Singaporean artist quit his job, then went off to sketch the world

When James Tan turned 40, he quit his job, enlisted his wife and went off to sketch the world.

The couple bought a one-way ticket to Taiwan and went on a three-month adventure around the world in 2013. Tan compiled his sketches from the trip -- which included stops in Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Montenegro, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Thailand and several other destinations -- into a 282-page book, which he called The World is so Big.

"I have been sketching my travels since I was in my 20s -- although it wasn't as serious or intense then," Tan told Mashable. "After I joined the Urban Sketching group, I realized that there are a lot of like-minded people who love to sketch in their travels. After seeing them, I started to be more motivated with my travel sketching."

Tan has continued traveling and sketching since the publication of his book. Last year, Tan documented his trips to London and Iceland on his blog. He is currently sketching in Tokyo and will soon be traveling to Barcelona.

The world is so big