Travels with my Art

Paintings and Photographs inspired by Travels Around the World

About

Meet Ali Dunnell the artist behind Travels with my Art

I am an artist, photographer and teacher who travels the world recording images of people and life in sketchbooks, canvases and online. Never without my camera or a sketchbook and pen, I use my day-to-day experiences and travel journals as inspiration for my artwork.

Originally from England,  I have travelled extensively around the world and have had some amazing adventures visiting and living in a diverse range of countries and cultures.

Twenty years ago, after completing my art history degree at university, I set off on a gap year travelling independently around the world. My gap year evolved into a gap decade, and I spent the rest of my twenties exploring Asia, North Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Oceania as solo female traveller. To help fund my travels, I trained as a teacher, and taught overseas in Portugal, Poland, Syria, Egypt and Hong Kong as well as in England, in London, Cambridge and Nottingham.

In my early thirties I returned to England and retrained as a journalist, working on newspapers and local radio stations in Yorkshire, where I also met my husband and we had our three children. But soon the travel bug bit again, and we decided to work abroad, to give our children a taste of international life and an experience of different cultures. So, for the last seven years we have been living as an expat family, first in Sweden, then in East Africa; in Tanzania and Kenya, and now back in Stockholm.

Sketching and painting have always stayed close to my heart and I have built up a large number of sketchbooks, paintings, photo albums, USB sticks and memory cards – sometimes exhibiting and selling my work too.

I found a great way to share these images, initially with friends and family, but later with followers from all over the world, was via a blog – which was how Travels with My Art began. Travels with my Art is ultimately a gallery of my paintings, sketchbooks and photographs, but is also a mish-mash of my musings on travel, expat life, art, teaching and motherhood.

I hope my blog will give you a little spark of wanderlust.

Ali Dunnell

  • Ali sketching in St Petersberg, Russia
  • Ali in the Atacama desert
  • Ali at Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey
  • Ali and the Great Sphinx of Giza in Cairo, Egypt
  • Ali doing a little meditation after the four-day-hike to Machu Picchu in Peru
  • Frida, Ali, Lottie, Mark and Leon on the edge of the Ngorogoro Crater, Tanzania
  • Self Portrait in La Boca, Buenos Aires.
  • Ali at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India
  • Shop-window selfie, with Mark and Russian dolls, in Moscow
  • Ali on the grave of Oscar Wilde in Paris, France
  • Ali's feet on the Elvis Presley star on Walk of Fame Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles
  • Leon, Lottie, Ali, Primo, Maya and Frida on the back door step of our house in Mwanza, Tanzania.
  • Ali on Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Wing-mirror selfie in a safari car in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
  • Ali sat on the steps of Angkor Wat in Cambodia
  • Ali in the Staré Město in Prague, Czech Republic
  • Piki piki wing-mirror selfie in Kigali, Rwanda
  • Ali on the Rialto Bridge over looking the Grand Canal in Venice
  • Mark, Ali, Lottie, Leon and Frida on the Dancing Rocks in Mwanza, Tanzania
  • Ali on Brooklyn Bridge in New York, USA
  • Ali on one of her first adventures, interrailing around Europe, coincidentally reading Graham Greene's 'Travels with my Aunt'
  • Ali on the steps of the Mayan ruins at Uxmal in Yucatan, Mexico
  • Ali on Mount Qasioun overlooking Damascus, Syria
  • Ali in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
  • Ali and Saint Basil's Cathedral in Red Square, Moscow
  • Staying on a roof top in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  • Ali and Natalie, ready to interrail around Europe
  • My reflection in Colin Rose's "Rain" sculpture in Sheffield's Millennium Square, England
  • Ali in front of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece
  • Ali, Lottie, Leon and Frida on the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya
  • Ali over looking the Mississippi River in Memphis, USA
  • The Dunnells on the London Eye
  • Paddling in the Pacific Ocean in the Cook Islands
  • Ali having a afternoon tea at Sanderson Hotel in London
  • Ali outside the Capitol Building in Washington DC, USA
  • Ali sat at the top of the Aztec Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan in Mexico
  • Ali and Carol next to the Anne Frank statue in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
  • Ali outside Villa Rosa the famous flamenco bar in Madrid, Spain

50 Comments

  1. Donna Gwinnell Lambo-Weidner December 28, 2016

    Hi Ali! Thank you for stopping by my blog and signing up to tag along on my future adventures. Looks like you’ve had some awe-inspiring ones of your own. All the best to you! 🙂

  2. rlishman84 January 11, 2017

    I love your site (just found it on WordPress Discover section) and am looking forward to following your future adventures!

