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Views from Villa Lante by Vignola in Bagnaia, Italy.

I created a narrative as I was walking through the gardens; treating the procession as some kind of epic journey/quest for the holy grail.

1. “Sculpture points the way forward to ascent. What lies ahead?
2. "A path diverted. A choice… Which is the true path? The mystical plantings raise more questions…”
3. “Greeted by a water choir-a shady respite on our journey.”
4. “Stopping for a snack with giants. Water fountains tower ahead making us seem even smaller.”
5. “Natural elements become a staircase. Walls made of shrubbery, a refreshing handrail. The Holy Grail is within our grasp.”
6. “The true reward-not the grail, but the eternal source." 

Sketches of views from The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte by Louis Le Vau and André Le Nôtre in Maincy, France, southeast of Paris.

The Van Nelle Factory (Van Nellefabriek) by architects Johannes Brinkman and Leendert van der Vlugt in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Page of Alvaro Siza sketches from Portugal. Aveiro University Library, and the Boa Nova Tea House, with a sketch of the Portugal seaside.

Notes and sketches of MVRDV’s Porter’s Lodges in Otterlo, The Netherlands. (I know these look like poorly drawn houses, but they’re actually well-observed! They really look that way 🙂

Quick sketch of the Château de Fontainebleau. Didn’t have much time for this one because I was instructing others. Still happy with the result though!

Cathedral and church facades from across Spain and France (and London!). Here we have the Cathedral of Avila, Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia (Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, Barcelona), Notre Dame, Laon Cathedral, Basilica of St Denis (Paris), Reims Cathedral, Abbey of Saint-Remi (Reims), and Westminster Abbey (London).

Another little tutorial page. This time, for 2 point perspective tricks. Basically, the idea is to draw lightly, and try to avoid the “diamond drawing”.

Last year, I taught sketching on the Knowlton School of Architecture’s European study abroad tour. This is a little how-to for 1 point perspective that I doodled up to help teach people the tricks of converting 3D objects to the 2D plane of the paper. A lot of people were having trouble with the technique; most often their drawings looked too “floaty”. This came in handy when I was explaining things.

A dramatic interior space of Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany. The floor was littered with thousands of cast-iron faces. In order to cross the room, you had to walk on the faces. With every step, they clang and bang together as if crying out.

Sketches and notes from Schloss Belvedere in Vienna, Austria. It was so hot outside, so I tried to stay as long as possible in the air conditioned foyer, which was held up by these atlas columns.

I was supposed to be sketching the interior of the Berlin Philharmonic by Hans Scharoun, but I was having a hard time at it, so I started drawing the orchestra. I’ve had a long time obsession with cellos…