by Ellen Yule
​

Every friend, every client, every business contact was a stranger, once.

I only connect with people by accepting or requesting friend on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or by email

📌who have resources/services that may help me with personal and business journey (tourism & education providers, web developers, copy writers, social media markers, business mentors, etc.)

🗝️who may trust and value my resources/services to help them with their life journey by commenting or sharing my contents

🌟 who are inspiring (writers, artists, community leaders, etc.)

We meet online for the first time. 
👉 
we nurture the relationship from there. 👉 

We build up a social network that allows us support, refer, grow, and move towards where we want to be.

Every stranger now could be a future friend, colleague or client.

🧲 I’m working on attracting and connecting with the right people.😀

Who do you accept and connect with?

by Ellen Yule

I’ve been working our what ingredients to make the perfect ‘cake’ / safe joyful memorable Travel Sketch Spain Holiday!

Here are 8 ‘ingredients’ I’ve thought of:

🧁 Love / Fear identified 
🧁 Skilled Sketch Tutor
🧁 Local Experienced Tour Guide
🧁 Comfortable Accommodation
🧁 Convenient Transport 
🧁 Inspiring Visits (to places & people)
🧁 Healthy delicious food
🧁 Like-minded sketchers 

What would you add?

✍🎨✍🎨✍🎨
 
P.S. The next 2WAYS Travel Sketch Spain Tours will take place in April 2020 with lots of personal interaction with your skilled sketching tutor and knowledgeable local tour director.
 
From now until then, we'll be sharing some free tips and interesting stories of travel sketching in Spain to help you get ready for the creative adventure. If you are interested, please click here join our FREE facebook group Travel Sketch Spain Holiday or sign up the dedicated e-news.​👇

🔒 Your information is 100% safe with us. We will never sell or share your info with anyone. Privacy Policy

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by Ellen Yule
 
 
Do you think hiring a local experienced tour guide is worthwhile when you're on an overseas holiday?
 
Let me tell you how I learnt of it.
 
🏆 20 years ago, I was one of Top 10 Backpackers in China. With that Do-It-Yourself mentality, I travelled to New Zealand alone in 2002.
 
After half year English study in Auckland, I organised myself a 3-week self-drive road trip around the country.
 
🚘 My car broken down just on the second day, and I ended up with a serious car accident. Thank God, I wasn’t hurt physically (but scared to death!😱)
 
Nothing could stop me. After a short rest, I joined a guided group tour, did bungy jumping, gold panning, Milford Sound cruising, meeting interesting travellers from other countries...
 
🏖 I had an unforgettable experience in my first holiday tour in New Zealand. It’s safe, informative, worry-free and tons of fun. That’s a real holiday!!
 
I’d like to forget but I want to share with you that the price, time and stress I paid to get my car repaired, accommodation cancelled and rebooked, the court case sorted were tremendous. 😰
 
🎯 Being always passionate about travelling, I’d learnt the lesson from my trip, and then I studied Travel & Tourism Management in New Zealand.
 
If I can share just one travel tip for your once-in-lifetime overseas holiday, consider using a local travel expert. 👈

​by Ellen Y.
 
 
Another ochre yellow building? Of course not.
 
While ancient architecture is a significant part of a visit to Spain, you might also enjoy the smaller features and moments in public places for sketching, such as a colourful balcony, a beautiful tile, a horse-driven tour carriage, or a passionate flamenco dancer.
 
We understand it. Your local tour directors work closely with your sketch tutor to make sure that we find the places and you sketch the moments, with countless sketching opportunities.
 
Vivienne Lingard, an experienced sketcher, illustrator, art teacher and curator, shows in her travel sketch blog how she absorbed the richness of Sevilla's cityscapes and flamenco experience  in her sketchbook, with a group of kiwi sketchers in the Travel Sketch Spain Holiday Tour in April 2019, organised by 2WAYS Tours in partnership with ErinHill Sketching New Zealand.

Author: Vivienne Lingard   Photo: Ellen Yule
 
 
The contrasting landscape heading to Seville was amazing: cypress trees dark against earthen buildings, scruffy pine-nut trees, tiny old huts, and fields; where grapes replaced orange trees, then olives, as the train sped past. Undulating hills, the soil darkening to a burnt sienna and white houses with orange tiled roofs. A change back to orange groves as we neared Seville, sun-touched and golden. What a warm welcome.
 
We sketched, just a short time after our arrival at the Guadalquivir River, looking over to La Torre del Oro (the gold tower).
 
