TRAVEL SKETCHING ESSENTIALS, my favorite supplies for globe-trotting

Thanks to everyone at Daniel Smith's Seattle store for the opportunity yesterday to share my best supplies and tips for travel sketching! In travel sketching, the name of the game is LIGHT and SMALL! It has to be BOTH to work.

I've bought and tried pretty much everything...here is the list of supplies I use, developed over years of trial and error. I now only take carry-on luggage (small suitcase and a backpack), no matter where I am going or for how long.

Thanks also to Joe Bosch, store manager extraordinaire, for all his hard work and everyone at Daniel Smith's mother ship here in Seattle. Thanks also to the 50 (!!) people or so who turned up, it was great to meet you all.

General Sketching Supplies

-- Sketchbook: Pentalic Aqua Journal (my favorite sketchbook because it has true 140lb. CP watercolor paper), Handbook (8" x 8"), 

         Fluid watercolor blocks (I use 8" x 16").

-- Mechanical pencil: .5mm size lead, with extra B or 2B lead

-- Eraser: Kneaded eraser & white plastic eraser

-- Pen: Felt Tip -- Faber Castell, PITT artist pen

            Fountain Pen -- Lamy Safari with Platinum Carbon permanent ink, or Sailor Bent nib pen

-- Straight Edge: 6” clear plastic architect’s triangle (30/60 degrees is easiest to use) or small plastic ruler

-- Binder Clips: 3-4 binder clips to hold down your paper

-- Bag: Backpack or bag for carrying your supplies when sketching outdoors, that can be secured

-- Small portable stool: “Tribe Provisions Compact Field 3-leg Stool, Coleman Event Stool, or Walkstool (different heights.)

-- Portable travel painting easel: I use the “En Plein Air Pro” surface that is carefully cut down to fit in my

       backpack, mounted onto a small AND light tripod I purchased on Amazon, the “Sony VCT-R100 Lightweight Compact Tripod”

-- Bags: small plastic zip bags for holding your supplies, one for wet and one for dry supplies

-- Also: sun screen, hat, bug repellant, snacks, water

  

Watercolor Supplies

-- Palette: “Winsor & Newton Sketcher’s Pocket Box”, (Refill with higher grade artists paints, just use the box.)

                   “Heritage Artist Palette”, 18 color wells, (doesn’t leak)

                    Lukas metal half pan box, take out the holders and replace with your own half pans, taped into place

-- Paints: Watercolor paints, half pans (pre-made cubes of paint) or tubes (squirt fresh paint onto palette)

              Brands: Winsor & Newton Artists/Professional (not Cotman, poor student grade paints) or Daniel Smith (DS)

              Colors:  Blues: Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Manganese Blue or Cerulean Blue

                            Reds: Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna

                            Yellows: New Gamboge, Yellow Ochre, Winsor & Newton Raw Umber

                            Also: Pyrrole Orange, Sap Green, Daniel Smith Quinacridone Burnt Orange

                            Recommended: Aureolin (yellow), DS Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet, DS Quinacridone Gold

-- Brushes:

             1) Round: Escoda Reserva Sable travel brush, size 10; Escoda Perla Synthetic travel brush, size 12;

                Richeson travel brush set; Winsor & Newton University Series 223; Cotman synthetic brushes

2) Angled or flat brush, sizes ¾” or 1” in synthetic or sable mix

Other Supplies

1)    Paper towels, a few sheets

2)    Small scraps of watercolor paper for testing colors

3)    Water holder while painting, such as the “Faber-Castell Clic & Go” collapsible water pot, around $5.

4)    You can also make the small holder I use, cut from corrugated plastic. It uses medicine bottles for water and clips to hold the

           Pocket Box palette and scrap paper in place. It works great!  Do-it-yourself template is on the following page.

5)    Water bottle with water

Other Resources

Online Classes:        “Perspective for Sketchers”

50% Discount on Craftsy:  http://craftsy.me/2kYa9QY

“The Essentials of Sketching Architecture”

50% Discount on Craftsy: http://craftsy.me/21I3WG4

Book:

The Urban Sketching Handbook, Understanding Perspective