Monday, March 18, 2013

Ferry Art

Living on an island comes with strange things attached to it. One being of course that you are away from the main land in a very literal sense. To get anywhere takes at least the ferry ride that lasts an hour and a half. This means you don't just go somewhere on a whim, because anywhere you go will take a bigger part of day (that is if you want to return on the same day), you need to plan this stuff.


Where I used to leave my hometown practically every day just to get to work or for other things like socializing or shopping or whatever, now it's not uncommon to not leave the island for weeks at a time. You just don't get around to it. If you work full time the thought of spending the weekend traveling is not so appealing really (or maybe that's just me). I'd rather go on hikes and work in my studio or read a good book (or all three) than take a ferry at 7 am to get somewhere.


But I have to admit that even this island dweller gets restless after staying here too long without interruption and that's when I leave for a while to go see the big wide world. Sometimes this happens automatically because I have a meeting somewhere for work, sometimes it's to visit family or friends, sometimes it's to go on a vacation and sometimes it's just for a day to go shopping or visit a museum.


One good thing about taking the ferry to the main land is that you have at least three hours per trip with your hands free to do whatever you want. I usually take a book, a notebook, a small sketchbook and some simple art supplies. (Then again I take those things everywhere, so nothing special really!)


Last week I went shopping in Harlingen, the town where the ferry connects to the main land. And I really felt like playing in my small sketchbook. Today you see the results of a small box of watercolour and a drawing pen during one trip. Keeping thing simple can be really fun sometimes. It's just playful nonsense and who doesn't enjoy a bit of that every once in a while?

Hope you enjoyed this peek in my ferry art and wishing you a wonderful and artsy week!