Last weekend I had an easy flight from Houston Hobby to Saint Louis and back, for a total of four hours in the air and about four at the airport. All of these drawings came to life while I was waiting at gates, terminals, or airport restaurants. I tend to arrive hours early to airports, a habit driven by a mix of anxiety and preparedness (I can't stand being late to anything - meetings, parties, calls)
This time, I didn't bring my iPad Pro - Instead I took these tools along:
1. Chisel-tipped Copic Marker - Black
2. Brush-tipped Copic Marker - Teal
3. HB pencil
4. Faber-Castell brush-tipped marker - Black
5. Papermate felt-tipped pen - Black
The Copics, Faber-Castell, and the Papermate black marker are all excellent - typically I do like to use Sharpies, but as you can imagine, the smell doesn't go over too well. (Anyone know if there are Sharpies that do not smell? haha)
That said the sketchbook I took along was pretty big - a 9 x 12 sized Moleskine which managed to draw attention, much more than I wanted. So to get over my anxiety of drawing people around the airport, I drowned my nerves in alcohol:
Pathetically, I felt really sick after drinking a whole two Heinekens, so I probably won't do it again! Next time I will just have to be brave, or more sneaky.
^ I also made this one while downing some Heinekens. I was watching someone in front of me who was waiting for a long time for his flight. He was there at the restaurant when I got there, and he was there when I left.
I also drew myself using a reflection, but I kind of messed up my face.
I had fun on my way home making a drawing on this Southwest napkin, using an advertisement in the Southwest magazine. I re-imagined the fancy people on a boat as a spy couple. My only other option while flying was to draw my feet in front of me in my seat (draw only what you see, right?) but, I didn't have the coolest shoes that day. Much better to draw the fancy people on the boat 8).
I really liked the word puzzle napkins and art-themed napkin from Southwest. It just reminded me of approaching the world with a childlike kind of curiosity - life is sometimes boring and routine, but at least we can always make art!