Not only does Judy Kaufmann draw awesome illustrations of famous people like Frida Kahlo and make interesting maps, but she’s originally from Santiago, Chile, and currently lives in Barcelona, Spain. Her travels include four months by herself through India and Nepal, and two months traveling South America by bus. I love the work she shares with us in today’s Boarding Pass, as it seems to magically capture the spirit of the traveling artist on those adventures. Thanks, Judy!

{Judy in India | Judy’s watercolors: India}

last trip taken: Bretagne, France

next trip on deck: Montpellier, France

one place you would go back to again and again:
Leh (Ladakh), India.

{Baranasi (left) | Lei (right}

place you’d most likely recommend a friend go visit:
San Pedro de Atacama Desert, Chile.

{SanPedro, Valparaiso, Chile}

preferred method of transportation:
Roof of buses.

{Lisboa}

place you’ve never been but dying to go:
Colombia, Venezuela and Finland to go after the Aurora borealis.

{drawings | South America}

place you’d never go back:
Fortunately, none.

{Judy in India}

most memorable trip in 2 sentences or less:
By far, the North of India; The Himalayas, the Tibetans, the history, the food, the three-days trip that takes you up there, the road… a unique place.

{Judy in Spain}

how do you prepare for a trip?
For me the less you prepare, the better it will be, but for long trips, I always have a Lonely Planet on hand.

{sketches | New York}

how do you record your travels when you’re traveling?
With sketchbooks, pencils, watercolors and a camera.

{French people}

what is your favorite thing to photograph in a new place?
The differences of the places that I already know. Things I’ve never seen before. And skies, lots of skies.

{Tarragona, Spain}

on an average, how many pictures to you take on a trip?
Fully proportional to the duration of the trip. In a weekend trip 20, in one that lasts for months, maybe 600.

{Judy’s watercolors | India}

what’s in your “designer travel kit” ?
There is always a Winsor & Newton watercolor sketchbook and from the same brand, the Sketchers Pocket Watercolour Box, a digital camera and sometimes (depends where) my Diana Lomo Camera, and of course the most important thing for inspiration: good music.

{Berlin}

what do you do after a trip? how long after a trip does this happen?
I upload the images to my flickr when I come back and publish my drawings on my website.

{trucks | Chile}

favorite souvenir/thing to bring back?
Small objects, particularly if they are to start a nice collection.

{Wood toy: Peru | Soldiers from Benares}

{birds | Benares}

links:

• portfolio website: kaufmannillustration.com
• blog: printandprints.blogspot.com
• online shop: judykaufmann.etsy.com
• flickr: flickr.com/photos/judykaufmann
• twitter: @jukaufmann
• sneak peek on D*S

Boarding Pass is a weekly column exploring the creative ways people travel. See the full list of participants on the column to the right.