If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m always dabbling in new things.  I like to learn, grow, and find new ways to express my creativity.  I’ve been that way for as long as I can remember.  You may also know that I take a lot of art classes and read many art books so I’m learning a variety of techniques and styles from various artists.  I tend to lean towards being tighter and more traditional in my work, both in decorating and art, so I like to expose myself to creators who are totally free spirits.  They slosh around their paints with abandon.  They scribble and play and end up creating something that I find myself attracted to.  It’s not really my style or the kind of artwork I want to make, but it’s a kind of play that can help loosen me up a bit.

So instead of just using traditional art materials of the impressionists (graphite, watercolor, ink, and oils), I am branching out a bit more by using colored pencils, markers, and crayons in my sketchbook.  I’ve spent a lot of time just swatching out colors and trying to find my palette.  I’ve always bristled at non-paint mediums because I can’t mix my own colors.  So, trying to find my colors has been a key starting point.

I’m also learning which mediums I like on which papers.  I keep a few different sketchbooks at a time so I can experiment in that way.  For example, I’ve learned that I like colored pencils on bristol and kraft paper, but I really don’t like them on rougher watercolor paper.

It’s all a learning process and I will admit that it’s equal parts fun and frustration.  But, I have learned that I always struggle with a new creative endeavor and I just have to push past that awkward beginner stage in order to find my stride and start to relax into it.

I’m sharing all of this because the extra gear has posed a bit of a problem when I’m trying to carry my sketching supplies around with me.  My little pencil box doesn’t hold all of the colored pencils and markers along with my established supplies.  I added a zipper pouch, and then a cup of pencils, and then another cup for markers.  I was digging through pouches and balancing cups when I would try to sketch in the living room (as I often do in the evenings.)  And this was just bringing the gear from one room in my house to another.  This wasn’t going to work if I wanted to take it all to sketch outside at a park.

So, knowing that my birthday was right around the corner, I started searching for a bag that could carry and organize it all.  I have bags that can carry it all, but then everything is just a big jumble in the bag.  I wanted this to be neat and efficient.

I ended up finding one that was actually made for knitting supplies.  THIS is the bag I requested as a birthday present.  It’s a beautiful leather briefcase-style bag with lots of slots for pencils and markers…

My parents bought it for me and even had my name stamped on it.

I knew I might have to make a couple of minor modifications since pencils are thicker than most knitting needles and I did.  I cut out some of the stitches in order to make the divided slots a bit wider.  That made it perfect.  I can fit all of my staple sketching supplies – my favorite fountain pens, graphite pencils, a sharpener, a small ruler, an eraser, and white chalk…

| | Waldmann Tango Fountain Pen |

But I can also fit in a palette of markers and colored pencils…

I had to play around with the configuration of everything, but I found a way that worked the best and allows me to easily see everything  I have on hand…

I was able to use a pencil roll I already had for the colored pencils and it’s just the right size to tuck into the bag.  The company who made this pencil roll no longer sells on Etsy, unfortunately, but HERE pencil roll is comparable.

It’s actually nice to have a finite amount of room so that my palette is a bit more limited.  I have learned that things can get pretty crazy for my taste if I try to introduce too many strong colors.

(Pencils are , Caran D’Ache Luminance, Prismacolor, and even Crayola.)

There is also a large pocket where I can fit a kneaded eraser, bull clips, a sharpener, and a small watercolor field box palette.

It really is everything I need to head out for a day of sketching.  I have a different bag for when I’m oil painting outside and I can simply put together one pencil box and one sketchbook if I need to travel light.

I’ve been doing a great job filling my sketchbooks this year and spending time on art, but I’m looking forward to getting out more this summer.  We have some nice parks in the area along with Antietam and Gettysburg battlefields, and even a local museum with a pretty impressive collection.  I’m hoping to head over there regularly to study the paintings and sketch.

I really wanted to sketch when I was in the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay in Paris, but I was too intimidated.  I’ll practice in little Hagerstown, Maryland so I’ll be ready the next time I take a trip to a big museum.  I don’t have it on the calendar, yet, but I’d like to go to DC to see the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery sometime this year.

Just when I thought I didn’t need any more bags, I found a good reason to get another one…