I’ve been bringing along art supplies when I travel for the past few years. When I went to China in 2017, I had a vision of standing on the Great Wall and capturing the experience in a sketchbook. I was nervous about it, but I did it! The sketch was rubbish, but I learned that it wasn’t about the results. It was about the process, about being fully present, and taking time to observe. (You can read the post about that HERE.)
Since then, I have always brought art supplies with me when I travel. Both times I visited Europe, I made a point to set aside time to sketch and paint. Again, I didn’t end up with anything I was particularly proud of, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
I’ve always just brought along supplies for sketching and watercolors, though, because they are easy to pack and travel with. I’ve only brought my oil paints when driving to a destination, so space and weight aren’t an issue. But the last time I was in Florence, I spoke with a woman sitting on a curb with a pochade box in her lap. That is what I wanted to do! I felt so envious of her in that moment.
Even so, as I thought about what I wanted to bring on this trip, I was fairly certain I would leave the oil paints at home. It seemed like more than I wanted to deal with. I was talking to Julia one day about our plans for the Cotswolds, and she asked if I was bringing my oil paints. I gave her my list of reasons for not going through the hassle, and she adamantly encouraged me to bring them. She could get solvents, paper towels, and anything else I needed to make it work. She knew I would want to paint plein air, and I would regret not having the supplies to do it.
I had a short trip to Minnesota pop up, and I used that as a practice run for packing my oil paints in a suitcase. It took some thought and planning, but it wasn’t as much trouble as I expected. Erin Spencer, one of my artist friends on Instagram, shared some of her tips for traveling light with oil paints, and I followed her lead. I was able to consolidate my collection of oil paint essentials into a compact and lightweight bundle, and it worked great.
I’ve been asked to share my travel painting setup, so as I’ve been working on packing for the trip, I made a video sharing what I’m bringing…
The travel pochade box is an antique I purchased from Julia a couple of years ago. It’s smaller and more lightweight than the usual travel easel/palette I use, so I decided to use it. When packed, it weighs less than 2 pounds, and it serves as a small table/lap easel, a holder for brushes, a palette, and can even accommodate two wet panels for transport.
The colors I’m bringing for oil painting are Ultramarine Blue, Veridian, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre Deep, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Lemon, Flake White Replacement, and a solvent-free Galkyd gel, which helps speed up drying time and acts as a medium for thicker paints. I’ve packed latex gloves and wet wipes for easy clean-up on the go.
I’m also bringing along a homemade wet panel carrier for 8×10 panels, and I will share how I made it in a separate post. I have prepped about 10 lightweight cartón boards and am bringing a couple of linen panels, but I figure I can always buy more panels there if I run out. And that’s it for oil painting.
For my writing, sketching, and watercolor supplies, I’m bringing one medium-sized pouch filled with tools. That includes my go-to watercolor palette I’ve been using for years. I filled the pans with colors (from tubes) I use the most and am most familiar with – Cerulean Blue, Olive Green, Ultramarine, Indigo, Cadmium Red, Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, and Cadmium Yellow. They are all Winsor & Newton professional watercolors.
The rest consists of a variety of items, including pens, pencils, watercolor brushes, markers, erasers, tape, and a water cup. They are all linked below…
GraphGear 1000 0.5 pencil | Kaweco brass lead clutch | Kaweco 2.0mm brass pencil | White Gel Stick | Micron pens | Copic Value Markers
What’s not pictured is a fountain pen, which has been added to the pouch. I’m bringing along THIS Kaweco brass fountain pen because it accepts ink cartridges, making it easier to refill. I also removed the scissors because I figured I could get by without them.
Moleskine A5 lined journal | A5 watercolor sketchbook
I feel like it looks like a lot when it’s spread over my studio counter, but it all condenses into one bundle of supplies that will fit in my checked suitcase and one pouch that will fit in my carry-on. One of my top reasons for going to Europe is to gather inspiration and respond to it through writing and art. These tools and materials are a significant part of that and, therefore, worth the space they occupy in my bags.
Of course, I’ll be sharing all about the trip as well as the art I make while I’m there…
4 Responses
Hi Marion, how do you transport your wet oil paintings home, regards Sarina van der Watt!
I am going to share a tutorial on how I made a light, portable wet panel carrier for this trip.
Thank you for sharing so much about your preparations and choices you made on what supplies you packed for the trip. You are so lucky to have traveling companions who are willing to give you the time alone to fulfill your dreams of painting some of the scenes you are enjoying. What valuable experiences you are having! Your traveling studio makes perfect sense, and I loved reading that you packed it in a box you had bought from Ponder and Purchase. Perfect choice, and so “Marian” ! 🙂
I was recently introduced to traveling with watercolor pencils – colored pencils that can be combined with water to look (and sometimes act) like watercolors. A box of watercolor pencils and a few “water brush pens,” reservoirs that look like a capped pen but have a brush instead of a nib and can be filled with water rather than ink. You can draw as with colored pencils, then brush water over all or part of the image to move the colors like watercolor. Or you can draw the pencil over the brush and apply the color to the paper wet. Lots of different effects, all in a small pencil case, and no spilling.