El Alcázar, the Moorish Caliphas palaces and gardens, is a stunning place, quite glorious; from the art adorning its walls, to the tiles on its floors. It is the perfect environment for a romantic art-loving person like me!
 
Come evening, it was time for our visit to the Flamenco concert. I was content to watch the two terrific female dancers, swirl, seduce, scowl, and dance around the sole male dancer, their feet stamping urgently on the wooden floor. The deep husky tones of the singer’s voice, as she clapped, urged the dancers on. It was mesmerising.
 
The following day, more gardens, horses and carriages, at Parque de Maria Luisa.
 
A great big thanks here to our fabulous guides Amelia and Ellen, who along with Tony made this Sketch Spain trip such a memorable experience. XXX
 
 
Visit Vivienne Lingard's ARTISTRY blog for the full story and sketches of Travel Sketch Sevilla, Spain.
 
 
✍🎨✍🎨✍🎨
 
P.S. The next 2WAYS Travel Sketch Spain Tours will take place in October 2019 and April 2020 with lots of personal interaction with your skilled sketching tutor and knowledgeable local tour director.
 
From now until then, we'll be sharing some free tips and interesting stories of travel sketching in Spain to help you get ready for the creative adventure. If you are interested, please click here join our FREE facebook group Travel Sketch Spain Holiday or sign up the dedicated e-news.👇 

🔒 Your information is 100% safe with us. We will never sell or share your info with anyone. Privacy Policy
​
✍🎨✍🎨✍🎨
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​by Ellen Y.
 
Is travel sketch a good marriage between sketching and enjoying holiday trip in Spain?
 
You travel to Spain to sketch. You just want to sketch and go sightseeing, sketch and enjoy eating, sketch and experience cultures.

That's why we carefully choose Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla - the three most interesting cities in Spain for you to travel sketch because of their unique cityscapes, colour intensity and cultural diversity.
 
Then you might think the tension that there would not be enough time for sketching because of too much time in travelling from point A to point B.
 
On the other hand, you might feel overwhelmed or tired after one-and-half-hour concentration on sketching. You need to do something pleasantly different from sketching itself or sketching the same subject.
 
So it's not about the time, it's about the right balance of learning sketch lessons, completing your sketching and colouring on location, and various travelling experiences that inspire you sketch better with more confidence and joy.
 
Vivienne Lingard, an experienced sketcher, illustrator, art teacher and curator, shows in her travel sketch blog how she confronted the most common travel sketching challenges and captured them in her sketchbook, with a group of kiwi sketchers in the Travel Sketch Spain Holiday Tour in April 2019, organised by 2WAYS Tours in partnership with ErinHill Sketching New Zealand.

Author: Vivienne Lingard   Photo: Ellen Yule
 
 
It was a peaceful 3hr train ride from Barcelona to Valencia, which gave me time to sketch the orange tree (above), abundant with Valencia oranges – naturally. I looked about the carriage, and saw most of the group head-down sketching, or colouring their work, assiduously.
 
Torres de Serranos – our first sketching destination. Except, when I faced the large stone edifice, as wonderful as it was, I felt the familiar ‘I don’t feel like drawing you’ feeling overcome me, and sketched a street corner behind it, as the scene appealed more.
 
The next day we climbed aboard the taxi-bus for the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Science complex). Boy oh boy! This was the most amazing set of buildings. Curves overlapping more curves; arcs, arches and connecting bridges, mirrored in vast pools of still water. I secured a nice spot in the sun, took out my sketchbook, took hold of my pen and started. I did a couple of ‘thumbnail’ sketches first, looking and looking, measuring with my eyes before tackling a larger view.
 
And, as if we hadn’t enjoyed enough fantastic food in Valencia, the next day Amelia and Ellen took us to a stupendous paella lunch at La Albufera, a large wetlands and lake area. A couple of hours later, we were beside the lake climbing into a Vela Latina, a traditional boat. What a pleasant excursion. The group are opening books and sketching but I continue to dream my own story.

Visit Vivienne Lingard's ARTISTRY blog for the full story and sketches of Travel Sketch Valencia, Spain.

  
✍🎨✍🎨✍🎨
 
P.S. The next 2WAYS Travel Sketch Spain Tours will take place in October 2019 and April 2020 with lots of personal interaction with your skilled sketching tutor and knowledgeable local tour director.
 
From now until then, we'll be sharing some free tips and interesting stories of travel sketching in Spain to help you get ready for the creative adventure. If you are interested, please click here join our FREE facebook group Travel Sketch Spain Holiday or sign up the dedicated e-news. 👇

​by Ellen Yule


​We can tell you 99 reasons why you should join the Travel Sketch Holiday Tour in Spain with 2WAYS.
 
