There is a long tradition of British artists travelling abroad with a sketchbook in search of fresh subject matter which goes back to at least the eighteenth century. It is natural that most people when they take up drawing or sketching tend to see the world through the eyes of artists they admire. In his book Sketching with Raymond Spurrier, Raymond commented that during his early travels through northern Europe in battledress he saw events as they were depicted by war artists like Edward Ardizzone, and that he once spent a most unproductive holiday in Yugoslavia because it all looked like John Minton drawings and there seemed little point in making second-hand versions.
But travel books, a schoolboy trip to pre-war Paris and the longer journey through northern Europe with 956 Rlwy Svy Coy RE were among the early experiences that fanned his enthusiasm for foreign parts. He reflected that in the days of rapid jet travel we often miss out on the pleasures of exploring slowly by steamship, train and local bus and he felt lucky to have experienced those times with the anticipation of ‘travelling hopefully’.
In a popular series of eight articles, that were first published under that title in 1987 in The Artist magazine and now reproduced here, Raymond charted the progress of his visual awareness during his travels abroad. He travelled extensively in France and visited many other European countries including Spain, Portugal and Italy as well as many Mediterranean islands, especially those in Greece, in search of his subjects and in the last two articles of the series described the vast and unexpected scale of the landscape he encountered when travelling in North America.
In his holiday sketchbooks Raymond often collected items that are typical of a locality so that they contained useful odds and ends like a decorative length of fencing, a piece of agricultural machinery or an item of street furniture. In European countries he found a rich variety of architectural styles which he portrayed in townscapes and a diverse range of scenery for landscape painting. North America had its own set of distinctive features such as fire hydrants and postal boxes on posts. Raymond also enjoyed collecting examples of lettering among his sketches and once remarked that we are surrounded by signs and symbols that sometimes mar but often enliven the environment. He was always fascinated by the juxtaposition of human influences on natural landscapes, an aspect that can be seen in much of his work as an artist.