  3. Ali Grimshaw January 13, 2017

    I have enjoyed looking around your blog and look forward to following you.

  4. parwatisingari January 13, 2017

    Just dropped by to say, your site is amazing, it is going to take me a while to assimilate. at the moment I mulling over the religion being the only millionaire in India. Your photographs are amazing too.

    • alidunnell January 13, 2017

      Thank you so much. I love working on it and doing all my art work and painting too. I hope you enjoy having a look round it. Ali

  5. thewonderer86 January 15, 2017

    Gorgeous photos and paintings. I love your blog.

  6. Daal January 18, 2017

    am much enjoying! so glad I found your site 🙂

  7. thegoldgrenade April 17, 2017

    Hey Ma’am
    I am new in the wordpress family. I am still a confused soul about my life and my blog. It blog looks amazing, glad i found you on instagram.

  8. Missy Traveler July 13, 2017

    Hey Ali, I love the concept of travelling and telling a story through art. I loved your sketches and artwork. I tried checking for your email id on this website but couldn’t find it. Can you please provide me your email id. I wish to dedicate a blog post for you

  9. Nancy September 25, 2017

    What an incredible life story and I love your art! I look forward to reading your posts

  10. SheryL♥ October 3, 2017

    Hi! Thanks a lot for joining Thoughts of SheryL!
    Great blog! 🙂

  11. Suzanne [globalhousesitterX2] October 4, 2017

    Interesting life you have experienced so far, no doubt the best is yet to come! Look forward to reading your posts.

  12. HelsinkiBudapest October 23, 2017

    Love your blog! If you visit mine you’ll know exactly why. Except for the kids and the nationality, I already found so many similarities. Ok, that sounds creepy. I’m actually more psychotic than creepy, so no worries. 🤣
    Jokes aside, really love your art work.

  13. Expatsteveblog October 24, 2017

    Hi Ali, thanks for the follow, I’m looking forward to exploring your pages!

  14. cindamackinnon October 24, 2017

    Thanks for the follow and letting me discover your blog. If you would ever like to share a short post about your experiences as an expat I would love to feature some of your fabulous art and photos. Here’s an example: https://cindamackinnon.wordpress.com/2017/02/04/uprooted-and-relocated-expat-file16/
    (You can contact me at About/Contact on left sidebar)

  15. Monetmom October 30, 2017

    Hi, I noticed you liked my blog and would like to ask you a couple of questions about blogging.
    If you have a moment please contact me.

  16. customshouse November 13, 2017

    Thanks for liking AND following my blog.You have some veryi nteresting themes going.

  17. Joyce November 29, 2017

    Hi
    My name is Joyce, I am a marketing executive at expatfinder.com which is a leading expat information and services website.
    I saw on your blog that you are and expat. I wish to interview you to further share some of your tips. The questions are mainly about the housing, the daily life etc.
    It just takes 5 minutes (or more depending if you have lots to say 🙂
    Of course, if you accept we can add a link to your blog or some of your website.
    If you are interested to participate at this project, please send me an email at interview@expatfinder.com.

  18. Robert Matthew Goldstein December 7, 2017

    It’s nice to meet you. You’ve made some splendid works of art.

  19. Oh, the Places We See January 3, 2018

    You art is so fresh and interesting! It’s easy to see that you work at your craft, and you have talent. Thanks for following Oh, the Places We See. We, too, love looking at the world and its people in various settings and ways. Best wishes to you for finding even more inspiration this coming year.

    • Ali Dunnell January 3, 2018

      Thank you so much for your kind words. Ali 🙂

      • Lisa Williams January 19, 2018

        Ali, please contact me urgently about image permission you did for IWD 2014 in the Cook islands, a mothers day pic of church. would love to hear from you. love your work.

        • Ali Dunnell January 19, 2018

          Hi Lisa. Thanks for the positive feedback. Can I ask what you would be using the Mother’s Day in the Cook Islands picture for. If you credit the picture to Ali Dunnell – Travels with my Art and put a link to my blog I am sure it will be fine for you to use it. Ali

  20. MARY MAE SUSON April 26, 2018

    You are amazing ali. I like what you post. Follower here!

    • alidunnell April 26, 2018 — Post Author

      Thanks so much Mary – Happy to have you following 🙂

  21. Natalia G July 29, 2018

    Hi Ali! I nominated you for the Mystery Blogger Award. It is a pleasure to read your blog posts. You can find out about your nomination here: https://travelhummingbirds.wordpress.com/2018/07/28/mystery-blogger-award/

  22. Mark May 10, 2020

    Hi Ali,

    Great website! Can I feature your blog in my online gallery? http://www.mjrgallery.com

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