The most important reason is:
our appreciative clients, dear guests, fellow sketchers, travel companions, like us do things like this.
 
A group of kiwi sketchers loved how it feeld when they enjoyed sketching while travelling, sightseeing, eating, cultural experiencing and having fun along their creative art journey around Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla in April 2019. The Travel Sketch trip to Spain was organised by 2WAYS in partnership of ErinHill Sketching New Zealand.
 
Here are some success stories… 

" I felt that there had been such effort made in selecting places to stay, sites to visit, travel et al, faultless.
 
It was relaxing, to travel, and not have to plot and plan all the aspects myself. The stress was removed, by 2WAYS, meaning I could just sketch and have fun.

​The friendliness, helpfulness and knowledge, from both Amelia and Ellen was fantastic. They were always attentive to the groups’ needs and went out of their way to accommodate us all." Vivienne Lingard 

​ 
"The iconic monuments and places of interest to visit were well chosen for the time we had in each place.

While ancient architecture is a significant part of a visit to Spain, what I particularly enjoyed were the smaller features and moments in public places for sketching.
 
I really enjoyed the opportunities at the end of the day to have the sketch tutor’s input finishing our day’s sketches over a drink.

I loved the flamenco concert – that was simply fabulous. 2WAYS arranged for us to see the best of the best." Jo Conaglen

 
​"Wonderful hotel room and the breakfast and central location, a winning combination.

My highlights were the prize winning paella, Albufera boat trip and of course the Flamenco evening…Ole.
 
I had a wonderful time, very satisfied, met some lovely peeps, laughed a lot, ate a bit more and felt well taken care of.

Big plus for me included the architecture with the wonderful layering of various cultures past and present…still evident...in my sketchbook." Shirley Bluett

 
"Everything was extremely well organised. We had many wonderful experiences. We learned a lot, both about sketching and Catalonia, Valencia and Andalusia.
 
Amelia and Ellen did a wonderful job of showing us places and tastes that we would have never found on our own. They went far beyond what I would expect most travel agents or guides would do to make it memorable for us.
 
My sketching improved markedly, from a pretty modest base. It was great fun and we had a wonderful crew. So I would give this trip my heartiest recommendation." ​Peter Wilson

​"Having all the details very well organised, thoughtfully selected places to visit, cultural experiences and information, always good food places advised.
​
Thank you for the excellent and efficient organisation which made everything flow well and enhanced the trip hugely." Kerry Chamberlain

 
" I appreciate the way you are able and willing to adapt to individuals where possible and reasonable. I felt there was a genuine concern for the wellbeing of each person in the group.
 
I particularly recommend Amelia for your expertise in Spain and your skill in sharing them.
 
I enjoyed the excitement passion and varied experience of Spain. You have in depth knowledge of the areas of your expertise. I enjoyed very much the local and specific knowledge e.g. food. " Inie Kroef​

​✍🎨✍🎨✍🎨
 
P.S. The next 2WAYS Travel Sketch Spain Tours will take place in October 2019 and April 2020 with lots of personal interaction with your skilled sketching tutor and knowledgeable local tour director.
 
From now until then, we'll be sharing some free tips and interesting stories of travel sketching in Spain to help you get ready for the creative adventure. If you are interested, please click here join our FREE facebook group Travel Sketch Spain Holiday or sign up the dedicated e-news. 👇
​

by Ellen Y.
 
We know that Barcelona is one of the most beautiful must-visit places on the earth.
We also know that Barcelona could be one of the most crowded visitor destinations in the world.
 
How can you sketch in Barcelona with ease and peace?
What can you sketch on location in Barcelona to capture the essences of it's urban landscapes and architectures, and the vibrancy of the Catalan cultures and life?
 
Vivienne Lingard, an experienced sketcher, illustrator, art teacher and curator, shows in her travel sketch blog how she embraced the inspiring location sketching experience, with a group of kiwi sketchers during her Travel Sketching Spain Holiday Tour in April 2019, organised by 2WAYS Tours in partnership with ErinHill Sketching New Zealand.

Author: Vivienne Lingard   Photo: Ellen Yule
 
I'm inviting you to share a little of my experiences of sketching in three Spanish cities, beginning with Barcelona, a city made famous by Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) for his unique take on Catalan Modernism architecture. 
 
Amelia and Ellen, our two terrific guides, made sure that our art group experienced the very best of Barcelona right from get go; and took us to Picasso’s old hangout, the Four Cats café, in the Gothic quarter. Posters of Picasso’s prints filled the walls, and we lifted our gaze from our wine and tapas to draw inspiration from the great master.

