On this day we went for a hike to a viewpoint on Mount Ćurevac in Durmitor national park. It was a nice easy hike to the viewpoint and then we went down a different route and conveniently (and completely by chance) arrived where we parked the car on the road, and then had a picnic. At the top we had our own little latag (throw-down or show and tell) at the viewpoint because we all sketched the this amazing view.
Wed-12-Aug-2026
On our first full day in Montenegro we drove into the Durmitor national park for a walk around this lake. Our daughters went swimming as I sketched this. After lunch (consisting of delicious and simple cheese and tomato sandwiches from a helpful lady in a small supermarket near the tourism office), we drove part of the Durmitor loop (a 76-to-85-kilometer scenic route that circles the dramatic peaks of the National Park) to enjoy the views of the Tara River Canyon.
Tue-11-Aug-2026
After a long hiatus we finally went for a hike at the end of April. It was very hot and sunny but it was a relatively short walk and we were home by late afternoon. This is the sketch I did when we got to the top. I think I made the greens in the background too dark or too bright because the tree in the foreground should be standing out more.
Sun-26-Apr-2026
I did this sketch after our walk back down from Lake Agnes, I had stiff legs and sat in an awkward position which I don’t think helped me sketch well. And then I thought maybe I have sketched too many lakes in one day? As I was sketching this, the light changed the colour of the water, going from bright turquoise/cobalt green when the sun was shining, to dark viridian/blue green when the sun went in.
Tue-10-Jun-2025
After Moraine Lake we drove to Lake Louise and luckily found a parking space. We then walked from Lake Louise up to Lake Agnes, going past Mirror Lake. There were all types of walkers on the trail – some with very serious looking hiking gear, and some out for a stroll and completely unprepared! That day I did 22,000 steps – the hike had easy gentle slopes but it was a long one.
Tue-10-Jun-2025
This day we made an early start to get to the Lake Louise Ski Resort where took the shuttle to Moraine lake (they don’t allow private cars any more because it gets so crowded – and yes it was heaving with people). There we climbed up the “rock pile” first, then walked around the lake. I stopped part way going round the lake to sketch this and take in the fantastic view more thoroughly. After this we had (our own packed) lunch in the ski resort…though we did buy a coffee so they wouldn’t throw us out!
Tue-10-Jun-2025
After visiting Bow Lake, we walked through Johnston Canyon – which was quite busy and popular. It was an easy going walk with paved pathways, steps and handrails all the way. We had to queue to go into the cave at the lower falls (where you get to be face-to-face with the water fall) and then walked to the upper falls, which was a lot less busy. My sketch of the upper falls was aided by my white Posca pen exploding onto the paper! Afterwards we drove back to our Airbnb in Canmore and had an early night after a long day (because we had also stopped at the “Cascades of Time Gardens” and Bow falls!).
Mon-9-Jun-2025
The next few posts are going to include sketches of lakes and mountains as for the next part of our holiday in Alberta, we did lots of hikes and walks mostly centred around the beautiful lakes in Banff National Park. If you don’t like sketches of lakes…look away! On our first day in the area we made an early start, loading up the car with tonnes of food for our stay in Canmore. We began with a stop at Bow Lake, where I did this brief sketch…a person passing noted that the trick to sketching in the wind is the clips I use to hold the pages down! We then went on to Peyto Lake, which is a stunning green colour and then drove on to Johnston Canyon for our packed lunch and a hike.
Mon-9-Jun-2025
On this day we went out for a hike with my sister-in-law (in Drumheller Valley – known as the Dinosaur Capital of the World) aiming to arrive early to miss the crowds …but then found that there was no one there and no trail either! However, we enjoyed the spectacular scenery, walked for a bit (it was super windy) and then turned round to avoid getting lost. We then spent many enjoyable hours in the Royal Tyrell Museum (@royaltyrell) looking at dino fossils.
Sat-7-Jun-2025