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Being Creative When You LIve Alone

Being Creative When You LIve Alone

by | Living a Creative Life

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Updated: January 2026

Being Creative When You Live Alone


Gentle Company

In this article I’m going to look at how art can become gentle companionship and not just yet another thing on your to-do list.

This is for you if you live alone and some days feel spacious while others feel a little too empty.

Living alone can be a gift.

It can also feel very quiet.

There is no one to notice the small moments of your day. No one to say “Oh that’s lovely” when you place a flower in a jar or make a nice cup of tea. The hours can stretch out, especially in the evenings, and boredom can sneak in wearing the clothes of loneliness.

This is where creativity can become something more than a hobby.
It can become gentle company.

Art as a Soft Companion

When you sit down with your sketchbook, you are not just making something.

You are having a quiet moment with yourself.

I have noticed that even on days when I feel flat, my sketchbook never seems to mind.

I see your sketchbook as something that:

  • Listens without interrupting
  • Does not judge your messy pages
  • Welcomes you whether you are feeling energetic or tired
  • Is happy to see you for five minutes or fifty

I think there is a kind of comfort in opening the same book each day and knowing something familiar is waiting for me.

Creating Small Rituals in a Quiet Home

When you live alone, I believe that rituals can actually matter more than routines.

Routines can feel heavy.

Rituals feel kinder to me.

Here are some gentle ritual ideas you can try.

  • A cup of tea and one sketchbook page in the evening
  • Drawing what you see from your window each morning
  • Lighting a candle, taking a breath and pausing before you open your sketchbook
  • Playing the same soft music while you create just like you have your own creative song

These small acts give shape to your quiet time.

They turn “another long evening” into “my creative moment”.

The hardest part of living alone is not the quiet itself, but rather it’s the feeling that no one is witnessing your days.

Let Your Sketchbook Witness Your Days

When you live alone, it is easy to feel like your days blur together.

Your sketchbook can become a quiet witness to your life with a quick sketch of:

  • A drawing of your breakfast mug
  • A leaf you noticed on your walk
  • A line about how your day felt
  • A colour which matched your mood

Over time, you will see that your life is full of many small moments worth noticing.

Your sketchbook remembers them with you.

You’re Not Doing This Alone

Even though you may physically live alone, you are not alone in wanting to create.

There are other women who are:

  • Starting again
  • Feeling rusty
  • Making imperfect pages
  • Sitting at their own kitchen tables with their own cups of tea

When you draw, you are quietly joining a wider circle of people doing the same small brave thing. Choosing to create a little life for themselves.

When Motivation Comes and Goes

Some days, living alone feels peaceful.

Other days, it feels flat.

On low energy days do this:

  • Open your sketchbook
  • Make one mark
  • Close it again

That counts.


You showed up for yourself.

Creativity does not have to be loud to be meaningful. Sometimes it is just a soft whispered  “I’m here”.

Your Art Keeps You Company

Over time, something subtle happens.

Your sketchbook starts to feel like:


  • A friend who knows your moods
  • A place where you can be honest
  • A quiet corner of the world that belongs just to you

You begin to look forward to your own company and that is not a small thing.

This is not about becoming more creative. It is about letting creativity keep you company.

Over to You

A Gentle Invitation

If you live alone and feel a bit bored, flat, or disconnected today, then try this tonight:

  • Sit down with your sketchbook
  • Draw one small thing from your room
  • Write one kind sentence to yourself beside it

That is enough for today.

You are not filling time, but rather you are keeping yourself company in a kind creative way.

This kind of gentle creativity is something I return to again and again and it lives throughout this space.

 

#quietcreativity

Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you. Read more about Alison’s story. Get her newsletter.

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Don’t Let the Old Lady In

Don’t Let the Old Lady In

by | Third Age Art

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Updated: January 2026

💛 Third Age Art

This article is part of my Third Age Art series where I celebrate the joy of making art later in life. These posts are all about starting fresh or continuing your creative journey as a mature artist with curiosity confidence and plenty of heart.

Don’t Let the Old Lady In

The Old Man

A Thought Worth Noticing

In a recent interview, Clint Eastwood, now 95 years old, said that every morning as he woke up and felt a little creak or twinge in his body that he says to himself, “Don’t let the old man in.” This refers to how easy it would be to just give up and let the old man in.

Who Is the Old Man

A Door Left Ajar

The old man is who you can easily turn into if you are not careful. 

Don’t Let the Old Lady In

A Quiet Promise to Yourself

As a woman, I see this phrase from my perspective. Not the old man, but the old woman or as we are now saying, the old lady. The old lady may try to come in to me on some days, not all the time, but certainly on some days.

  • The days when I’m feeling tired.
  • The days when I wake up and feel creaky.
  • The days when I’m feeling beaten down by life. 
  • The days when I feel weak and my body is letting me down.
  • The days when I give up.
  • The days when I’m too weary to go on.

Those are the days that the old lady comes in. 

The days I let the old lady in. 

Hobby Artist

The Voice In Your Head

As a hobby artist you may feel that you’re not very good at art. You may think what’s the point of doing art because even your children poke fun at you. You feel your grandkids can draw better than you. 

Fear not. It is your God given right to be creative and make something every day. To create something that was not there when you woke up, but which you created, by yourself, during the course of that day. 

Art Practice

Small Daily Devotions

Do not let a single day pass without touching your art in some small way. It does not have to be big or impressive. It only has to be done.

⠀

  • If you are a writer write 100 words.
  • If you are a singer sing one song.
  • If you are a weaver weave ten rows.
  • If you are a knitter knit ten rows.
  • If you are a crocheter crochet ten rounds.
  • If you are a watercolorist paint with one color.
  • If you are an acrylic artist add one more color to the page.
  • If you make wooden bird houses cut sand or glue a little wood.

 

The list goes on.

⠀

Daily Habits

Just Show Up

The habit to focus on right now is simply showing up. Pick up your pen brush hammer needle or hook and do a little art. That is enough for today. Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman reminds us that our brains are flexible and always learning. Through simple daily habits we gently create pathways that support being the kind of person we want to be such as an artist.

Twenty-Nine Days

Learning by Repetition

It takes 29 days to establish a habit. That is how long the Moon takes to orbit the Earth. When you were born, you could not tie a shoelace, but with practice you learned. Now you can whip out a bow lickety-split without even thinking about it because you’ve created the learned pathway in your brain.

Old Lady Days

When Energy Slips away

When you let the old lady in a few things may happen:

⠀

  • You stop doing creative work.
  • You let the pain overwhelm you.
  • You stop taking a walk in nature for your mental health to relieve your stress and anxiety. 
  • You stop making stuff.
  • You stop creating your art. 
  • You don’t eat properly.
  • You get lax with your personal grooming. 
  • You forget to do the housework. 
  • You avoid your family and friends. 
  • You kind of give up on life. 

⠀

There may be other things which happen to you specifically, but these are the things I am wrangling with all the time.

Who Are You?

A Choice Each Day

Will you be the person who stays on the couch barely moving through the day? Or will you be the person who goes to bed and can softly say, “Yes, today I created, I am an artist and I did not let the old lady in.” Then you can sleep. The deep satisfying sleep of the creator

What I Wish for You

To Keep Creating

If you are reading this then please let me tell you what I wish for you. 

I want you to create every day.

God is a creator. The first sentence in the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and earth.” We are made in his image and so we are naturally creative beings. 

Lean into your creative side. 

Your cat or dog are not creative. The chimp in the zoo, who has the closest DNA to us humans, is not creative, but we are.  We are inherently creative. 

It is your talent to be creative every day. 

Creativity as Companionship

Always Beside You

As we move through life there are times when people drift away, routines change or the days feel a little quieter. Creativity does not leave.

Your art can be like a steady companion who meets you exactly where you are without judgement or expectation. It does not care how old you are, how fast you work or how good the outcome is. It simply sits with you hopes you will begin and it keeps you company while you do.

On days when the world feels cold, hard and distant, your creative practice can feel like a trusted friend reminding you that you are still here, still capable and still creating.

don't-let-the-old-lady-in

Your Future Self

Already Cheering

Before you reach the end imagine yourself a few months from now. Perhaps there is a small pile of sketches, pages, rows or finished pieces beside you. These gorgeous creations exist only because you kept showing up.

That future version of you feels calmer, steadier and quietly proud. She is cheering you on reminding you that every small creative act you did mattered.

Overarch

Is She Visiting?

Have you let the old lady in? When you let her in does she hang about for days at a time? Or do you consciously not let the old lady in? 

P.S.

A Gentle Reminder

You don’t have to do everything at once. As you go about your day, be creative in some way, so you can tell yourself, when you tuck yourself in tonight, “Yes, today I created.”

More Resources

Shop Don’t Let the Old Lady In Merch

Original Artworks

Enjoy a Don’t Let the Old Lady In mug featuring my original artwork. Each art piece is created by me and printed on everyday items you can actually use and enjoy. It is a simple way to bring a little Don’t Let the Old Lady In energy and handmade art into your daily life. Alison

 

don't-let-the-old-lady-in-mug-redbubble
Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Get her newsletter.

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What I Learned as a Hobby Artist This Year

What I Learned as a Hobby Artist This Year

by | Living a Creative Life

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Published: December 2025

Introduction

Pause Days

Today I want to share some gentle reflections from my year as a hobby artist. As the days grew quieter between Christmas and New Year, I found myself slowing down and giving my creativity the space it needed to breathe. These pause days always help me look back on what the year taught me and look ahead to what I hope to shape in the next one.

This past year brought surprises, lessons and plenty of small shifts that guided my art life in steady, meaningful ways. What follows is a look at what I learned, what I’m leaving behind and what I’m carrying forward into a new creative season. 🎨 Alison

What I Learned as a Hobby Artist

Reflections on a Year of Growth

Creativity and Seasonal Rhythm

In my art life I like to take the days off between Christmas and New Year without self-imposed deadlines, clients and meetings. It used to be that I’d push on through, but nowadays I gleefully color out the time in my calendar as days in which I’m to do nothing. This gives me time to think. To think about what I have been doing and what I’d like to be doing next year.

 

Repeats

If you are not careful, a year can easily just become a carbon copy of the last year’s creative work. I try to move forward with some clear thoughts about what I’m going to be doing and, perhaps more importantly, what I’m definitely leaving behind in the old year. This year was a full, shifting, surprising year and sometimes gentle, sometimes challenging, but always creative.

Reflection

When I look back, I can see how my creative process guided me, nudged me and occasionally demanded that I change direction entirely. Here are the lessons this year taught me as hobby artist.

Creativity Comes in Seasons

And That’s a Strength

This year, I truly embraced organizing my creativity seasonally.

Each season has three months.

  • Winter: January, February and March
  • Spring: April, May and June.
  • Summer: July, August and September.
  • Autumn: October, November and December.

 

If you live south of the equator, as I did for thirty years in Africa, then the seasons are reversed. On a side note, I actually follow the solar year as the Sun moves from one solstice to the next equinox and back. Using the four seasons of the year I chopped by year up into chunks of about 90 days of creative hobby artwork. But let’s be clear here I did not know exactly what I was going to be doing at the state, but as opportunities arose, I took them. 

Winter

Winter became a time of inward focus, sharpening pencils, journaling with morning pages, and plotting and planning.

 

Spring

Spring brought experimentation and a fabulous writing retreat with my good friend.

 

Summer

The warmer summer days offered expression, expansion and more grid artwork.

 

Autumn

Autumn encouraged pushing through. My focus was on handmade Christmas cards for my children. Additionally, I had my daughter’s destination wedding in Tofino.

 

Lean In

Instead of resisting the natural ebb and flow of my energy, I learned to trust it.

