New WC palette

I already have two watercolor kits for the field – one is a Sennelier 14-color travel set and one is a 3-color Daniel Smith primary set I made from a repurposed eye shadow container. I’ve enjoyed using the Sennelier colors, but since they came as a set I wasn’t always happy with the color choices (are we ever?). I always planned to use them up and refill them with colors I use most often. The primary set I use for times when I lighten my load and carry just the basics. Part of me always wanted to have access to some of the colors on my larger palette – some have wonderful properties that I wanted to use in the field or just anywhere.

So I’ve been browsing for some time through art catalogs and online, searching for an empty palette that I could travel with, wouldn’t cost much, and wouldn’t leak (one of my complaints about my other kits). Wow! One can spend a lot of money on EMPTY palette containers. You may remember from an earlier post that I am at heart a frugal artist. Since I recently had a pleasant experience buying Kimberly watercolor pencils on eBay, I felt comfortable taking a chance there. I found this 18-color empty plastic travel palette at a reasonable cost, and with more of a complete description than I found in my catalogs. Shipping costs were minimal, and it arrived in the original box.

I filled them with the Daniel Smith paints that I felt I would use most often, trying for a balance between warm and cool versions of hues. I sketched and painted my layout as an aid for the future: not only does it help to see how the colors look on paper, but when it’s time to refill them I’ll select the right color! Then I also wrote down some of the properties from my Daniel Smith catalog. Knowing certain properties can really help me as I paint, especially the transparency and staining attributes, since sometimes I like to glaze or lift colors. There were some surprises in store; this exercise taught me a bit more about my materials that I’d either forgotten or had never realized.

So far, it’s worked out well! It has a hinged lid with a fold-over latch. The seal is indeed leak-proof, and I appreciate the ample mixing wells. A clear plastic lift-out tray fits into the top lid for mixing colors. The entire closed box measures 5-1/4 wide by 10-5/8 long by 1 inch tall. It’s larger than my other palettes but it works; it’s nearly the same size as my sketchbooks. I made a 2-inch wide elastic large strap with a Velcro closure that I use to bundle my sketchbook, palette, and waterbrush box together, and it works better with that set-up than my other palettes.

If you click on the bottom image you can see them larger on my Flickr photostream.

My portable art kit

Tools are wonderful things, but it’s not necessary to start with more than a few things: pencil, eraser, pencil sharpener, and paper. These may be any type of your choosing; the important thing is to start drawing! I find that an inexpensive .7 mm mechanical pencil is a great tool. They never need sharpening, they provide a fairly wide range of darks (depending on your paper), and they are easy to refill or replace.

Whatever your materials, get acquainted with them. See what they can do, what types of lines they make — what darkest or lightest marks? If you’re brushing up on drawing skills and have an assortment of tools, use those that are most comfortable, at least to start.

A larger kit might include: hard and soft drawing pencils, a sketchbook or bound journal, a permanent artist’s ink pen (such as Pitt or Micron Pigma), a white vinyl eraser and/or kneaded eraser. Portable color media can include a small set of watercolors, colored pencils, or watercolor pencils. You’ll want to have some brushes and a water source.

Here’s an example of my art kit; I tried to make it as portable as possible, and it all fits in an inexpensive tote bag. I make sure to keep my supplies limited so it also fits in my backpack if needed, but generally speaking, the tote bag is more accessible.

Currently I carry:
• Two sketchbooks, one with hot-press watercolor paper and one with an assortment of paper (these are sketchbooks I made myself).
• A pencil box with an assortment of mechanical pencils, artist drawing pencils, charcoal pencils, and pencil sharpener. Erasers: I like the white ones as they don’t leave a colored residue behind. One is a tougher vinyl eraser and one is slightly softer.
• A brush box with four Niji Aquabrushes. These are waterbrushes that have a hollow barrel in the handle that can be filled with water. Great tools for field sketching! I also keep a small ruler, and some Q-tips in there.
• A miscellaneous box. A bit of everything: emery boards for pointing pencils, toothpicks, a cut credit card for scraping, and GUM brand teeth cleaners for lifting.  Derwent Blue-gray watercolor pencil, Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils in Black, White, and Payne’s Gray, and a #11 Xacto knife (blade protected by an eraser). A Signo Uni-ball white gel pen, and a Prismacolor white colored pencil. . A white birthday candle for watercolor resist.

• Pens: Black Micron Pigmas in the .005 and .01 sizes. Faber Castell Pitt artist pens, S, F, M, and B sizes.
• Water soluble pencils. Both Derwent watercolor pencils and Derwent Inktense pencils, each 12 piece sets.
• A travel set of watercolor paints by Sennelier, they are about three years old.
• A magnifying glass, an all-purpose multi-tool, and an assortment of binder clips (good for windy days).
• Extra paper towels, zip-lock bags (different sizes), a travel spray bottle with water, and some empty Rx containers for water and small samples. NOTE: the Rx containers are not totally leak-proof, so keep them empty in your kit. As a precaution I keep anything wet or damp in a zip-lock bag.
• Depending on my needs, I still have room to throw in a digital camera, sunscreen, and/or insect repellent.

Wish list:
• Micron pens in brown and green, .005.
• Cold-press watercolor sketchbook.
• A small tin of primary watercolors, Daniel Smith Hansa Yellow, Prussian or Ultramarine Blue (or both?), and Quinacridone Red. And maybe a Burnt Sienna and Indanthrone Blue. I'm waiting for the right tin to come along.
• Should I add a larger trash bag to sit on or to serve as a rain poncho?  Probably.  I also have my eye on one of those foldable stools.  Maybe I'll need another bag!