You do not always need to travel far away to feel like you are traveling. Sometimes a small walk nearby can become its own little journey when you slow down and start noticing the details around you. This weekend I took my sketchbook, Micron pen, and small watercolor kit and went for a walk near the lake. I found five completely different scenes to sketch along the way, from lakeside houses to a colorful sunset. It was a simple local walk, but sketching made every stop feel like a new place to discover.
Last time I was sketching the beautiful streets of Old Tallinn. All about you can find here.
This time I used my watercolor Hahnemuhle sketchbook. I really love it, you can find it here.
Houses Near the Lake
I started my sketch walk with one of the houses standing right near the lake. The architecture, water, and surrounding greenery created a beautiful composition, so I decided to capture this view first. I began with a pen sketch, adding the main shapes and architectural details before bringing in watercolor. I kept the colors fairly loose because I wanted the sketch to feel spontaneous rather than too polished. A small watercolor kit and a pen worked perfectly here because I could quickly move from drawing the structure to adding atmosphere and color.
Pier
My next stop was the pier, which immediately caught my attention because of its interesting perspective. The building, railings, water, and pathway created several lines moving in different directions, making this scene fun to explore on paper. I tried not to overthink the details and allowed the pen lines to stay loose and expressive. I especially like how airy this sketch turned out, with plenty of open space and light watercolor washes. Sometimes keeping a sketch unfinished and spontaneous can capture the feeling of a place better than carefully drawing every object.
Fountain
I had wanted to sketch this fountain for a long time, so during this walk I finally had the chance. Instead of trying to reproduce everything around it, I decided to simplify the scene and keep the fountain as the main focus. In reality there were trees, parking, and many other details behind it, but I replaced most of them with loose watercolor washes. This gave me more freedom to play with color while keeping the composition clean and expressive. It was also a good reminder that urban sketching does not have to be an exact copy of reality. Sometimes changing the background makes the main subject much stronger.
Red Visors and Staircase
After walking for a while, I found a comfortable place to sit and noticed this view in front of me. I loved the composition of the building, red visors, greenery, and staircase, so I decided to capture the whole scene. The bright red accents immediately gave the sketch a focal point and worked beautifully against the softer blue and green watercolor washes. The staircase was probably the most challenging part for me because of its perspective and structure. I am not completely satisfied with it yet, but that is also part of sketching on location, and next time I know exactly what I want to practice more.
Sunset
At the end of the day, the light started changing and I found the perfect final subject for this sketch walk. Sunsets are exciting to sketch because the colors in the sky change incredibly fast, so there is very little time to hesitate or make corrections. I quickly captured the houses and palm trees with my pen and concentrated most of the watercolor on the glowing sky behind them. My painted sky became more dramatic than the real sunset, with deeper reds, oranges, and purples. I actually love it this way because the sketch captures how I experienced that moment rather than simply reproducing exactly what I saw.
This little weekend sketch walk reminded me that travel does not always have to mean airports, hotels, or distant cities. A familiar lake, or even the sunset near home can become a small creative adventure. Taking only a small kit of supplies makes it easy to stop whenever something catches my attention and start sketching. These five sketches are not only drawings of places, but small memories from one simple afternoon spent observing my surroundings. Sometimes the best way to rediscover a familiar place is simply to sit down. A sketchbook helps, as you look at it like a traveler.