Being in tune with the seasons helped me avoid burnout, stay more closely accountable to my goals and maintain a more sustainable creative rhythm.

Showing Up Matters

More Than Being Inspired

In the past, I waited for inspiration to strike. This year, I made a shift and I began showing up whether I felt inspired or not and surprisingly, inspiration often followed.

 

Calendar

I worked from my freshly hatched content calendar. The plan was one article every two weeks. I began writing my Artzlife newsletter in January 2025 and I almost got a newsletter out every fortnight. I say almost because I did miss once and if you were following closely, you’d have noticed that too.

The real problem with missing one little Friday posting is that it is ever so easy to miss another, and another and before you know it it’s all over bar the shouting.

 

Show up

I learned that creativity is a practice, not a mood. Some days, all I could manage was a doodle, a sketch, a color test, or a written idea, but those small acts were like it kept my artistic door open.

I do have a life and there are many other things on the go at the same time. I have four grown children, friends to see and other craft and creative project interests.

My Art is Better…

When I Allow It to Breathe

In 2025 I slowed down. I gave articles more space to develop, sit, rest and evolve. Letting ideas “age” for a few days before finishing them helped me see my thoughts with fresh eyes. I believe the work became more thoughtful, layered and emotionally grounded. And clearly, creativity doesn’t always respond well to being harried along or rushed.

Tools Don’t Make the Artist…

But the Right Tools Help

I experimented with new materials this year: different papers, brushes, digital tools and color palettes. I learned that while new toys in my art box of tricks won’t fix a weak idea, they can open doors to new techniques and textures. I also learned that I don’t need every color in my pencil box, but rather just the ones that spark curiosity or support the direction I’m already heading. 

I leant into caput mortem by purchasing just one colored pencil this year in the purple brownish color. I still love this color.

Nature Remains My Deepest Teacher

Coastal Living

Living near the coast and getting down to the beach now and then reminds me of subtle shifts in color, light and mood. This year, I used more of these natural elements like shells, pebbles and sed pods into my work. The practice of simply observing nature (often with a sketchbook in hand) became a grounding art date with myself, especially in moments when I felt creatively scattered. I did often draw the same things again and again, particularily in my grid art sketchbook, but now I call in my “art practice.”

Sharing My Process Matters

People

This year I got the notion that people connect with the process, and not just finished pieces. When I shared my works-in-progress, studio notes or small personal reflections, readers just like you responded warmly. This reminded me that art is a form of communication and that by opening my cretor studio door a crack it can create community.

Growth Isn’t Always Visible…

But It’s Always Happening

Some years of life bring dramatic, obvious artistic leaps and for me this year felt a bit more subtle. But beneath the surface, I was learning to:

  • Trust my stylistic instincts (I like flat and simple)
  • Let go of perfection (quirks add something)
  • Revise my workflow (one hour a day)
  • Respect my energy (if I’m tired, I’ll take a nap)
  • Give myself permission to evolve (read more art books)

 

Growth isn’t always loud, but rather it’s like a gentle hum which you only notice at the end of the year.

Looking Forward

with Purpose

What I will take into 2026 is a renewed appreciation for slow growth, thoughtful creation and working with the seasons rather than against them. I feel steadier in my process than ever before.

 

Winter

Winter will soon begin, on December 21st, and with it a fresh creative season. I’m ready to welcome it with curiosity, intention, a sharp pencil and an open sketchbook. And to you, reading this I wish to thank you for being here.

Thank you for supporting my work, following along and sharing this creative journey as a hobby artist in later life with me. Your presence truly matters and I’m grateful for every reply, email, comment and quiet moment you spend with my art. 

Here’s to another year of growth, beauty and of making things that matter.

More on Living a Creative Life

Some of my gentle deas and practices for living your life with a “create first” mindset to help you, as a hobby artist, keep going.

 

Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you. Read more about Alison’s story. Get her newsletter.

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How to Start a Sketch Journal

How to Start a Sketch Journal

by | Sketch Journal

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Updated: December 2025

Recently, one of my readers posed the simple question, “How do I start with sketch journaling?” It was at this time that I realized that whilst many of you read my writing for the ideas to put into your journals and sketchbooks, there are still many people who just need a little guidance on how to get going in the first place. So, today I’m going to share my thought with you on getting started with sketch journaling. – Alison

How to Start a Sketch Journal

Sketch Journaling

What Sketch Journaling Is

Sketch journaling is a simple practice that blends small drawings with a few thoughtful words. It gives you a quiet place in your sketchbook to notice what is happening around you and inside you. When you put pen to paper with both images and text you slow down. You become more present. You let your mind and hand move together in a calm and natural way.

 

Why it Matters

This approach matters because it helps you see your life with fresh eyes. A quick sketch anchors a moment. A short note captures a feeling. Together they form a gentle creative space where your ideas can grow and your inner voice can settle. Sketch journaling is not about perfect art. It is about paying attention, building awareness and enjoying the process.

 

Who Sketch Journaling is For

Let’s first talk about who sketch journaling is for. I believe that it is for everyone. You do not have to be a great artist, I’m certainly not, nor do you nedd to be a trained artist and have been to art school or college for art lessons. 

No, sketch journaling is for anyone who wants to bring a creative component into their lives. I think it maybe you. If you are reading this then you probably have an interest in sketch journaling to start with and that is all you need.

 

Permission

If you’ve been told that “your art is rubbish” or “you can’t draw” then you may have an inner dialogue which prevents you from doing any type of art at all.

Let me disabuse you of that notion and give you permission right here and now to start creating art today.

Pick up that pencil find your journal and start sketching by sunset.

Benefits of Sketch Journaling

Small Rewards

Noting your day-to-day activities can give your brain a steady lift because it offers small or micro moments of reward. Each time you jot down something you did, your mind gets a clear signal that you followed through on an action. This sense of completion sparks a gentle rise in dopamine which supports your motivation and feelings of wellbeing.

 

Positive

Documenting your day with sketch journaling also helps you notice progress that you might otherwise miss. When you see small steps written down you feel encouraged to keep going. You can go back and see how your art was at the beginning of the month and see the improvement. This builds a positive feedback loop which keeps your creative energy steady.

 

Calm Focus

Another benefit is that regular sketch journaling and daily recording brings is structure to your thoughts. Your brain likes patterns and clear steps. When your day is set out on the page you feel more grounded and your nervous system can settle. This calm focus will help your brain chemicals work in a natural and balanced way.

 

Personal Relationship

Overall, capturing your daily life in a simple sketch journal or written note supports a kinder internal relationship with yourself. It gives your mind little wins and keeps your creative spirit engaged.

What You Need

It’s Already There

You already have what you need to begin. Most people think they must gather a pile of special tools and go on an art supply mega haul before they can start creating, but that activity can grind the whole process to a stop. Your creativity does not depend on perfect art supplies.  It depends on your willingness to show up.

 

Paper and Pen

A small notebook a pen or a pencil is enough. If you have a few colored pencils even better, but they are not required. What matters is the moment you sit down and make a mark. Simple tools help you stay present and keep the practice easy. They also remove the pressure to produce something polished.

 

Having Enough

When you trust that what you have is enough you free yourself to explore. You focus on the experience and not the equipment. This gentle approach keeps the door open for your ideas to flow and lets you enjoy the process from the very first page.

Over To You

Finding Your Own Style and Rhythm

Now it’s your turn. Sketch journaling is not about rules or perfect results, but rather it’s about discovering the way that art feels right for you. Some days you may want to write more, letting words carry your thoughts and feelings. Other days you might be drawn to colour, texture, or a few simple doodles to capture a mood or moment.

 

Experiment

The heart of this practice is personal expression. There is no right or wrong way to do sketch journaling. Your pages can be loose and playful, quiet and reflective, or a mix of everything. By experimenting with different approaches, you will learn what nourishes you creatively and keeps you engaged.

Your Art, Your Way

Trust your instincts. Let your hand move freely, follow your curiosity, and allow each page to be a reflection of your own unique expression. This is your space, your process, and your creative voice so I urge you to embrace it fully.

Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Get her newsletter.

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7-Day Grid Art: Autumn Theme

7-Day Grid Art: Autumn Theme

by | Grid Art Journal

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Updated: November 2025

Art Practice

This time I am sharing with you my simple seven-day grid art practice as a guide for you toward a creating a slower creative rhythm in your life. With just one small square a day you can build a soothing habit which nurtures both your art and your inner world. I hope you can let this be a peaceful invitation for you to pause, notice and create with a soft heart. Alison

7 Day Grid Art Autumn

The Art of Slowing Down

Moments of Calm

I want to consider now as we are in Autumn that as the days shift and the season settles around us this is a lovely time to slow down and to make some space in life for gentle creativity. I believe that your sketchbook can hold more than drawings, but rather it can hold from in your day of calm, reflection and joy. 

It is as thought that when you create in small daily pieces, you almost invite ease into your art practice which can open the door to mindful noticing. To pay attention to the small details around you.

 

More on Grid Art Journals

 

Grid Art

Grid art sketching is a simple and mindful creative practice that I often share with my readers. It begins by dividing your sketchbook page into small squares, often in a grid, which offers a gentle structure for the art to come. Each square becomes a mini canvas for an idea, some colour, a few lines or to explore texture.

The grid holds your ideas in a calm and organized way so the blank page feels less intimidation and overwhelming. This micro approach to daily sketching encourages you to show up for just a few minutes at a time and notice the small details of your day.

Over time the filled grid can tell a beautiful visual story of your creative journey for that week or months depending on how many squares you have..

Visual Story

No Rules

With a grid page there are no rules and no need to hurry. You can give yourself permission to move slowly and with ease. Let each small block become a tiny window for one moment from your day. It may be a colour that caught your eye a soft pattern you noticed or a feeling you want to remember.

Light and Peaceful

Keep your marks simple. Soft colour gentle lines or loose abstract shapes are all welcome. As you draw take a few slow breaths and let your mind to settle. This is your time for you to connect with your creativity in a light and peaceful way.

Gentle Record

By the end of the week your page will possibly hold a tender visual story of your days. Each square will carry presence and meaning and together they will form a light record of your mindful creative journey for that week.

7 Gentle Prompts

An Autumn Week

Here are my gentle grid art prompts I compiled for myself, and for you, to do a sketchbook page in Autumn. These prompts lean into the seasonal changes and natural outdoorsy changes that we can all see.

Sunday: Morning Light

Notice how the early light enters your space through your windows. Capture its warmth or glow or the feeling it brings. Let the colours you choose clearly reflect the mood of your morning.

Monday: A Cozy Corner

Sketch or lightly suggest your favorite resting spot. It could be a comfy chair by a window or a bench in your garden. Think about the textures or colours that say comfort to you and let them guide the marks you make.

Tuesday: Falling Leaves

Take a moment outdoors or by an open door if its really chilly. Watch the leaves in motion as the twirl down or study one up close. Slow down and record what you truly see.

Wednesday: Quiet Moments

Illustrate a touch of calm from your day. It could be a warm cup of tea, a candle, a breath of silence or even a mindful pause. Draw where you found peace today.

Thursday: Soft Textures

Consider texture. Wool, like knitting or crochet blankies, mist, clouds or anything that feels gentle to the touch or to the heart. Notice how soft things influence your colour choices and line work.

soft-texture

Friday: Evening Glow

Later in the day you can observe how the world softens as the day ends. Sketch the twilight colors, a warm lamp, or the glow of a home candle. Let the evening mood shape your color palette.

Saturday: Gratitude in Colour

For your final square of the week choose one thing which you are thankful for this week and express it through colour. Notice the emotion that your colour choices carry and let it fill the square space.

