Travel Painting: How do I do it?

How do it?  Here it is. Never before revealed online! The steps I use to make one of my travel paintings.

1 – Sometimes I know what I want to paint, and go there directly. Other times, I find interesting scenes as I am walking around, as was the case with Blue Mosque. Here I am posing for a photo on my way to see Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The Blue Mosque is in the background. I noticed an interesting composition as we walked past the Blue Mosque a few minutes later. I took some reference photos, did a quick thumbnail sketch, and painted it later when I was not so rushed for time.

2.  Once I find a scene, I look for a spot that gives me the best view.

Just kidding, but sometimes it seems this way. The crowd photo is by Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times.

3 – Next, I make a light pencil sketch.

4 – And then lay down some color.

5 – I keep adding color and increasing details.

6 – I wait for the painting to dry. Then I go over the lines with ink and I’m finished.

7 – I scan my images for a record and to make prints. I crop and resize the images I want to post on the web. Here is a cropped version of Blue Mosque.