tranquility of the beach, or immersing myself in the hustle and bustle of the city, each moment offers a chance to reflect and create.
So, as you plan your summer excursions, don’t forget to pack your TRAVEL & SKETCH tools. You never know what inspiration might strike during your daily explorations!
Have a nice trip!