Weekly Practice

You can start this practice every week in Autumn if you like. And if you do, your sketchbook will reflect the slowly changing season and your mood as well. These pages can serve you as a reminder of one week, one season or, if you continue for all 52 weeks, for the whole year. This simple seven-day practice can help you create a calmer rhythm and reconnect with your creative heart. With one small square at a time you can build a gentle habit which nourishes your art and your wellbeing.

Setting Up Your Sketchbook Page

Gift

My gift to you is a simple 7-day grid art journal page. Download your free 7-Day Grid Art page here.

Click Here

How to Use This Page

  • Print or draw a 7-square grid (one for each day).
  • Use paint, pen, collage, or mixed media or whatever feels intuitive.
  • Keep it simple and only spend 5–10 minutes every day.
  • At the end of the week, look back at your grid and notice the shift in tone, mood, and rhythm.

Overarch

Mindful Making

 

“Small acts of creativity are quiet prayers to the present moment.”

 

My seven-day grid art practice is a gentle way to slow down and let you connect to your creativity. By filling in just one small rectangle a day you give yourself space to notice the beauty in simple moments and you can express them with softness. There is no pressure to produce perfect art, but rather I see this as an invitation to show up with presence and joy. Over the week your grid will become a visual story of your days and also a reminder that small creative acts can bring a certain grounding and peace to your life. I hope that this practice will support your art your wellbeing as you develop the quiet magic of mindful making.

 

Send me pics of your finished grid to alisonhazelart@gmail.com. I’d love to see how your week unfolded.

Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Get her newsletter.

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Travel Journal: Whistler

Travel Journal: Whistler

by | Travel Journals, Writing for Artists

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Updated: August 2025

Introduction

This week I’m going to show you my travel sketchbook for a recent weekend we did away this summer in Whistler, BC, Canada. 

I only began my travel journal back in 2022 when I started with a weekend in Toronto. From there I did a few little visits here and there, so this is about my eighth entry into my travel sketchbook.

This really means that I’m a beginner, or dare I say a hobby travel sketch-booker person sharing my journey with you as I developed my skills with travel sketch booking.

If you haven’t got a travel sketchbook yet, I urge you to start one the next time you go away for a weekend. Get yourself a travel sketchbook and start recording your adventures.

Travel Sketchbook

A5 Book

The sketchbook I’m using is an A5 from Peter Pauper Press their premium sketchbook small. The pages are quite thick, but not completely watercolor quality.

It’s a nice handy journal with plain pages and a black cover.

Travel Drawing Supplies Kit

Pencil Bag

I have a nylon see-through grey pencil bag from Muji and I carry all of my travel drawing supplies in there. I like this one because I can clearly see what I’ve got in the bag.

Pencils

I take, two Staedtler pencils they come in many hardnesses, but I like the HB and 2H. A selection of my Faber Castell polychromos coloured pencils in neutral shades of greens, browns and grays. 

I don’t take all the colors, it’s just too much to cart about. You can check out my What to Pack for a Writing Retreat article for the full details of everything that I took with me on this trip.

Markers

Coloured markers about five, in brights like red, blue, yellow, orange and turquoise.

Extras

An eraser. A pencil sharpener. A roll of washi tape. A compass. A ruler.

Photos

Phone

I did take a few photos with my phone as we were out and about this weekend. I could have taken more.

Camera

It occurs to me that maybe a need a GoPro which is a light camera that is more adaptable for the outdoors, but I’m still thinking about that. I do have a Canon M50 mirrorless camera which I use for videos, but I didn’t even take it out of the bag on this weekend.

Process

Near and Far

I like to have little sketch of things big and small. or near and far. Like the micro and the macro.

Composition

Regarding the layout of the items, I first eyeballed them and then decided what I’d draw where. This took quite a bit of time.

Pencil

With a 2H pencil I sketched out each little drawing.

Pen

For the black pen work I used my Pigma Micron 0.3mm pen mainly. This is the best way to get the ink over the pencil. Afterwards I gently erase the pencil marks.

Color

Using some of my travel colored pencils I added highlights and lightly laid down some color.

First Double Spread Detail

What to Draw

Here are the details of the page. It can be viewed individually or as a whole. I’ve highlighted the feature that I added to my travel journal page as these are some of the things that you can add in your travel journal.

Left-hand Page

Map

On the left-hand page, I drew a little map of our journey from Vancouver up to Whistler. Actually, I had prepared this at home by pulling it from Google Maps and then tracing it into the book.

Dates

I noted the date of our trip in June 2025.

Hotel

There is a cut out from the Pinnacle Hotel, Whistler Village flyer and I noted my room as number 308.

Sticker

A sticker from the Armchair books where I bought the book I talk about below.

Cocktails

Mini sketch of the pink cocktails which Johanne and I enjoyed in our rooms before going out to dinner on Monday evening.

travel-journal-whistler

Right-hand Page

Title

I put the weekend title Writing Retreat for Artists across the top of the page as a reminder of why we went away on our weekend in the first place. Sometimes you look back at travel pages years later and things can get a little blurry in your mind, or at least I find it’s so.

Food and Drink

Sketched in a little bit about the Starbucks coffee and a lunch plate.

Activity

Next a little sketch of me typing outdoors at the coffee shop patio, in amongst the trees and bushes and whatnot.

Temperature

I added the temperature because it was scorching hot 30°C.

Meal

And highlighted our Peak-to-Peak cheeseburger and yam fries with apple juice which we had at a meal.

Second Double Spread Detail

Left-hand Page

Library

The library details where I went and did an online class.

Tea

Green Tea at Squamish on the journey home.

Map

A large map of the Whistler village given to me by the hotel concierge. I do like to have a map on my travel sketch book. Maps really provide an overview of other features in the area that perhaps I didn’t see, and they could encourage another trip back there one day.

travel-journal-2nd-page-whistler

Right-hand Page

Hotel

Picture cut out of the Pinnacle Hotel and also a note that they were doing a fire alarm testing the Monday morning which you just could not ignore!

Logo

The logo from the White Spot restaurant where we had lunch on the drive home.

Transport

 Johanne’s fabulous burnt orange car.

Purchases

Book

We went to the Armchair Books in the upper part of Whistler village. After spending a lovely half-hour browsing the goods in the friendly shop, I plumped on a book titled Revered Roots: Ancestral teachings and wisdom of wild edible and medicinal plants by Lori Ann Bird an indigenous Métis author, herbalist and educator. 

It documents the indigenous peoples of the areas and how they use plants as food and medicines down the ages. I was particularly drawn to this book because. I am really interested in plants as medicine and I have other herbal books in my collection like Culpeper’s Complete Herbal.

 

Art

As an artist at heart, I felt I couldn’t come away without supporting a local artist in some fashion. I managed to pick up a poster titled Mountains of the Sea to Sky which is by local artist Sarah Keller who lives in Squamish. This is a pen and ink wash print featuring ten mountains surrounding the Howe Sound and the Whistler area. It’s such a great memento of my trip to Whistler and I get to hang it on my art wall.

Reflection: What I’d Do Differently Next Time

The Rush

It was quite a rush to create these two travel journal pages. I did a little throughout the day so as not to forget what really happened.

 

Draw More

Next time I travel, I may draw more and detail more events, like the places we went, meals we consumed and the things we did. I tended to leave my travel sketchbook in the hotel if we went out to lunch, dinner or for a walk through the village. 

For no particular reason, I just did.

Not a good move on my part.

Really, I should have taken my sketchbook with me, so I could have done a little quick doodle type sketch to capture the mood like when we stopped for coffee, picked up an ice cream or browsed in a gift shop. I think the moral of the story is that you need to always have your travel sketchbook with you. As they say, “Never leave home without it.”

 

Snap More

Next time I will take more photos. And not just photos, I’d like to take a few more videos as well. I was traveling around seeing some breathtaking panoramic views of the actual beauty of the place, the mountains, the trees and the nature in which we immersed ourselves. I probably took twelve photos this whole weekend and it really is just not enough.

The thing is, I get so caught up with what I’m doing and the interesting conversations I’m having, the writing I’m doing, the art I’m doing and what I’m looking at, that it goes out of my mind to snap a photo. I must do this better. If I’m going to document my journeys, I need more photos and I definitely need more videos.

 

Another Full Day

I would have liked another full day. We traveled one day, stayed overnight, had a full day in Whistler, stayed overnight and left the next day.  So technically we were really only there for one full day and two half days. Admittedly, this is the first time we’ve been to Whistler or to that particular hotel. But how had we had another full day, so staying three nights, I do feel that a lot more could have been achieved.

I would have appreciated what the place had to offer a lot more. I feel that I skimmed the surface and Whistler village is certainly a place I would like to return to. There were some art galleries that I would have loved to have explored and a museum which I never got a chance to enter.

So, if we decide to do Writing Retreat for Artists again next summer, I would definitely push to get a three night stay so that we can make the most of the environment which is very beautiful. 

Otherwise, I might as well have checked into a hotel in downtown Vancouver, shut the door, done my writing and then come home. I know this trip was a first and foremost a writing retreat, but I feel remiss not seeing more that the place had to offer.

Overarch

Sketching is Fun

I really liked creating these pages in my travel journal. The journal itself is slowly building up with places I’ve visited recently. If I’d started it ten years ago it would be bursting by now, but I only began my travel journal the year before last. 

As I said before, I’m not much of a traveler and I have only been away for a weekend twice this year. Also, I don’t have any plans to go away later in the year either.

 

Next Year

I’ll let you into a secret that I’m planning a trip next September to visit my daughters who live in Ontario. That is something Im already looking forward to. And so far it’s the only thing in my travel calendar.

 

Share the Love

I hope you enjoyed seeing how I create my travel pages. It was a lot of fun.

Remember you can see more about this particular Whistler trip I took in my mini-series, see below.

Bookshelf

Travel Sketching

Here are a few travel journal ideas books which you may enjoy.

 

Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you. Read more about Alison’s story. Get her newsletter.
Writing Retreats for Hobby Artists

Writing Retreats for Hobby Artists

Author: Alison Hazel   -   Updated: July 2025 Catchup Recently I have been talking about our writing retreat for artists which we organized this summer. If you haven't been following along, you can go back and read: Part 1: What to pack for a writing retreat. Part 2:...

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Reflections on A Writing Retreat for Artists 

Reflections on A Writing Retreat for Artists 

by | Writing for Artists

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Updated: August 2025

Catchup

Recently I have been talking about our writing retreat for artists which we organized this summer.

If you haven’t been following along, you can go back and read:

Introduction

So just as a reminder. I’m talking about a writing retreat for artists. I myself am a hobby artist, but that doesn’t mean I only do art as there is also writing associated with being a hobby artist. Pieces of writing have to be done for my website at alisonhazelart.com. 

I also have to write this newsletter, which I love doing, but it’s still writing for artists. And then if you do, or do not do, social media, which I have a love hate relationship with, you will need to do some writing for that as well.

Additionally, as an artist and particularly on my online art shop, I have to write about my artwork and about my pieces and about my process. So as an artist, don’t think you will never do writing. You absolutely will do writing and in a way, this is under the category of the business of being an artist because it really applies to all the paperwork and documentation that you have to do as well.

How it All Went

Overall

Overall, we had a great time. The drive out to Whistler was seamless. It was a glorious sunny day and we took our time to stop halfway and pick up a Starbucks coffee which was great. Also that gave us some time to stretch our legs. We arrived at the hotel just after lunch time.

 

Hotel

We were able to check in immediately, which was wonderful and the concierge was able to converse with my friend in her native language of French, which was lovely. This touch made her feel very welcome as well. We managed to get rooms on the same floor, but not adjacent which was ideal.

