ADVENTURE ROAD TRAVEL SKETCHERS — A YouTube Channel

The artwork for my YouTube channel — Adventure Road Travel Sketcherss (ARTS).

You may not know this, but I have a YouTube channel. I've actually have had it for 9 or 10 years — way before it was cool to have one.

I posted a spoof video of a Zoot commercial starring an aquaintence from Hawaii. (secretly hoping Zoot would sponsor me ...) I still have those Zoots by the way. See the video on the rail of this blog or go here to watch it: ZOOT commercial spoof

I've also posted a couple of Ironman World Championship videos and a running in Hawaii in Vibrams video.

A video of when I was featured on NBC Sports for competing in the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.

Most recently (since we moved into a fifth wheel RV) I've changed the name of my channel to Adventure Road Travel Sketchers (ARTS for short) and began posting sketching videos. I plan on producing RV-related videos as well and anytime I can combine RVing, sketching and running/swimming/biking I'll post  those too.

By the way, the official name is RDub in Hawaii. the official web address is https://www.youtube.com/user/rdubinhawaii

Here's the link to my YouTube Channel: ARTS 

I haven't decided if I'll keep the sketching separate from the RV related videos by starting another channel specifically for RVing. I plan on combining the two by doing a lot of RV lifestyle sketching and once we are able to begin traveling the country those two subjects will be intertwined.

I'm also taking courses on creating a YouTube channel and making my videos more interesting, which all the videos posted before June 5, 2018, were created before I took the class so I hope you will begin to see a difference in the quality of the content and the story telling as I progress from this point on.

Please check out my channel and Please subscribe (it's free) and it helps my channel rank higher on YouTube. Also if you want to help support my channel and blog for free you can click on any of the Amazon links or ads (on my blog) and if you purchase anything -- even if it's not what you clicked on -- Amazon will pay me a small commission that costs  you nothing.

Some of the videos on sketching and running I've created and uploaded to my YouTube Channel here'.

Here's a tag line I place on all my videos that explains what my channel is about:

ABOUT THIS CHANNEL:
Our channel is evolving as our lives are evolving.

This channel started out while we lived in Hawaii  and I was competing in Ironman triathlons. That's why the first few videos are about running and Ironman competition. Since we have moved back to the mainland and I became interested in sketching I switched it up to producing sketching videos, sketchbook tours, reviews, and how to sketch videos.

Recently our lives have taken a new direction. We moved out of our three bedroom house with a double car garage and moved into a 264-square-foot fifth wheel RV. We plan to begin traveling the country as soon as possible and sketch the places and people we visit and meet along the way. We plan on sticking to the rural areas as much as possible -- the roots of America.

We also plan on interviewing some of the people we meet and discover what makes their town and neighborhoods special to them.

We will be producing content about sketching, RV life which includes repairs, coping with small spaces and the pros and cons of full-time RV living. Our daughter, Rebecca is disabled and is wheelchair bound so we will also be talking about how we manage all the work arounds in a world made for people who walk, including how accessible places are for disabled people.

I've changed the name of this channel (for now) to Adventure Road Travel Sketchers (ARTS for short) and my wife Karen, daughter Rebecca, 4-year-old twin grandsons Leo and Desmond and sometimes our 5-year-old grandson NJ, will be contributing content as well.

Thanks and please subscribe (it's absolutely free) and it would mean the world to us if you would comment and subscribe.

HELP SUPPORT OUR CHANNEL FOR FREE: I am part of the Amazon Affiliate program which means if you click on one of the links and purchase anything I get a small commission paid by amazon and costs you nothing more. It's a way for you to help support our channel for free. 

We are currently taking courses to improve my channel and content so please be patient, subscribe and keep checking back. I promise my videos will get better. Thank you.

I am part of the Amazon Affiliate program which means if you click on one of the links below and purchase anything I get a small commission paid by amazon and costs you nothing more. It's a way for you to help support my growing channel for free.

