Art is a large part of my travels. Whether it’s by visiting museums, sketching on the go, or finishing illustrations inspired by my travel. Art is an integrated part of my life. In an effort to expand my knowledge of the artistic world I’d like to share the artistic journeys of other artists, particularly traveling artists. I will also be featuring art from my travels.

Marie from Miles of Happiness
Photo: JU REDONDO PHOTOGRAPHY
I was fortunate enough to meet Marie when I went to TBEX Thailand. We had the opportunity to chat about our illustrations. Here’s what she has to say about how traveling relates to her art.
From Marie:
The Great Wall. Hong Kong’s vibrant streets. The Eiffel Tower. The pristine beaches of Thailand. TheEmpire State Building. The Mont St Michel. We are thousands of travelers walking on the same paths, seeing the same places, living the same experiences –or so we think. If we’re going same places, we don’t necessarily see the same things. We all have our own way to explore, to live and enjoy these moments.

Drawing is my own way to share my mode of traveling. My view of the world. It is the only way for me to get rid of the futile, and focus on what really matters to me. It stimulates my curiosity, my imagination. I try to watch the planet with the sparkling eyes of a kid –as much as I can.

Art is very personal and subjective. I’ve only started to share my illustrations online a couple of years ago – to be honest, I haven’t shown my notebooks to many people. I’ve got dozens, piling on my desk, all full of watercolors, collages and doodles. They are the most precious travel memories I’ve got.
There is one thing I really love about sketching on the road : curious people. Drawing is a fantastic way to communicate with locals, even though we don’t speak the same language -there is something even stronger than words there sometimes. This is very special.
I’ve always been drawing. But even after six years art school, illustration was still a dream job for me. I figured I would work in advertising –and continue drawing as a passion. It was before I start traveling… and blogging. Then I entered in a whole different world, full of opportunities, with passionate and open-minded people. I needed to get out of my comfort zone to realize if I can dream it, I can actually do it.

Four years later, I’ve combined my two passions with an illustrated travel blog,
Miles of Happiness. I keep meeting wonderful people on the road, and my ambitions keep evolving day after day.
You can find more of Marie’s work at:
Natasha’s Final Thoughts:
Marie’s work is absolutely beautiful, I love her use of line-work and the splatter of color to create movement throughout each of her pieces. I absolutely love the idea that “We all have our own way to explore, to live and enjoy these moments.” Yes we do. What better way to express that then by illustrating it for others to enjoy.
Thank you Marie for sharing your thoughts!
Next week on Artistic Feature Friday I’ll be going over my watercolor techniques for a fun illustration.
Remember to:
Live, Love, and Travel On!