Amenities

The hotel had a coffee shop, a restaurant and a pool. My friend did use the pool over the weekend and even though I’d taken my swimming costume (swimsuit), I never quite managed to take the plunge.

Getting it Done

We loosely followed the timetable which I had laid out beforehand and we did adapt it to suit our needs as well. What really happened was that we were able to get multiple chunks of time to get to the writing we needed to do.

Timetable

For instance, the writing on the Sunday afternoon was scheduled for between 2:00 and 4:00 PM. We definitely started at 2:00 PM but having that end time would great thing because. On the occasions when I felt I had nothing else to give at that point, I was able to stop and feel fine. 

However, if I was in the zone with my writing, I would push through the scheduled end time and finish off the thoughts I had in my head or whatever it was I was doing. The point being that the timetable helped because it did give us a structure to the writing, otherwise we would have started in at sunrise and finished at sunset.

You just can’t do that.

You get drained.

Anyone who does writing will know that or any creative activity you only have so much at a time. The timetable did help because it gave the option to say, okay, I’m done for now and I’ll come back to this writing in my next writing segment later in the day or tomorrow morning and at the same time I could push through if I wanted to. So yes, the timetable was a great thing.

Meals

Breakfast

Of course, when you’re away, you still have to eat. So personally, I’m not much of a breakfast person and I was quite happy to just go with coffee and a croissant which worked well for me.

Lunch

At lunchtime we tended to walk into the Whistler Village and find a little pavement cafe, where we could pick up a light lunch salad or quiche Lorraine or something like that. That was great because we’re out in the fresh air, we could see the mountains, there was lots of people there, but Whistler is a place that is geared up for tourists, so they were organized.

Dinner

Dinner was far more exciting. Having done our afternoon writing sessions and maybe had a bit of a lie down, we rendezvoused in the lobby at 6:00. We took a slow stroll up to the main village to find a finer dining restaurant.

As we were only having dinner on the two nights, the Sunday and the Monday it seemed a good idea to invest in ourselves and get a worthwhile meal. Our first dinner was at a place called the High Mountain Brewery. We both chose the Peak-to-Peak bacon cheeseburger with yam fries (yes, I know not quite fine dining). 

I believe the name Peak-to-Peak is a reference to all the mountain ranges which surround Whistler, where summer hikers trek, or even winter skiers, from one mountain peak into the valley then up to the next peak. I had apple juice and normally I would have had wine, but it was so darn hot.

The second evening we found a restaurant closer to the hotel so there wasn’t as much walking, but it had far superior cuisine. We had a glorious meal there with some exceptional wine.

Side Quest

Online Class

I’ve been taking an online class with a college in London, England. It spans 10 weeks every Tuesday at 10:30 AM. As we were actually in Whistler on the Tuesday morning, I wanted to organize a space where I could have this online Zoom class. I didn’t want to miss out because it’s essential to attend most of the lessons to get the credit for the course. 

I had originally thought that I could get a business room in the hotel or even extend our checkout time from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, which would have been covered this time, but unfortunately the hotel had neither a business room nor would they allow an extension because they were at 103% occupation already.

Library

So, conveniently for us, the Whistler Library was across the road from the hotel. I decided to check it out the first day I arrived when I realized I couldn’t get a room in the hotel for my online class. I entered Whistler’s Library to see if they had a space which I could rent or borrow for the period for my class. 

To be honest, coming from the big city where the libraries quite substantially over eight floors and massive, Whistler library was delightfully quaint, super modern, but still delightfully quaint.

Study Room

The librarian on the inquiries counter was happy to say that I could book one of their study rooms, but only from 11:00 AM on the Tuesday. Do so I would have to become a member of the library and so that’s what I did. I joined up the Whistler Library, I’m now a member, then I was able to book the study room and I would only miss the first half hour of my online class, because the class started at 10:30 and could I only get the room from 11am when the library opened. 

I did inform my online tutor, Mark, that I would be arriving late to his class and that I would be in a public space for the lecture and I would have to end at eleven sharp, as he tends to overrun a lot of the time. Mark said that was all OK.

Checkout

On the Tuesday morning, we checked out the hotel and put the bags in the car. My chum took a walk through the Whistler village and I went into the library and had my online class. The library staff were amazing, the air conditioning was marvellous and all went well. I felt fortunate that I was able to continue doing this online studying through my college without having to miss a beat. Just because I went away in a writing retreat for artists I did not have to miss out.

Togetherness

Time

Before we went away, we had never spent much time together. In fact, I have only known her for six months, so we weren’t really quite sure how well we were going to get on as we would spend quite a lot of time in each other’s company over the three days.

Common Ground

But I am delighted to say that we really got to know each other. We found we had numerous things in common with our families and our life histories. I feel I really understand her a lot better and, more importantly, the writing project she’s working on. 

Now I have somewhat of a grasp about how she’s wrangling away with her novel. Whereas previously I had no idea the struggle of corralling characters in a book, because I don’t do fiction writing, I do just do blog writing.

Friendship

I’m pleased to say that coming away from the weekend, yes, we are still good friends and yes, we’ve seen each other subsequently and had other exciting adventures. It’s not always easy to make friends in later life, so I cherish this friendship which has sprung up between myself and my new friend. She sent me her perspective on how good our writing retreat was for her, and you can read it below.

Johanne’s Comments

Our writing retreat in Whistler accomplished two main goals for me: it gave me a chance to relax and help me organize my thoughts into a more structured synopsis. It was the first time I’d created a visual synopsis, and it really helped me define each part and chapter of my book.

For historical fiction, there’s a lot of information to gather, and when it comes time to put it on the page, you don’t want to just dump it into any scene. Instead, you want to work it in naturally, so the reader doesn’t really notice that these details are being shared along the way.

The days I spent with Alison helped me refine the synopsis of a major section of the novel, work on scenes that included a lot of historical detail and dialogue, and prepare another set of visual aids—family trees, a map of main my main character’s actions, and a layout of the setting where the novel takes place in the 1930s.

I came back rejuvenated and full of ideas for how to structure my novel. I’m so grateful for the time spent with Alison and for the chance to benefit from her organizational and artistic skills.

I sincerely hope this was the first of many writing retreats for us, and that it’s just the beginning of a long creative journey we’ll share together.

Overarch

What are You Waiting For?

If you are a hobby artist, and you do a little bit of writing, then I would urge you to plan yourself a writing retreat. You could approach this in two ways either:

  • Go by yourself
  • Go with a friend

Of course, there are many organized writing retreats with fifteen or so people that go away together and enjoy yoga in the morning and meditative chanting in the evening, but those gatherings that have never quite interested me. 

Clearly, you don’t both have to be artist to go on a writing retreat. I do art and writing on the side, but my friend is crafting her historical novel. If any of this interests you, my question then is, “What are you waiting for?”

Inspiration

I hope these posts have inspired you to consider doing a writing retreat for yourself as an artist. It does occur to me, of course, that this writing retreat which we went on this summer could have very easily been an artist’s retreat as well. Now that would be something interesting which I may consider doing in autumn. Clearly, the difference between an artist retreat is that you’re doing art everyday whereas with a writing retreat, you’re doing writing every day.

Moving Forward

I love the idea of a weekend retreat away with friends. To get away from your normal life, where you can concentrate for a couple of days to move your project forward, whatever your current undertaking happens to be.

More on Writing Retreats for Artists

Here are a few more articles I wrote about our experiences on a writing retreat for artists which I took with my friend in the spring.

 

Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Get her newsletter.

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The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.

Writing Retreats for Hobby Artists

Writing Retreats for Hobby Artists

by | Writing for Artists

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Updated: July 2025

Catchup

Recently I have been talking about our writing retreat for artists which we organized this summer.

If you haven’t been following along, you can go back and read:

Planning a Writing Retreat for Artists

Introduction

I have been working as a hobby artist for about three years now. And along with being a hobby artist, I post some things on social media, not so much to be honest, but I also run a this website and a blog which you may know.

Why a Retreat?

The idea of a retreat is that you go away for a few days, maybe to a hotel, perhaps to the woods and go to a cabin and work on your art. This sounds like the perfect weekend to me.

My Friend

I have a friend who is a writer and she’s working on her novel. Often when we get together, writing is what we end up talking about. All the writing she’s doing and all the writing I’m doing. The writing I’m doing is really the blog articles and this newsletter, so even though I’m a hobby artist and I’m creating artworks with paints and colours and so on, I also have to produce some writing each week for my audience.

Writing

To be honest, writing is not really my strength, but it’s something that I’ve been practicing and trying to get better at recently. This winter I took a grammar course at our local university and also a course about writing for the web as well. I have to say, it wasn’t easy.

At that level, they do assume you know a lot and I struggled to catch up, to keep up, but I pushed on. I’m in no position to take a writing exam whatsoever, or language, or grammar or comprehension, but it did help me to solidify some of my writing techniques for the web and for newsletters in 2025. Because the way we communicate now is different to what it was 50 years ago. Back then my father would you buy a daily newspaper and read it at the breakfast table and he had another edition in the evening for after dinner. Then at the weekend there were the massive Saturday and Sunday bonus editions to keep him busy as well.

But back to my story.

I had an idea about doing a writing retreat with my friend and I approached her about it and she was pretty keen. We thought we would go to one of these little resorts nearby us where they have some hot springs, but we couldn’t get in for the summer weeks we were thinking of. Originally, back in May, we thought we would go sometime in the summer, so that would be June, July or August time when the weather is really pleasant.

Writing Retreat Planning

Our Retreat Criteria

We originally set some ground rules about what we wanted in our writing retreat. Neither of us had been on a writing retreat before, so we were planning it from scratch to suit ourselves.

The criteria that we had were:

  • It must be within two hours’ drive of Vancouver which is where we live.
  • It had to have a pool or a hot spring for relaxing in.
  • We were going to take separate rooms, because we basically both preferred that.
  • It had to be reasonably affordable for both of us, so it would not be a 5-star resort.
  • Our budget was originally CAD$150 (US$110) per night and in the end, it came out to be CAD$180 (US$132) per night.

Two Night Stay

Because of her and my work schedules, we decided we would not go on a full weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but rather we would take a Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. And we’re calling it a weekend, so we would leave home on the Sunday, stay Sunday and Monday night, and return home on the Tuesday. Basically, it was a two night stay away, but we still called it a weekend. We were looking for a hotel, resort or lodge that met all of these criteria.

Retreat Accommodation

My friend looked around for places for our writing retreat and a lot of them were full, a lot of them were expensive and a lot of them were too far away. Finally, we plumped on a hotel in Whistler, which is around 125 kilometres from Vancouver. It will take us about one and a half hours to get there by road. We are traveling in her car on highway 99 generally referred to as the “Sea to Sky Highway” up the west coast of British Columbia, Canada.

Retreat Hotel

Room Booking

Once we settled on the dates, she made a booking for herself and sent me the link. That same evening, I made a similar booking for myself. We both got the exact same type of room at the same price. I’m not much of a traveler, so I had to download the Expedia app and fiddle around with that. Finally, I had to phone the helpline, speak to a human and get it all sorted out to make sure that I got my $30 coupon, which I did.

Retreat Timetable

What to Do

We were six weeks away from the event, so we had time to get organized which was great because we had time to sort things out. There are many things buzzing through my head at this point because there’s a lot to do and a lot to organize. If you’re not careful, you end up not doing anything like the writing we had planned, you’re just sitting by the pool casually sipping your pina colada.