OUR BLOG: THE KONA LIFE
You can check out my blog at http://amilucid.blogspot.com/ where I talk all things sketching, triathlon and RV life in general.

Below are a few Amazon links for some of the art supplies I use. (I'm an Amazon Affiliate)

Platinum Desk Fountain Pen: http://amzn.to/2CVwbIc

Platinum carbon ink bottle ink black 60cc: http://amzn.to/2D1xFCA

Stillman & Birn Beta Series sketchbook: http://amzn.to/2CLMTer 

M. Graham watercolor tubes: http://amzn.to/2ByAnRB

Winsor & Newton watercolors (the link is for a Cotman beginner set): http://amzn.to/2k7ct5Q

Da Vinci Kolinsky red sable travel brushes No. 10, 6 & 4 round
(This is a great deal for real red sable. Three brush set): http://amzn.to/2BCb55r

Sakura Pigma Micron pens: http://amzn.to/2CMkipa

Lamy Safari fountain pen extra fine nib: http://amzn.to/2k7PQOV

Pentel Aquash water brush: http://amzn.to/2kEqrLV

My palette: Prima Marketing Watercolor Confections: The Classics (I took out the Prima paints and replaced them with half pans of M. Grahams tube paints): http://amzn.to/2k60ghO

GoPro Hero 2:  http://amzn.to/2m1LQzC

Apple Pencil: http://amzn.to/2DodFwt

iPad Pro 12.9-inch: http://amzn.to/2DhWfOI

MOVING SALE - UPDATE

This week is our last week in our brick and mortar house. We have started sleeping in our fifth wheel, going to work during the day and spending the evenings moving the remainder of our belongs into storage or into the fifth wheel (we still need to name it (which seems to be a trend among RVers) so if you have any suggestions please comment below. It's a Grand Design Reflection if you want to play off the name).

A sketch I did of our house and tulips last spring (2017).

By the end of the day Karen and I are exhausted. We can't wait for this week to be over.

BUT, over the weekend we have to move the RV to a new RV park for a couple of days. We are currently renting a space at the RV park by the week and city/county law requires that RVs have to be moved off-site for at least 24 hours. It's a transient thing I guess. Kind of like hotel/motel rules.

So we are moving it just down the street a mile or two away for a couple of days then moving it back.

We are next on the list to move into a monthly spot at the RV park and they just told us one may be coming available mid-May. That'll save us a ton of money, cutting our space rent in half. Keep your fingers crossed.

When we first picked up our fifth wheel the first thing I did was to take it to a CAT Scale to weigh it empty to get the empty weight so we would know how much weight we could add. By this weekend we'll have most of our belongings loaded up so I'm planning to take it back to the scale and weigh it loaded. Hopefully we are still within both the RV and the truck's legal limits. I'll keep you posted.

Here's a quick clip of our moving sale.

*UPDATE: We ended up getting a month-to-month spot at the RV park so beginning in May we'll be paying about half the space rent we were paying. And since I only had to move the fifth wheel about 100 yards I didn't take it to get weighed, yet. I'm still planning on doing that probably when I get time to take some vacation time.

BEGINNING MY TRAVEL SKETCHING WHILE NOT TRAVELING
Here's a sketch I'm just starting of a motorhome parked next to us that has a great paint job.

I'll post the finished piece once it's done.

I'm sketching this on my iPad Pro using an Apple Pencil and the app Procreate.

SUPPORT OUR ADVENTURE FOR FREE
We are an Amazon Affiliate, which means you can help support our adventure for free (without costing you anything) by clicking on any of the Amazon links on this blog when you place an Amazon order. It costs you nothing extra and Amazon pays us a small commission. You don't even have to purchase the item you clicked on as long as you purchase anything through the link, we'll get a small commission. Thank you for your support.

Here's some links to some of my sketching supplies I order from Amazon.

