When I prepare my travel art bag, I’m always struggling with the desire to bring every art supply from my studio. By trial and error I’ve figured out what my bare necessities are. The picture above shows my two favorite traveling watercolor kits. The white one is made by Sakura Color Products Corporation and it’s called a “Koi Watercolors Pocket Field Sketch Box”. It has a removable mixing tray, 24 colors, a nice space for brushes or pens and it even has a pop-out thumb hole on the bottom making it very easy to hold. My second traveling watercolor set is by Lukas and originally came with tubes of watercolor paint. Those tubes of paint have been used and now I use the plastic tray to squeeze my own favorite colors into. Underneath the tray there is room for more brushes or a few paper towels or a small tube of paint. I have a small blue handle brush on the side of the plastic tray, as you can see in the photo. The lid makes a great spot for mixing colors.
My favorite sketchbooks have heavier watercolor paper inside but sometimes I just use regular light weight sketchbooks to paint or sketch. It’s nice if the sketchbook has a heavy cover and a rubber-band to hold it closed. It will be less likely to fall apart from wear and tear if it’s bound. I usually throw a pencil and pen into my bag for sketching and a Sakura Aqua-brush. I also use Pentel Arts brand Aquash water brushes. The water brushes have a refillable water chamber which makes it possible for me to pull out the brush and immediately start painting.
Making art every day is important for me and bringing supplies along makes it possible. Travel doesn’t mean I have to give up painting – I can just bring the studio with me. Painting while traveling is a great way to remember the event and it always makes me smile.