Retreat Timetable Draft

I decided to draft out a timetable showing how I saw the weekend would develop because we hadn’t really spoken about it that much. You never know what people are expecting or even what you’re expecting. So, I just wanted to make things a little clearer in my head as well about what I had in mind for this writing retreat, so I could share my ideas with her as well. By sharing my thoughts on what we would be doing, we could chat about the plan and make sure that we were on the same page.

Literally the same page.

So, I crafted out this timetable.

Sunday

7:00 AM: Texts

Sunday started with us each giving each other a good morning text to make sure we are alive and kicking, up and about and ready to get going.

9:00 AM: Pick Up

She picks me up from my place and we drive to Whistler.

11 AM: Arrive at the Hotel

When we arrive at the hotel we probably have to leave our bags at the reception because we could only check into our rooms at 4:00 PM. The plan is to check the bags with the hotel concierge and circle back around and pick them up later.

11:30 Brunch

Quick brunch and beverage.

12:30 PM: Afternoon Writing Session

Here I see us both with our laptops doing some writing in the coffee shop in the lobby of the hotel. I did check out that they had a coffee shop beforehand. I thought we could start our writing immediately and not get sidetracked with sightseeing.

4:00 PM: Check Into Rooms

So now we can pick up our bags from the bag check at the concierge desk and go up to our rooms. We can get things sorted out, unpack and freshen up. At this point I may want to take a rest, but if not, then perhaps an hour of writing in the room before dinner.

6:00 PM: Dinner

Rendezvous in the in the hotel lobby and have dinner together in the little restaurant in the hotel. There will be only two dinners and these I think will be the main meals of the day.

7:30 PM: Walk

Walk outside, promenade and get some fresh air. Probably take some photos as well. Again, now there is the option of another hour or two writing either on the patio or in the lobby.

9:00 PM: Room

Back in my room for some reflection and writing about the day. Maybe some journaling as well. At this point I also want to do some “review” and the review was of the writing that I had done earlier in the day, because we are here for the writing. Additionally, I want to set up in my mind what I would be focussing on the next day, and what my next day’s project and word count goals would be.

Monday

5:00 AM: Swim?

It depends on what time I wake up if I may swim.

6:00 AM: Wake up

Obviously, I take a shower, wash my hair and freshen up. I’ll wear some light makeup, jewelry, some comfy clothes and shoes.

Morning Routine: Gratitude Journaling

Most mornings I do a little bit of gratitude journaling. Writing down by hand in my journal what I’m grateful for and these are simple things such as being grateful for my family, my friends, my health, my creativity and so on. I have no doubt that on this morning I’ll be being grateful for having got to go on this writing retreat with my good friend.

Stretching

I sometimes wake up a bit creaky, so I like to do morning stretches. This is not Jane Fonda feel-the-burn type stretching, its gentle stretching of my whole body, backwards, forwards and sideways to ease out any kinks which may have tried to creep in during the night.

6:15 AM: Coffee

Coffee and croissant in the coffee shop. I had no idea if they have croissants, but one would assume they would have here in Canada. I’m not much of a breakfast person, but I definitely enjoy some coffee and maybe a little pastry just to get me going. After the coffee, I would probably take a little walk outside. I would hope there was a verandah or a patio where I could get some fresh air and perhaps even hear the birds chirping and things like that. Take more photos. I may do a little sketch in my travel sketchbook while I’m about it.

8:00 AM: Morning Writing Session

This is the main morning writing chunk. It will probably start at 8:00 AM or 9:00 AM, maybe even 7:00 AM it depends on how the morning goes. I would anticipate that we would either be writing in the coffee shop or perhaps on a patio somewhere in the fresh air with our laptops. Maybe by the pool, although it’s hard to see your screen in the sunlight outside. This morning session of writing would go on until noon, so it’s going to be a solid three or four hours of writing.

12 Noon: Lunch

Meet in the lobby for lunch together in the bistro or restaurant of somewhere for an hour or so.

1:00 PM: Walk Outside

Another walk outside and it’s not that I’m a big walker, but I want to make sure that I wasn’t stuck in the hotel for the whole three days. I want to get outside, even if I’m just walking in the grounds of the hotel or in the gardens or whatever is available. Just to get a little bit of exercise after eating.

1:30 PM: Afternoon Writing Session

This is the afternoon session of writing. Hopefully we could find a spot to do our writing either together or we can sit somewhere comfortably to do our main afternoon writing. This session will go on until around 4:00 PM, so it’s going to be a good two to two and a half hours of concentrated effort in the afternoon. I also wanted to make the afternoon session of writing slightly shorter than the morning one. In the morning when we’re fresher, you can get three or four hours of writing in. Whereas in the afternoon I may be starting to flag.

4:00 PM: Rest or Writing

Either continue writing for another hour to 5:00 PM or otherwise go back to the room for a rest. I do like to put my feet up in the afternoon. Why not? We’re away from our busy lives and we don’t want to be exhausted. At this point, my friend said she perhaps wouldn’t take a rest. She is likely to push on with her writing and that’s fine. Because to have a rest is on the schedule, I won’t feel bad saying, “I’m going to have a rest now” and doing so. However, if I did feel strong, I could push on with the writing and feel good about doing that.

6:00 PM: Dinner

Rendezvous again in the foyer for our Monday dinner in a restaurant in Whistler. Perhaps a glass of wine.

7:00 PM: Promenade

Once more a promenade or walk outside after eating just to limber up a little better. Let the food digest. This may or may not be what we actually end up doing, but I want it on the timetable to make sure I had the option to do so.

8:00 PM: Optional Evening Writing Session

If we’re feeling strong at this point, we can get another hour of writing in from 8:00 till 9:00PM. It just depends.

9:00 PM: Back to Room

Back to my room for reflection on the day and to review of the writing that I have done that day. Again, this is also the time when I’ll plan what I’ll be working on the next day writing wise. When I set up the timetable back in May, I didn’t know just how much writing I’m going to get done or whether I’m going to get sidetracked or whether some other ideas are going to come to me and I going to end up doing some different type of writing. I didn’t want to lay a firm structure to what I would write at what each session. I just want to have something loose which I can work with and flex into how I was feeling, how the weekend was going and even what the weather and vibe was like at the hotel.

Tuesday

5:30 AM: Morning Routine

Shower, dress and makeup. Gratitude journaling and some stretching in the room. Just like yesterday. Pack my bag and leave it in the room.

6:30 AM: Coffee

Coffee and pastry in the coffee shop.

7:00 AM: Morning Writing

Maybe squeeze in an hour of writing.

10 AM: Check Out

Check out of hotel. We only need to check out by 11:00 AM and I am going to ask for an extension for the Tuesday, so that we could check out later at around 2:00 PM. That would give us more time, as you’ll see later. But if we do have to check out at 10:00 AM, I’m going to leave my bags at the bag check at reception for pick up later in the day when we leave.

10:30 AM: Online Course

Presently I’m taking an online course with a college from London. This will be the 6th class out of 10 which I don’t want to miss. I’m going to try and find the business centre where I can get a private space to attend the Zoom class from 10:30 to 12:30, as I don’t want to miss the session. Whilst I’m taking this 2-hour online class, my friend will no doubt be writing in the coffee shop, if we did check out, or she will perhaps be toiling away at her word count on the patio.

1:00 PM: Leave Retreat Hotel

Leave the hotel. If we did organize a late checkout do so now or simply get our luggage from the concierge bag check. Load the car and be on our way. We plan to stop at a small town, Squamish, on the way back to the city. We will perhaps find a place for lunch there. There is no rush. We now continue on our journey back home to Vancouver.

3:00 PM ish

Back in the city. My friend drops me off at my home and she drives on to her residence.

6:00 PM

We send each other thank you texts and say how much fun our weekend was. We celebrate what a fabulous time we had.

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Benefits

As a hobby artist you don’t need to do a writing retreat, but if you do decide to. it will enrich your writing for the months to come and probably your art life as well. Let me know if you’ve ever done a writing retreat or perhaps a rt retreat. I’d love to hear from you.

How it All Went

In a future Artzlife newsletter I’ll let you know how it all went and whether my detailed planning was of any use whatsoever. You’ll also get to hear from my friend about her experiences in her own words on our first ever writing retreat for artists.

More to Come

And in a still later edition, I’ll share some of my travel sketchbook images from our weekend away as well.

More on Writing Retreats for Artists

Here are a few more articles I wrote about our experiences on a writing retreat for artists which I took with my friend in the spring.

 

Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

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What to Pack for a Writing Retreat

What to Pack for a Writing Retreat

by | Writing for Artists

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Updated: May 2025

Catchup

Recently I have been talking about our writing retreat for artists which we organized this summer.

If you haven’t been following along, you can go back and read:

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Ideas to Help You

In this article, I’m sharing my favorite tips on what to pack in your pencil bag, yes, the writing tools you’ll actually use, plus a few thoughtful extras to bring along for any kind of retreat, whether it’s for writing, art, or a mix of both. But I’ve got more to share (because let’s be real, packing for a creative getaway means bringing more than just pens and notebooks). 

I cover everything from what kind of luggage works best, why having a handy city bag is a total game-changer, and what to tuck inside it. I’ve also included comfy yet creative outfit ideas that can take you from daytime doodling to evening journaling, including jewelry, makeup and the toiletry bits you’ll be glad you didn’t forget. Plus, I’ve added a few thoughts on tech and must-have accessories to keep your creativity flowing no matter where you are.

Getaway

A writing retreat happens when you go away for a weekend of two to three nights, or three to four days to clear your mind and do some writing. It could either be a weekend, mid-week, or a shoulder-week where you’re partly in the weekend and partly in the main week, it doesn’t really matter. 

This summer with my friend, I’m planning a two-night three-day writing retreat for artists. I’m going to share with you the best things to take and what to pack without overloading you bags and hauling unused or unwanted stuff around. I will have more to say about our actual retreat experience later.

What to Wear

Three Days

You’ll need clothes for three days. You’ll be travelling up on the first day and travelling back on the third day, so you really want travel clothes for those two travel days.

Arrival Day

On arrival day, you’ll want to wear your comfortable clothes and these you can also wear on your departure day on the way home.

Arrival Day Afternoon and Evening

Once I’ve arrived at my destination, I’m happy to remain in my travel clothes for the bulk of the day, through lunch and into the afternoon. But in the evening, I do like to change into something better. On our particular weekend away, we are having dinner in the restaurant, so I want to have a nice top to wear, even though the pants were kept simple.

Middle Day or Days

The middle day when you’re at the hotel is more flexible. In the morning and afternoon, you can wear your casual middle day outfit. Then you could just swap out the top for dinner, add some extra jewelry. Your pashmina and you’re ready to go.

Social Media

If your weekend away is more rustic or in the woods and you don’t feel like putting on clean clothes just for dinner then of course you don’t have to, but I like to. So that’s why I like to take an extra top for the two evening dinners. Typically photographs will be taken in the evenings, so it’s nice to look your best. If you don’t mind being snapped in the same outfit for the whole weekend, that’s fine.

In this social media age, it tends to be the case that pictures will be taken. I don’t like getting caught in the same top or, I don’t like getting caught in the same clothes, so particularly it’s the tops you need to change. The bottoms don’t really matter as much.

Departure Day

On departure day, you’re going to wear the clothes you wore up on travel arrival day. This keeps things simple.

Luggage

Monster Luggage

When I went to Europe a few years ago, I had a monster suitcase full of stuff. I was only going for a week and yet for some reason I thought I needed mountains of clothes, shoes and who knows what was in my suitcase. When I checked in at my home airport at Vancouver, I was already overweight and had to pay a fee before I’d even started.

Hauled on the Coach

Finally, I arrived in London and I had to catch a coach up to Oxford. My suitcase was so heavy the guy couldn’t lift into the hold of the coach and he turned to me and said rather loudly, “Have you got a body in here, madam?”