My main sketchbooks are Stillman and Birn Beta Series A5 sketchbook

M. Graham watercolor tubes

Winsor and Newton watercolors (the link is for a Cotman beginner set)

Da Vinci Kolinsky sable travel brushes No. 10, 6 and 4 round  I love these brushes

Sakura Pigma Micron pens

Lamy Safari fountain pen extra fine nib

Pentel Aquash water brush: This works for quick watercolors and on thinner papers such as general sketching paper.

My palette: Prima Marketing Watercolor Confections: The Classics (I took out the Prima paints and replaced them with half pans of M. Grahams and W and N paints)

Noodler's Eels Black waterproof ink: This is a slow drying ink so be patient. It is also only waterproof on certain paper so test it before you use it something you really like. 

Platinum carbon ink bottle ink black 60cc: This is my main ink I use in my fountain pens. Unfortunately, I can't find a U.S. supplier so it takes a few weeks to get through Amazon so order ahead of time. I also love the shape of the bottle it comes in.

Apple Pencil: This is what I use when sketching on my iPad Pro.

iPad Pro 12.9 inch: This has retina display and works great with the Apple Pencil

I PAINTED A FISH

As you can see by my previous post I sketched and painted a steelhead salmon. fish are actually harder to paint than I first thought.

A steelhead Salmon or rainbow trout. Pen & Ink, Watercolor on Stillman & Birn Beta Series A5 sketchbook.

I posted a video on my Youtube channel if you want to watch a timelapse of me sketching and using watercolor to get my final version.

This is the digital version using the app Procreate on the iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil.

My fish video

I also posted a video on my digital version of painting a fish. For that I simply took a photo of the steelhead  after I inked it and before I used watercolor on it. 

My Digital Fish video

I then uploaded the image to my iPad Pro into the drawing app Procreate and used an Apple Pencil to apply color.

Please check out my videos (I NEED VIEWS AND SUBSCRIBERS!!!) 

RANDY'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL CLICK HERE

MY FAVORITE SKETCHING BOOKS 

The Urban Sketcher: Techniques for Seeing and Drawing on Location 

Sketching People: An Urban Sketcher’s Manual to Drawing Figures and Faces

The Urban Sketching Handbook: Understanding Perspective

MY SKETCHING TOOLS

Stillman & Birn Beta Series A5 Sketchbook: http://amzn.to/2tvb3JH

Apple Pencil: http://amzn.to/2DodFwt

iPad Pro 12.9-inch: http://amzn.to/2DhWfOI

JinHao Pen: http://amzn.to/2m3x2jJ

Lamy Safari fountain pen: http://amzn.to/2Dp91ye

Platinum carbon ink bottle ink black 60cc: http://amzn.to/2D1xFCA

Pentel Aquash Waterbrush: http://amzn.to/2F3ju0l

M. Graham watercolors: http://amzn.to/2Ee1yiA

For my YouTube channel, I do some of my filming with a GoPro Hero 2:  http://amzn.to/2m1LQzC

ADVENTURES IN DOODLING

I just never know where my mind will take me when I’m doodling. I started out sketching cars then somehow ended up sketching a "story time" scene.  Maybe because it was close to bedtime for our 4-year-old twins.



CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO ON YOUTUBE

I think I saw a stamp or card of this little girl in my wife’s card collection. I used an iPad Pro 12.9-inch, Apple Pencil and the app Procreate for this video.  Thanks for watching and please subscribe.

If you shop at Amazon.com you can show your support without spending extra. Just click on any of the Amazon links here when you do your shopping and I'll get a small commission paid by Amazon without costing you anything extra.

Below is a list of some of my art supplies available on Amazon.

Apple Pencil: http://amzn.to/2DodFwt

iPad Pro 12.9-inch: http://amzn.to/2DhWfOI

JinHao Pen: http://amzn.to/2m3x2jJ

Lamy Safari fountain pen: http://amzn.to/2Dp91ye

Platinum carbon ink bottle ink black 60cc: http://amzn.to/2D1xFCA

Pentel Aquash Waterbrush: http://amzn.to/2F3ju0l

M. Graham watercolors: http://amzn.to/2Ee1yiA

I do some of my filming with a GoPro Hero 2:  http://amzn.to/2m1LQzC

I am not sponsored by any company or product in this video but I am an Amazon affiliate and do get a small commission from Amazon when you purchase an item through one of the above links at no additional cost to you.

