This small yet sturdy sketchbook-and-journal combination is the ideal travel companion--ready to toss into a backpack at a moment's notice. Through drawing, painting, and writing prompts, it invites curious creatives to journey toward an expansive, more meaningful engagement with the world around them.

Filled with inspiring quotes and blank pages to develop one's own visual journal, this portable canvas is perfect for recording places, observations, and impressions of the world we live in and travel to. In a mix of history, narrative, and art, author James Lancel McElhinney explores the American Southwest, a vast area of breathtaking natural beauty.

Included are brief historical overviews of the region, composition and painting tips, a gallery of the author's field sketches, and sage advice for becoming a sketchbook traveler who enjoys a mindful engagement with nature. Thirty images and texts explore key subjects and five states in the region:
- 16 sites in the Rio Grande Valley in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, including Bachelor Mountain, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Rio Grande Gorge and Bridge, Cochiti Lake and Dam, Sandia Mountains
- 6 sites in Monument Valley in the Navajo Nation (UT/AZ border), including White Rock Canyon, John Ford's Point, Ear of the Wind
- 8 sites in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California, including Quail Springs, Barker's Dam, Hall of Horrors, Hidden Valley, Pinto Peak, Keys View

Readers will be inspired by the Southwest's red-rock canyons, rugged plateaus, and painted deserts that have long captivated artists, writers, and everyday travelers. By deepening readers' knowledge and enriching their personal experiences, this book ensures that every day will be a meaningful artistic adventure.

Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: La Tierra Incognita
Chapter 2: La Tierra Encantada
Chapter 3: Lessons in Print
Chapter 4: Gallery in Print: Journal Pages
Chapter 5: Work Pages
Chapter 6: Into the Field
Resources: Organizations & Institutions
Parks, Open Spaces & Destinations
Readings

Author's work is found in the following public collections:
Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, North Carolina
Avery Fine Art and Architecture Library, Columbia University, New York, New York
Boscobel House and Gardens, Garrison, New York
Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia
City of Philadelphia, Water Department Archives
Danville Museum of Fine Art and History, Danville, Virginia
Denver Art Museum, Institute for Western Art, Denver, Colorado
University of Denver, Library Special Collections, Denver, Colorado
Free Library of Philadelphia, Print and Picture Collection
Greenville Museum of Art, Greenville, North Carolina
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hudson River Museum, Yonkers New York
Huntington Library and Museum, San Marino, California
Medical College of Virginia, Art Collection, Richmond, Virginia
Museum of the Southwest, Midland, Texas.
Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois
New York Public Library, Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photography
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Archives and Special Collections
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore PA
Temple University, Samuel L. Paley Library Special Collections, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
West Point Museum, United States Military Academy
Yale Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, New Haven, Connecticut