Hauled at the Hotel

My journey continued, I dragged the suitcase to my hotel. The day I arrived the elevator wasn’t working and I was on the 4th floor so I had to pay the bellhop to carry this suitcase up the stairs. It was so heavy they needed two of them. Anyway, I pushed on.

More Stuff

I bought souvenirs, knickknacks, gifts for my kids, some books, who knows what. To take home with me. In the end, I had so much stuff that I had to actually buy a second monster suitcase to stuff in all the stuff that I had purchased whilst I was in England. Back at Heathrow for my flight home and of course, I was overweight but this time on both suitcases and had to pay another set of fees.

Never Check a Bag

I finally got home after dragging tons of junk around the world, and half of it I never even used. I made a pact with myself that I would never ever check a bag again. What this really meant is that I only ever take cabin sized bag wherever I go.

That was back in 2013, over twelve years ago. Every time I’ve traveled since then, I have only ever taken the small cabin sized suitcase which you can put in an aircraft cabin above your head.

In the Bag

My packing policy now is that if it doesn’t fit in my little suitcase, it doesn’t go. The cabin bag I have is the Rimowa and this one is similar. I’m not sure of the exact dimensions, but it actually fits in an aircraft cabin above the seats. It’s a hard shell in a dark ruby red and I’ve had it probably since 2014 and it’s still going strong.

Now people say to me, “Is that all you’re bringing?” and I say, “Yes” because I can travel with my little suitcase whizzing around cities, on buses, on trains and on planes. It’s so small it just can never be that heavy. If you pack less, you may discover that it is liberating to haul less and use a smaller suitcase.

writing-retreat-luggage

Clothes to Pack

Trousers

Choose elasticated trousers, pants or joggers which are not too tight. You’ll be sitting in the car for nearly two hours, and you want to be in something comfortable. Currently, I enjoy traveling in these joggers as they are light and comfortable. I have them in both black and khaki and I like to travel in the olive green / khaki ones because they really don’t show the dirt.

Tops

I like to wear layers when I’m traveling. On the top this means a bra, a camisole and a T-shirt and additionally, perhaps a soft hoodie. I have this Hanes hoodie. If things get too hot in the car you could take off the outer layer and if things get cooler, you can put a layer back on. Even if you are traveling in the summer, you never know if the vehicle is going to breakdown and you have to stand at the side of the road for three hours as it gets dark and rains.

Footwear

Limit Weight

I once went away for a week to Europe, and I took seven pairs of shoes. For that whole week of travel, I only ever wore my trainers. The other shoes lay in the suitcase, never to be used, but I had to haul them in my massive heavy suitcase all around in taxis, on planes, on trains and buses. It was exhausting. After that trip, I decided to cut my footwear right down.

Trainers

The best shoes to travel in are your trainers which are comfortable. In general, I prefer Nike sneakers for travel. Make sure the laces are not done up too tight or get slip ons. You can wear these on day one travelling up and definitely for on day three traveling back home. Your trainers do not go in your suitcase, you wear them.

Slippers

If you are staying in a hotel, you really don’t want to be walking barefoot, in your room, in the shower, in the corridors or around the pool. One way to overcome this is to have flip flops to go to the pool and in the public areas within the hotel and then you can have some soft slippers to wear in your bedroom. I find that the solution to this problem is to have some neutral-colored furry slippers that look like slides which you can wear in your room, in the hotel or by the pool. Maybe not in the shower but then I stand on a towel that does not cover the drain.

Sandals

You will probably need sandals or strappy pair of shoes to wear on one of the middle days. Personally, I like a flat sandal which is strapped to my foot. So, not flip flops or slides, but a pair of sandals that is secured to my foot. I like to choose my sandals in a neutral colour like beige, tan or olive which will co-ordinate with my whole outfit’s colorway. I like sandals which coordinate with my city tote bag too.

Socks

You will need three pairs of socks, one for each day. Personally, I prefer a low-cut white sock which fits neatly into my sneakers and are comfortable. I usually take white socks only when traveling. If you have room in your travel bag, then take an extra pair of socks. Socks can be worn in your room if you don’t have flip flops or slippers.

Middle Day Clothes

Show Your Style

It depends how many middle days you have. On our two-night getaway we had one middle day which was, well, the middle day. The middle day (or days) is when you want you to wear something appropriate and comfortable. Here I’m offering you three options for your middle day, depending on the type of retreat you’re going on.

Option 1: T-shirt and Pants

This is my favorite look for middle days, white T-shirt and some casual loose pants. The white T-shirt must be white and you don’t want something that’s three years old and been lying in the bottom of the dog basket. If you can’t get your white T-shirts white, then wear a coloured one.

I like to keep my T-shirts plain and simple and so I avoid logos where I can. Wear a skin tone bra underneath your white tee so it doesn’t show. For the loose pants, these could either be palazzo, a cotton pant, a cargo pant or some loose jeans.

Option 2: T shirt and Wrap Skirt

The second option is the same white T-shirt, but now we’ve got the addition of a wrap skirt. A wrap skirt is usually made of light fabric, so it has drape and is easy to wear. They are usually thin and do not take up much room in your suitcase. Your wrap skirt could either be in a darker colour or highly patterned so it can double up as your sarong when you go to the pool. There are many styles, but I have this neat skirt and it has shorts underneath with a pocket for your phone.

Option 3: Dress

My third option for you is a dress. For many women, a dress is a great choice as it can be in any colour or pattern, it can be a mini or midi, and whatever length you’re comfortable in. If I do decide to take a dress, I prefer to have one that’s got pockets in it. Additionally, I like my dress to coordinate with my hoodie from earlier and my pashmina.

writing-retreat-main-day

Accessories

Pashmina

A pashmina, or light wrap, is a great item for travellers. You can also take it with you in your city bag on the car journey both back and forth. It doubles up as a wrap for the evening. Your pashmina can be flexible enough that you can also use it as a sarong when you go to the pool if you don’t want to bring a separate sarong along.

City Bag or Tote Bag

I like to use what I call a city bag when I’m traveling. This is a large bag and it can be a tote bag which is big enough to contain your laptop and iPad and all your travel documents. Personally, I like a structured city bag which is open at the top and one that maybe has a couple of zip pockets for the smaller things. A city bag is easy to put over your shoulder. Your city bag will also stand on the top of your suitcase, hooked over the main luggage handle.

What to Carry in Your City Bag

When you leave home, your city bag does not contain your laptop and iPad, all your tech that’s in your suitcase. It will have your travel documents, make up, cash and wallet and maybe you can tuck your pashmina in there as well. 

Once you are at your destination, and you are doing your writing as we will be doing in the coffee shop, your city bag is where you put your laptop, cables, iPad, your journals and pencil case. Suddenly your city bag gets heavy, but as you are just hauling it around the hotel, going to the coffee shop, going to the writing room and going to the business center it’s okay.

Make sure you do not travel in the car with all the weight in the city bag from the start. Only load in the bulk of your tech and books when you are at your destination. An option to a city bag is a tote, but I find totes quite floppy and irritating to use in general.

writing-retreat-city-bag

Makeup and Toiletries

Note: If you don’t wear makeup, you can skip this section.

Makeup

Makeup

In my makeup bag I have a few essentials:

  • Brow pencil
  • Eyeliner
  • Mascara
  • Eyeshadow
  • Lip liner
  • Lipstick doubles as blusher
  • Earbuds
  • Cotton wipes

Hair

Straightener

If you don’t straighten your hair, skip this bit. If I let my hair air dry, I then call it my thatched roof look. As someone who has slightly frizzy hair, I do find a flat iron can help, but I don’t want to take my monster size industrial strength from home because it’s just too big and clunky. I choose to take my mini travel hair straightener which is about five inches long. It is lightweight, but gets the job done.

Shampoo and Conditioner

You have three options:

  • Take your own good shampoo and conditioner decanted into two small travel size bottles.
  • Only take your good conditioner to soften your hair and use the provided shampoo.
  • Take neither shampoo nor conditioner and use the hotel’s products.

Hairbrush

A basic hairbrush for blow drying your hair. Hint: Wrap 5cm (3″) strips of black electrical tape around the hairbrush handle. Use the tape to cover the peep hole on the inside of your hotel door and if your shoes rub your heels, use this tape on your skin instead of a Band-Aid.

Comb

A comb if you use one.

First Aid Kit

Medications

I carry a micro first aid kit because I may require something when I’m out and about. Pack any prescribed medications that you are taking, but you don’t need to take the whole bottle. What you do need to do is take enough for your trip.

My first aid checklist looks like this:

  • Prescribed medicine in small bottle.
  • Cuts and grazes: Band-Aids (Plasters)
  • Headaches and stiff backs.: Tylenol and Aleve
  • Traveler’s tummy: Imodium to settle things down.
writing-retreat-accessories

Travel Jewelry

Why Pack Jewelry?

If you are someone who never wears jewelry as a matter of course, then you can skip over this section. Let’s be quite clear what I’m talking about when I say jewelry and travel. I’m not talking about your finest gold chains, diamond rings or heirloom strings of pearls from granny — you can leave those precious baubles at home. What I am talking about is some lovely costume jewelry that will elevate your outfits and show your personality when you travel.

What to Avoid

Costume jewelry can be very tricky to collect.

There is a fine line between cheap and nasty junk jewelry and artisan handcrafted, responsibly sourced natural jewelry pieces.

  • Avoid compound materials like brass and base metal alloys.
  • Avoid nickel, tin, lead and copper if not coated and treated.
  • Avoid cheap metals and “gold-looking” plated chains and jewelry.
  • Avoid all pieces which contain components that you have never heard of.

 

What to Choose

Here are some tips on what to look for and how to choose costume jewelry.

  • Choose hypoallergenic gold plated, sterling silver or stainless-steel prongs for your earrings as they are unlikely to cause an allergic reaction.
  • Select jewelry made from natural items like wooden beads, glass beads, stone beads, plant seeds, seedpods, feathers, crystal beads, bone, seashells and fossils.
  • Select necklace and bracelet cords made from cotton, cotton elastic, bamboo (modal), silk, wool, leather, raffia, hemp, twine or other natural fibers.
  • Choose non irritating resin (plastic) if you like, but it does impact the environment.

Earrings

Personally, I like to wear simple fine gold hoops as earrings. However, I will take an optional pair of big jazzy earrings that I could wear on one of the evenings. I usually purchase my evening earrings at Walmart, as it doesn’t matter if they get lost.

Necklaces

Necklaces will finish off your look even when you’re traveling. For a three-day trip, I would probably take two or three necklaces and all of them are costume jewelry. To make things easier, I like to have necklaces that coordinate with my whole travel wardrobe colour palette which is mainly neutrals and earth tones. 

Typically, and mainly for the evenings, I will take two, what I call statement pieces, which are larger chunky jewelry pieceswith perhaps bigger and brighter beads or crystals or they have something fabulous dangling off them. During the day I’m likely to wear a light beaded necklace that fits the season and where I am. I have a couple of necklaces which I picked up at Walmart over five years ago for $9 that I’m still wearing because they still look good.

Bangles and Bracelets

One or two bangles and bracelets can add interest to your look. Typically, I will take an elasticated beaded stone or crystal bracelet, or a wooden bangle or two, so I can pick and choose how to coordinate everything once I’m there.

Jewelry at the Poolside

Of course, you would never swim in your fine jewelry, nobody does. You would not get into a chlorinated pool wearing a string of pearls or some fabulous gold chain which you received from your great aunt. But when you are swimming or lounging by a pool, you’re not really wearing very many clothes and this is the time when accessories can add to your look.

