ObservationalDrawing

124-3589 – Kotor boats

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

This day we checked out of our mountain home in Žabljak and drove to Kotor. After checking in to our weeny apartment (and a long detailed briefing on what we can do in the area from our AirBnB host), we went down to Kotor beach and our daughters went swimming while I sketched. It was boiling hot down there…but despite this the tiny strip of beach was packed with people on loungers toasting themselves. I almost gave up sketching it was so hot, but then the sun went behind some clouds. After this we bought two massive slices of pizza from a place nearby for our dinner.

Thu-13-Aug-2026

124-3588 – Cars outside Tara Restaurant

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

After our hike we went for dinner out in Žabljak town where the stressed chain-smoking waitress suddenly sat next to us on the bench seat outside where we were sitting, to write out some bills and stub out her cigarette in the ash tray on our table. This is the view I had from where we sat. The food took ages so we walked back to our mountain home in the dark…under a starry starry sky

Wed-12-Aug-2026

124-3587 – Tara River Canyon viewpoint

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

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

124-3586 – The black lake

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

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

124-3585 – View from our mountain home

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

I sketched this quickly after we arrived in Pitomine, Žabljak, Montenegro. I slept on the plane coming from the UK and on arrival we picked up a car from a local company called Good Choice. Unfortunately there was no sign of them at arrival and it took a bit of hunting to find a random guy wearing a T-shirt with their logo on it…then we were forced to pay cash (plus 3% for exchange) and we didn’t get the kind of car I expected…so perhaps not a good choice. I then drove three hours into mountains – after stopping briefly in Tivat and crossing on an unexpected roll on roll off ferry…phew!

Mon-10-Aug-2026

124-3583 – Shrocks

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After my last sketch I had a gap of two days in sketching. When we drove down from Manchester via Oxford to Hove again, we had a road accident – a big lorry drove in to us on the motorway. Thankfully we were not hurt (and neither was the lorry driver), but the hire car was damaged, which so far has cost us a lot of money. We also spent some time meeting friends and helping put stuff into storage. When I had time I sketched these Crocks which belong to our eldest daughter…very cool…or very embarrassing, depending on your perspective!

Sun-9-Aug-2026

124-3581 – Whitworth

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

I sketched this at the Whitworth (Art Gallery) cafe after going to see an exhibition called “Beneath the Great Wave: Hokusai and Hiroshige”, highlighting the famous woodblock landscape works of Edo-period Japanese masters Katsushika Hokusai Utagawa Hiroshige. In my sketch I only managed to capture part of two people and a tree before they moved, but often I find that half-finished sketches turn out better!

Thu-6-Aug-2026