As always, I wish I could capture a place with style, charm, and (most importantly) a vague likeness with something other than a camera. I can't draw. I can't sketch (is sketching drawing?). And I sure as heck can't paint. But thank goodness there are folks out there who can. What a wonderful way to travel and remember the world. Watercolors like this are my favorite. So lovely.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - rufusdos - photo - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: London, England ★
Photo courtesy of rufusdos

Looks like an interesting piece. Definitely an interesting photo.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - aurélien - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: London, England ★
Photo courtesy of aurélien

Back on our ongoing look at good graffiti, I caught an episode of Euromaxx this morning and really enjoyed the little snippet they did on London artist Ben Eine. For his first visit to the White House, British PM David Cameron chose a Ben Eine piece to present President Obama as a gift. Apparently the two share a love of contemporary art, and Cameron wanted his gift to reflect this.

Ben Eine is a relatively little-known London street artist (though perhaps no more, after David Cameron's famous gift-giving), who's made a name for himself, locally, by brightening the underpasses, bridges, and train carriages of his native south London with big, bold, and above all colorful typographic statements. His best known work, at the moment, are the lively letters of the alphabet that he's applied over (formerly) dreary metal shop shutters.

Take a peek at more of Eine's alphabet art here.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Leo Reynolds - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: London, England ★
Photo courtesy of Leo Reynolds

Have you been to London? I haven't. Not yet, anyway. Therefore it's still very much an imagined place for me. With no firsthand knowledge of what it's actually like, I'm constantly forming a dreamy version of the reality I might find, based on photos, and movies, and delicious watercolor sketches like these. Ignorance is bliss, in this case. It's actually half the fun; that impressionable state we find ourselves in when conjuring up a foreign destination before we've even been there. And more so than pictures, I like to dream of (personally) uncharted places through the eyes of artists whose medium is pen or pencil, paint and paper. Without a doubt, the dreamiest!

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the artist - Alvaro Carnicero - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: London, England ★
Sketch courtesy of Alvaro Carnicero