When I’m reclining by the pool, I will wear earrings and a necklace. I may or may not wear a bangle. These pieces are all costume jewelry and often have wooden beads which are not valuable whatsoever.

I’ll let you into a secret, I’m also a crocheter, and I have crocheted several necklaces. specifically, to wear at the poolside and in the water. Here’s a photo of me in Mexico last year wearing a handcrafted crocheted necklace, admittedly at dinner, but I still wore it in the pool earlier in the day.

Mexico-crochet-necklace

Remember that jewelry is a way to elevate your look, finish off your outfit and it says something about who you are as a person as well. I believe that it is important for your self-esteem to make the best of yourself.

Travelling with Jewelry

I like to put my costume jewelry in little plastic bags so nothing gets tangled up and I can see exactly what I have.

Sunglasses

If you have a pair of sunglasses, take them with you. I only have one pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses (not cheap) which I wear all the time, so definitely in the car traveling back and forth and probably went outside if it’s a sunny day.

Reading Glasses

If you have reading glasses or glasses in general, of course you would take them with you.

Clutch Bag

I like to take a very small clutch bag which is small enough to only hold my cell phone, my credit cards and my room keys. This is the micro bag that I’m likely to use after the day is done and when we go for dinner. I don’t want to be hauling my city bag around with all that it contains all day and then into the night. A small clutch bag does not take up much space in your luggage.

City Hat

It really depends on who you are and where you’re going whether or not you would need a city hat. So, a city hat is not a ball cap, not a visor and it’s not a wide brimmed beach hat. Beach hats have massive brims to keep the sun off your shoulders, whereas your city hat is much smaller

Typically, a city hat has a narrow brim, and it could also be a fedora or a Panama hat. I like them in straw and perhaps with a ribbon. This year I saw a fabulous city hat at Free People which was crocheted from straw and had a copper edge which was great because it was the only hat that fit me.

It seems I actually have a large head so a small or medium just doesn’t cut it. Sometimes the large hat doesn’t fit me either they just perch on top of my head, so it is tricky to find a hat that actually fits and just pops straight on. Ideally, I need an extra-large because I don’t want the brim gripping my head either as that just gives you a headache.

If you are someone like me who actually lives in a city, then the city hat makes sense. It’s small enough when you’re traveling on the bus so you’re not bashing into other people and hitting the bars and whatnot as you go about your day on public transport. So far this year I am still looking, I may go back to Free People and pick up the hat I saw last week.

Tech

Laptop

For a writing retreat you’re going to need to take something to write on, and typically it’s going to be your laptop. I write in Word and have my pages set up before I leave home. And if you are going away with your laptop, it is always best to restart it and clear the cache before you leave home. The main thing here is to make sure that you remember to take the charging cables.

iPad

As I do digital art, I also like to take my iPad so I can work on some ideas as they crop up. This is not essential, but if you have one, take it.

Apple Pencil

Along with this, I’ll have to pack my Apple Pencil too so I can draw with Procreate and do digital art on my iPad. Nothing worse than being away from home with your iPad but not with the Apple pencil Because you can’t. You just can’t draw anything.

Phone

It may be obvious, but for sure, you’re going to take your phone with you. It’s got all your information on it. It has your payment methods. It’s got your hotel booking details. Your phone is what you’re probably going to take most of your photographs with unless you have a camera.

 

 

writing-retreat-tech-stuff

Art and Writing Supplies

Journals

Travel Journal

When I’m traveling, I like to take my travel journal. This is an A5 sketchbook which I will often layout ahead of time with my destination title page and other details like the date. Typically, I will pencil sketch something each day that interests me. This can be what I did, or where I went, or what I ate, but these are definitely sketches. they’re not finished art pages.

 I also like to add stickers or cards or images from flyers or brochures, perhaps from the hotel with their name and logo, or restaurant’s business cards where ate. I use the glue stick and this is where my pencil bag and markers come in and you can see more on that below. I will only finish my travel journal pages once I get home.

Sketchbook

As a hobby artist. I like to take my sketchbook everywhere with me and it really does depend what I’m doing when I’m traveling which size of sketchbook I would take. 

For example, if I was doing a sketch weekend, I would take my big A3 sketchbook. However, for our Writing for Artists Summer Weekend Retreat I will probably take my A5 sketchbook with multimedia paper from Strathmore. None of the sketches which I will do when on my travels will be finished on the journey, I will generally finish them off when I get back to my home studio.

Writing Journal

On a writing retreat, I’m going to be taking my writing journal. So, for this particular summer writing retreat I am working on a manuscript for a book. I’ve probably been occupied with this project for the past two months and which I envisage it will be published sometime next year.

I use my writing journal exactly how I see the book unfolding. I segment it out into sections and chapters and add tabs on the side so when I come across ideas or thoughts about certain areas of the book, I can insert them in the appropriate space.

My writing journal is a working document stuffed with images and ideas of what I want to put into my book. My current writing journal is the Leuchtturm 1917 A5 dot grid with a pale dove grey cover. I love this journal.

writing-retreat-journals

Pencil Case

Case

I like to use a simple pencil case and the one I have is a great net version from Muji.

Pens

I carry three ballpoint pens in black, blue and red. I also have some black Pigma Microns, typically in a 0.3mm and 0.5mm sizes.

Graphite Pencils

I travel with two graphite pencils. I prefer Staedtler 2H and HB as good solid pencils.

Colored Pencils

When travelling I only take a few of my Faber Castell polychromos coloured pencils.

To travel I pack about five colours:

  • Warm grey II (for shadows and depth)
  • Warm grey III (for shadows and depth)
  • Caput mortuum (a red brownish puce, for people, animals and tree branches)
  • Earth green yellowish (a greenish yellow, for trees and foliage)
  • Gold 250 (great for shadows and warmth)
  • Cobalt blue (blue, for sky, sea and water)

Markers

I’ll probably take three markers in red, blue and yellow. I like the Tombow dual brush markers. Typically, I will only use these for writing a restaurant name or place where we went.

Eraser

I use a Staedtler white plastic eraser.

Ruler

I usually have a six-inch ruler in my pencil bag. Sometimes I will also take a full maths set including a protractor and a 45° and a 60° set square.

Compass

Depending on how much stuff I’m already packing in my bag and how long I’m traveling for, I may pack a compass as well to draw circles.

Glue

I take a glue stick and I usually get these in bulk from Amazon. I use the glue stick to attach small pieces of paper like menus, receipts, stickers and other bits and bobs as memories of my travels.

Washi Tape

I may take one or two rolls of washi tape and typically they will be in neutral shades or in the theme of the place where I’m going to. For a beach getaway I would take a seaside styled washi tape and for a writing retreat perhaps something simpler.

writing-retreat-pencil-bag

Paint Set

Travel Watercolor Set

I don’t always take my watercolors with me, but if I do, I take my travel watercolor set. I have the Schmincke Horadam Aquarelle watercolor travel set with twelve half pans and it is only five inches long.

Paintbrushes

I use synthetic squirrel brushes. I pack two paintbrushes, a fat brush size 10 and one thin brush size 4.

Watercolor Sketchbook

If I’m traveling somewhere and I think I’m going to be painting, I will take my Strathmore watercolor sketchbook which is slightly larger than an A4 (11 x 15 inches).

 

 

Full Items and Supplies List

Clothes Links

Below are all the basic clothes to which I have linked in this article. Generally, these are items which I have personally bought and wear myself. Most of these you can get from Amazon.

White T-shirt

Jogger pants

Soft hoodie

Camisole

Nike basic sneakers

Textured slipper slides

Flat tan sandal

Low cut white socks

Palazzo loose pants

Summer dress

Pashmina or wrap

City bag tote

Black electrical tape

Evening earrings

Elasticated beaded stone or crystal bracelet

Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses

Small clutch bag

 

Art Supplies

Leuchtturm 1917 A5 dot grid

Staedtler 2H and HB pencils

Tombow dual brush markers

Pigma Micron black pens

Staedtler white plastic eraser.

full maths set

Synthetic squirrel paintbrushes

Schmincke Horadam Aquarelle watercolor travel set

Strathmore watercolor sketchbook

Strathmore mixed media A5 sketchbook

Washi tape sea themed

Washi tape plain

Faber Castell polychromas colored pencils

Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Get her newsletter.

Writing Retreats for Hobby Artists

Writing Retreats for Hobby Artists

Author: Alison Hazel   -   Updated: July 2025 Catchup Recently I have been talking about our writing retreat for artists which we organized this summer. If you haven't been following along, you can go back and read: Part 1: What to pack for a writing retreat. Part 2:...

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From Sketchbook to Published Book

From Sketchbook to Published Book

by | Sketchbooks and Journals

Author: Alison Hazel   –   Updated: May 2025

Coastal Inspiration

You may know that I live on the west coast of Canada and I’m pretty close to the beach which I get down to probably once or twice a month. I have sketched many seascapes and features around the coast my most recent one being the concertina sketchbook, but I also did an acrylic over painting of English Bay.

Intertidal Pool

A few months ago, I was working in my grid art sketchbook and on one of the topics I started drawing was of an intertidal pool. An intertidal pool occurs when the high tide comes in and it fills up pockets of water along the beach in amongst the rocks. Then as the tide goes out, the ocean water remains and there are some sea creatures that are caught there, and they must wait in the pool until the next high tide if they want to escape.

Of course, many of these animals live in this beach area anyway. You get organisms like crabs and sea stars, little fish and all sorts of things within these intertidal pools. They are sometimes in amongst the rocks in a small pocket of water along the beach where boulders are as well.

So, back to my sketchbook…

I did six little grid sketches of an intertidal pool. One with a cross-section through the whole thing to see how its lies on the beach. Next, a couple of other views from above and to the side. Then I added a little tangerine sea star.

Sea Star

And if you don’t want to sea star is, it used to be called a starfish, but these days apparently, they are now called sea stars. Which is the correct way to refer to this little 5-pointed (or more) friendly little animal. I continued in my grid art sketchbook doing some more pages, but I kept coming back to this sea star page. Then occurred to me that I could perhaps write a story and make a little children’s book about this little sea star.

The Story

Research

I did a little research and discovered that with children’s books, you have to be in the right age category. For my idea of creating a picture book with perhaps one sentence on each page, I would be in the kid’s age group of three- to seven-year-olds. Now in this clutch, mom is reading to them, and she shows her little darlings the words by pointing with her finger, so it has to be pretty simple. It needs a simple vocabulary, but with a delightful story to it.

Friendship

I probably spent about three to four weeks working on my story. It’s pretty straightforward from an adult perspective, but from a child’s view, it is actually a story about friendship. And to be quite clear, I’ve never done anything like this previously. I’ve never written children’s stories or any fiction whatsoever, but being a hobby artist and creative person, that didn’t stop me. 

So, I worked on my story.

Images

Once I had my story 95% completed, I began the layouts for the artwork that would go in the picture book. Now I knew I was going to self-publish this on Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) with Amazon. They have some specific criteria for sizes of the pages and the number of pages which have to be in the book of that size and so on.

Dimensions

To be honest, this is quite a complicated topic, but the instruction are all laid out there on their website and you’ve just got to plow your way through it all. I decided to work on a book that would be 21.5cm by 21.5cm (8 ½” x 8 ½”) which is actually a square.

Page Count

I was required to have at least 48 pages. This meant that I had to do 48 original art pieces, one for each page in the book. Once I had drawn the individual art pieces for each page, I could then add the words, on top of the image.

Procreate

To draw my digital images, I used Procreate on my iPad. This is a hugely popular art app and you can draw things with your Apple pencil which is where I drafted these initial images.