Thanks for watching and please subscribe to my blog and YouTube channel.

COMBINING TRADITIONAL PEN & INK WITH THE PROCREATE APP

In my latest sketching video on YouTube I mix traditional pen and ink sketch with the newest version of Procreate app on the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.

This is the pen and ink sketch of the Indiana Capitol.
The finished drawing is below, which I completed in Procreate on the iPad Pro.

My Latest YouTube Video here

Indiana capitol. Partially drawn on an A5 sketchbook then imported
into the Procreate app on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro and finshed drawing
and coloring using various brushes there. 

Since I'm new to Procreate I just testing various elements of the program. I haven't figured out yet how to get a watercolor effect with the brushes. I know you can purchase brushes online at various websites and some may even be free.

I also haven't figured out how to get a blending effect in Procreate that you get with watercolors on paper. Or the granulation, but that will all come with experience I think.

One thing I love about Procreate and the iPad Pro is I don't feel that intimidation about messing up a sketch in my sketchbook. I feel more free to experiment with styles and brushes (pens, etc.) and I'm finding myself sketching more. (One disclaimer: I also use a very inexpensive ($5.99) A5 sketchbook that I do a lot of doodles and scribbles in while watching TV. I bought this specifically to doodle/scribble in so I don't feel that pressure of messing up a sketch in my "real" sketchbooks (Stillman & Birn Beta series).

This is one of my many scribbles and caricatures in my "doodle book."

One other drawback to using the iPad for a sketchbook is the slipperiness of the glass when using the Apple Pencil. If Apple could make a nib that felt more like pen on paper or if someone would invent a static cling screen cover that the pencil would work through that had the same feel as paper that would be great.

Here's a list of some of my art supplies and where to find them on Amazon:

For the Indiana Capitol sketch on paper I used a JinHao X750 Silver CT Fountain Pen with a medium nib and Platinum carbon ink.

JinHao Pen: http://amzn.to/2m3x2jJ

Lamy Safari fountain pen: http://amzn.to/2Dp91ye

Platinum carbon ink bottle ink black 60cc: http://amzn.to/2D1xFCA

Pentel Aquash Waterbrush: http://amzn.to/2F3ju0l

M. Graham watercolors: http://amzn.to/2Ee1yiA

I do some of my filming with a GoPro Hero 2:  http://amzn.to/2m1LQzC

Apple Pencil: http://amzn.to/2DodFwt

iPad Pro 12.9-inch: http://amzn.to/2DhWfOI

I am not sponsored by any company or product in this video but I am an Amazon affiliate and do get a small commission from Amazon when you purchase an item through one of the above links at no additional cost to you.

Thanks for watching and please subscribe to my channel.

UNFINISHED

Scanning through my sketchbook I noticed I have a lot of unfinished sketches. Mostly because I sketch while watching TV or while I'm waiting on something.

I started drawing this from  a photo on Sktchy while watching TV
and this is as far as I got. I plan on finishing it --- sometime.

The good side is at least I'm drawing. I'm trying to sketch everyday. As busy as I am that can be hard to do, especially watching 4-year-old twins plus working full time.

I was looking through my photos on my phone the other day
and found a photo of the Indiana State Capitol in Indianapolis
that I took back when we lived there. I had planned on just
using this as a practice or thumbnail sketch and to record the actual sketching of it for my
YouTube channel, but I actually liked how this turned out so I'll probably paint this at some point.