The next day we were heading out to our first sketching destination. Casa Mila, or La Pedera as it is also known, is the most famous of Antoni Gaudi’s house designs.

My apprehension turned to excitement, as we crossed to the corner diagonally opposite and settled in to capture our best view. Boy. What a complicated structure, but so interesting with its gorgeous organic shapes and decorated windows. None the same as another I might add. I was in awe, but I had a job to do; so off I went sketching loosely across two pages, knowing that I’d be using ink first, and applying colour later.

The following day first up for sketching was the fabulous Plaça Reial. I did a quick pen sketch, and have half-finished a detail of the ‘angel’ whose perfect sculpture was repeated around the centre fountain. A saunter down tree-lined La Rambla next, to mingle with masses of tourists. One great place to pop into is La Bouqueria market, where the amount of food available is staggering.

The following day it was Sagrada Familia. This is Gaudi’s largest project – a cathedral of such immense scope it is hard to credit how he first conceived this vision. We gathered across the lake from the cathedral to draw. I tried, but found the sheer scale of the building too much for me. So I decided to focus on sketching details once we were inside the complex. 
 
Visit Vivienne Lingard's ARTISTRY blog for the full story and sketches of Travel Sketch Barcelona, Spain.

 
✍🎨✍🎨✍🎨
 
P.S. The next 2WAYS Travel Sketch Spain Tours will take place in October 2019 and April 2020 with lots of personal interaction with your skilled sketching tutor and knowledgeable local tour director.
 
From now until then, we'll be sharing some free tips and interesting stories of travel sketching in Spain to help you get ready for the creative adventure. If you are interested, please click here join our FREE facebook group Travel Sketch Spain Holiday or sign up the dedicated e-news. 👇

 
by Ellen Yule​

Travel sketch alone or in group? Why should you join a travel sketch trip to Spain in a small group?
 
"Teachers and students learn from one another." (the indigenous Maori learning concept of akoako in Aotearoa/New Zealand)
 
Vivienne Lingard, an experienced sketcher, illustrator, art teacher and curator, shows in her travel sketch blog how she enjoyed the benefits of learning from the other kiwi sketchers in the group during her travel sketching Spain tour in 2019, organised by 2WAYS Tours in partnership with Erin Hill Sketching New Zealand.

Author: Vivienne Lingard     Photo: Ellen Yule
 
This post is about others – the other sketchers whom I was lucky to spend time with on my recent trip to Spain. Why was I lucky? Because I learned rather a lot from them. The group may be surprised by this statement, as many are new-comers to sketching and are rather modest about their outcomes. But they have an approach to their sketching, that I, as a long-standing ‘sketcher’ lack.
 
Someone once told me that ‘one can know too much’, and I believe I quietly scoffed at that notion. But, in some ways it is true. I have developed a style, which is fine, and like to use pencil and charcoal over other mediums. I have become proficient in this area. Okay, I hear you saying, what’s wrong with that? Nothing in itself, except it has made me reluctant to step out of my comfort zone and try new things (as much as I protest that I would like to). This is where my learning comes from observing others; not just from the tutor, but the students who showed they were not inhibited by ‘knowing too much’. They welded those pens and paints as if they were born to it.
 
The groups’ shyness turned to pleasure as the days wore on, just from sketching. The tutor, as I have mentioned before, was always positive, and that positivity fed their output. They weren’t coy about putting paint to paper, and letting colours meld together, as I have been, tending to overwork a piece until it’s ‘muddy’, and so backing off from using watercolour at all.
I stood beside many of them as we looked upon the same buildings, or balconies. Did they move off and find something else to sketch like I often did? NO. They took out their pens and sketched, and made a damned good job of whatever confronted them.
​
The quality of work improved for all of the group over the twelve days we sketched, and I loved watching this happen. All the sketchers now have a quality they can proudly call their own, whether it be a strength in contour-line using pen, or with water colour. It is my pleasure to have shown some of the work that they achieved on our recent Sketch Spain Trip. May we all be able to join together in this way again.
 
Visit Vivienne Lingard's ARTISTRY for the full story and travel sketches


✍🎨✍🎨✍🎨
 
P.S. The next 2WAYS Travel Sketch Spain Tours will take place in October 2019 and April 2020 with lots of personal interaction with your skilled sketching tutor and knowledgeable local tour director.
 
From now until then, we'll be sharing some free tips and interesting stories of travel sketching in Spain to help you get ready for the creative adventure. If you are interested, please click here join our FREE facebook group Travel Sketch Spain Holiday or sign up the dedicated e-news. 👇