Color Palette

I worked the pages back and forth for quite a few times. Then I decided I need to stabilize my palette to make sure that I was using the same family of colours and repeating things from page to page to page. This is a simple story set on the beach and an intertidal pool.

I didn’t want all of the view points on the pages to be exactly the same, but many of them would be. So, I laid out a few basic backgrounds for myself, with the sky at the top, the sea in the middle, and the beach at the bottom.

Then choosing from my selection of colours I was able to lay in those three main horizontal features of the sky, sea and beach. Next, I did a few more close-ups where I was going to zoom in on my sea star and the things that were going on within the story. At this point I still did not know what I was doing, but I pressed forward anyway. I continued tinkering with the images for the story and by this stage I was adding the one sentence to each page or each double spread.

As not every single page has words on it for example, on a double spread, the words could either be on the left-hand page or the right-hand page. I worked on the words of my story to make sure that it made sense and flowed forward. And I’ll tell you, this process really took a while. I was probably four to six weeks working on this.

Laying out of the whole story, fiddling with the images and making sure that the words were telling the story took time. I wanted to get my tone right and for the story to be friendly, easily read and understood by the children.

Front and Back Matter

Front Matter

I then turned my attention to work on what they call the front matter. This is all the stuff that goes at the front in the book. There are specific things that you must have on this page.

This Book Belongs To

I did an optional “This book belongs to…” page because children love to write their names in their books. In time, when they become beloved books, the readers continuously return to them even later in life.

Title

It has to be the name of the book that matches the listing on Amazon.

Copyright

You can add a copyright statement if you choose. For my book it says, “© 2024 Alison Hazel all rights reserved.”

ISBN Number

An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is the number of the book, and here you can let Amazon give you a number or you can get your own. My ISBN is 978-1-7389045-1-8. Note: Research this yourself as there are some strings attached to a KDP ISBN number. I got my own ISBN number for this book from Libraries and Archives Canada, but you will no doubt have an institution in your own country that handles ISBN numbers. For example, in the USA it is Bowker for your ISBN numbers.

Back Matter

Blank Pages

At the back of the book there are a couple of pages because there is typically a double blank page at the end of a KDP book anyway. You need to make sure that your book ends correctly.

Characters

Once the story had completed, I added another fun page which listed all the characters who appeared in my book. This page says, “Meet Your Rock Pool Friends.”

My main characters are:

  • Sandy the sea star.
  • Crabella the crab.
  • Fin the Fish.

 

Here I did a little sketch for each of the characters and wrote their names next to them so the children could learn their names in a different context. It’s a way for the kids to be reminded of who are the creatures in the story. Then the moms can ask things like, “Can you find the crab, can you find the fish?” and it’s another way for the little readers to interact with the book.

More Books in the Series Page: Still Blank

I had planned to finish off with an author’s page listing myself and any other books that were in the series. It suddenly occurred to me that I could do a series of children’s books and maybe have three or five other books related to Sandy, the sea star. Still waiting… The blank page is ready and waiting for additional books to be listed if I ever do any.

Cover

Layout

The cover must be one large image as a PDF that covers the lot. The spine is down the middle, and the front cover part on the right and the back cover section is on the left. There are specifics that are required for your cover. On the front cover, I had the title and a nice friendly image of the star of the story, Sandy the sea star.

Author

The author’s name on the front is optional with KDP, so it’s up to you if you display it or not. I chose to have my name, Alison Hazel.

Back Cover

On the back cover (left side) you must leave a white space for the bar code that Amazon will put on by itself automatically. I wrote a little blurb about what’s in the book, this is a little preamble if you will, a little taste about what’s going on in this book. Next, I had a paragraph about who the book is for which is really for the person who buys the book, i.e. parents, friends, aunts and uncles or bookstore owners. This information is crucial for someone who wants to know if the book will be suitable for little Alex who is turning five next week.

Uploading

Two PDF Files

When you upload your book, you need two files.

  • One file is the body (manuscript), which is all your pages as one PDF.
  • The second file is the full cover as a PDF.

Body Upload

So first I uploaded the body of the book. It took a couple of goes because Amazon is very strict about bleed on the edges. Bleed is making sure that the colour goes right to, and beyond, the edge of the page, and here I had to make some adjustments as well. Additionally, I made a few modifications to the actual placement of the words on the page because the cut was very tight. But these are things you learn as you go along.

Cover Upload

The cover upload was something different too. It is difficult to know how thick the book is going to be, and therefore how wide the spine will be and therefore, how to place to the words on the front cover center justified. Now this took quite a bit of fiddling, particularly to align the title of the book on the front cover in the middle.

It took, I don’t want to say how many goes I had, to get this right, but it really depends on how many pages you have, how thick the book is, and therefore how wide the spine is, and consequently how to align the words on the front page as well. So, it was not as tricky on the back (left side) because I have things left justified there and it’s easier to move that text block around.

Timing Approval

This will take time. Every time you upload a manuscript, Amazon chunters through it all and it’s like you’re putting things in a meat grinder. You can go away, make a cup of tea, come back and it’s still working at it. Now obviously they’re overwhelmed with lots of people trying to upload their books at the same time, but really it takes time to get it uploaded. Once I had finally got my body pages file uploaded and I had the cover accepted by the gatekeepers, that was a big step forward. 

The next thing was to put all the other information like the pricing, what have you and where you want to sell it on Amazon. You have to click all the buttons and make sure you’re the original author and it’s non copyrighted and all of those little pesky details that Amazon needs to know. So that also takes a little while to get sorted out.

Blurb

At this point you’re also adding your blurb which will show up when people search for children’s books on Amazon. This is a paragraph or two as selling copy.

Publish

When you’ve entered all that information, you can then click through and say, publish. Now, the very first time your masterpiece goes through to publish, it takes at least 48 hours for any approval or comments to come back from Amazon. And I understand that when you are uploading for the first time, as a new author, or when you are uploading a new title such as this was the first time, they actually have a human look at it.

Amazon doesn’t want me to say I’m doing a children’s book about sea stars and inside there’s something about how to make a bomb or something nasty like that.

I believe, they do get a human to go over, or flip through, what you’ve written, what the story is about, what images you have within your book and the actual content of it, which then gets clicked for approval. Finally, you will get an e-mail saying yes, your book was published and it’s all good. Or yes, we checked your book, and you’ve got errors here and there because your pages aren’t right. Or you need to fix the colours going over the edge or something. Or you didn’t choose the right paper, or they can’t do this in glossy or something like that.

Adjustments

Every time from here on in, when you make an adjustment and reupload the book for approval, it takes at least 48 hours to hear back from them. Now the first time it got approved, I flicked through it online and made sure everything was lining up, that I had my words the right way up and the pictures went back to front and everything like that.

I wanted to make sure that my double page spreads were spreading at the right point and not going over the edge to the next page. This all took time. On it went, I uploaded and edited, uploaded and edited and on and on the saga went. 

When I thought I’d finally got it right, I was fine. I was flicking through then lo and behold, there was a typo. I had made a spelling mistake, which I hadn’t picked up. So once more I had to get the spelling correct. On the page I’d written sea start, not sea star. I mean, it’s an easy enough error to make and of course my spell checker wouldn’t pick it up because start is a word, even though it was supposed to be star. Then I did a second double check on my spelling, punctuation and the grammar and I went through it with a fine-tooth comb at this point because I couldn’t have it uploaded publicly with a spelling mistake.

I mean, really?

Author Copy

Finally, it was uploaded to my approval and once it is live you can order an author copy. Now the benefit of ordering author copies straightaway that you don’t get charged any profit. It goes on at the at the basic rate, so you get it as cheap as possible at all you’re paying for is the cost for Amazon to manufacture it and the shipping. It gets delivered to you, if you’re lucky, within 10 days.

Customer Copy

But I’ll tell you a trick. If you do order an author copy, there’s a big flag printed across the front of the book that says author copy right across the book, so you can’t really see. Although it’s cheaper and it’s for you to check for your spelling and what not, I find that I don’t like doing it that way. I actually prefer to order a full-blown copy the exact same as a customer would order and see what arrives from Amazon. I ordered my customer copy, sat back and waited. And kudos to Amazon, I would say I had it within three days because you know once they get going, they can get the stuff out to you.

Book In Hand

Delivered

The book arrived.

Faded

Once I got it, I realized that my colours were slightly too faded. I really needed to step up my colour palette, the sky, the sea and the sand were rather muted. That was the one thing.

Paper

The second thing was that the paper that Amazon prints on is rather thin and there’s not much you can do about that because that’s the paper they are using. So, I thought, I’d have to live with it, what can I do? I made the book as a softcover, a paperback, and that was fine.

The cover was fine, it was smooth and glossy and everything, but again the colours were quite muted. Now, if I wanted to step up these muted shades to a more vibrant colour palette, I would have to go through every single art piece for every page for all the 48 pages and adjust the colours. I asked myself, “Do I want to do this?” I hummed and hawed and I thought, well, yes, I need to fix it because it wasn’t working.

I had to go back to the drawing board and adjust all the colours for all 48 images in Procreate. Then once more I uploaded each page image into my master PDF document. This took time. When I was ready with the final colours, I once more reuploaded the manuscript, a new cover then I ordered another customer copy. The book duly arrived, and I was quite delighted with it.

Final Thoughts

First Copy

When I got the second book in hand, I was able to show it to my daughters because they knew I was working on something, but they hadn’t seen it. They were amazed that their old mom had done this and honestly, so was I. Fun at the Rockpool with Sandy Sea Star is never going to be a best seller, it’s not that sort of book. What it did do was offer another creative outlet for me as a hobby artist. It’s an extra way for me to put my art and my ideas out into the world.

Series

Will I make a little series of these books? Well, to start with I thought that was exactly what I would do, but as time has gone on, clearly, I’m not going to create another one soon. Honestly, I don’t see my future in children’s books.

Genesis

Takeaway

But what I want you to take away from this long story of my process is that it all began in my sketchbook. As you perhaps know, I have multiple sketchbooks which I use for different things, but this is the first time any image from one of my sketchbooks has developed into something else. It grew into a children’s coloured picture book.

Original Sketches

If I had of spoken to you about this before this ever began, I would have suggested that I might have done a sketch and then made it as the basis for a painting. So, here’s the sketch in the sketchbook. I think, “Yes, that’s my concept art. Let me now move on and do the actual painting.” That’s what I thought would have happened. But what did occur was that I took my six grid art journal page and used it almost as a storyboard. I was able to flesh out the grid into a story for my children’s book.

The Path

I think it just goes to show that, even as a hobby artist, you never know where your art is going to go. You never know where the journey is going once you start putting pen to paper and you’re sketching, painting, creating or collaging to create something beautiful. I mean, do you have to kiss 1000 frogs to find your prince?

Daily Art Practice

The point is that with daily art practice and working in your sketchbooks, as I encourage you to, something beautiful could grow from one of your images as well. I don’t know what it will be, and I had no idea I was going to do a children’s book. It was not on my horizon at all when I started, but it developed, it seemed the logical thing to do and once I started, I just pushed on.

Images

I’ve showed you several images from this book.

Just a reminder, this book is called Fun at the Rockpool with Sandy Sea Star by Alison Hazel. It is available on Amazon, and you can see the type of work I have done as my very first children’s picture book. Who knows what the future will bring?

Overarch

Sketchbooks

I encourage you to use sketchbooks, do your art as often as you can and lean into your creative life. I believe all humans are creative and it’s good for the soul. I’d be interested to know if any of your sketches from your sketchbooks have leaped off the page to become something unique in their own right. I would love to hear from you.

aspiring-artist-diagram

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Alison Hazel

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Read more about Alison’s story.

Get her newsletter.

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