The Indiana capitol building above was a fast and loose sketch that I did, again, while watching TV. I watch way too much TV I think. I was just trying to get a feel for it and stretch it a little to add some character/style to it before I sketched it for a video on my Youtube channel. I still may try to record a sketch of it. I just wish I could get that same looseness and feel for all my sketches, even if no one else likes it, this is one of my favorite sketches because it is getting close to the look and style I've been searching for.

This one is a little more finished but not quite. Again sketched while watching TV.
Trade Minister Nobusuke Tagomi from "Man in the High Castle" that I decided to caricaturise (is that a word?) slightly. 

I've also started to finish some of my sketches that I start with pen and ink digitally with Photoshop or Procreate. Although I feel like I'm cheating a little creating any art digitally just because it's so easy to fix mistakes and I think mistakes is what gives sketches their character. But I'm slowly coming around to the fact that digital is just another tool for artists to use.

This is how far along I got with this sketch in pen and ink.

All the color, luggage on the roof and people in the car, and landscape were all added using Photoshop.

Similarly, The drawing of the U.S. Capitol is colored completely with Photoshop.

I have numerous doodles and rough sketches all over my desk at work. Most of them are on Post-It notes and scrap pieces of paper.

Thanks for stopping by and if you get a chance please subscribe to my fledgling YouTube channel here: My YouTube Channel

Below are Amazon links to some of my art supplies that I use:

JinHao Pen: http://amzn.to/2m3x2jJ  

Platinum carbon ink bottle ink black 60cc: http://amzn.to/2D1xFCA

Pentel Aquash Waterbrush: http://amzn.to/2F3ju0l

M. Graham watercolors: http://amzn.to/2Ee1yiA

I film some of my videos with a GoPro Hero 2: http://amzn.to/2m1LQzC

SKETCHING A BEACH SCENE FROM SKTCHY

Have you heard of the app Sktchy? You probably have. If not check your mobile device's app store. It's free to download and use. 

What is Sktchy?

It''s an app that you can upload photos, called inspirations, for others to use as a reference for drawing, sketching painting or whatever medium they prefer. You can also upload your own artwork that you created from the photos that inspired you.

I've uploaded 30-something inspirations and have posted two sketches from photos I've found on Sktchy.

My latest sketch, a beach and pier scene, I turned into a quick 2-minute video on my YouTube channel. 

Here's my Sktchy Video on YouTube. Click on either photo to watch the video.

This is the photo of the pier and beach scene I sketched  on Sktchy. The photo was uploaded by Nicolas Hosking.

For this sketch I used an A5-sized sketchbook that I use for doodle, thumbnails and general practice. I rarely use watercolor on it since the paper is quite thin but using a Pentel waterbrush works pretty well.

For this sketch I used a JinHao X750 Silver CT Fountain Pen with a medium nib and Platinum carbon ink.

For the watercolor I used a Pentel Aquash  waterbrush and M. Graham watercolors.

Below are Amazon links to my supplies

JinHao Pen: http://amzn.to/2m3x2jJ  

Platinum carbon ink bottle ink black 60cc: http://amzn.to/2D1xFCA

Pentel Aquash Waterbrush: http://amzn.to/2F3ju0l

M. Graham watercolors: http://amzn.to/2Ee1yiA

Filmed with a GoPro Hero 2: http://amzn.to/2m1LQzC

I am not sponsored by any company or product in this video but I am an Amazon affiliate and do get a small commission from Amazon when you purchase an item through one of the above links at no additional cost to you.

Thanks for stopping by.

END OF MAY SKETCHES AND STUFF

Well happy end of May. Hope everyone had a safe Memorial Day weekend.

A 5 minute rough sketch from a photo of a boat harbor.

I've been thinking about getting a weekly or monthly lunchtime sketchwalk organized at my place of employment but haven't really committed to the idea yet. I started writing up an announcement, queried a few people to see if they'd be interested (they would), and started a list of possible sketching sites we could walk to from work but haven't pursued it beyond that.

A lot of my sketches come from my lunchtime strolls and I thought it might be fun to ask others along but we'll see.

Anyhow here are a few sketches since my last post.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great week.