#artistonvacation -- My Travel Supplies
I've been receiving some great questions via Instagram (@ellen_the_lemon) about the travel art supplies I've been using as I explore and paint Chile. In an effort to be helpful, I thought I would put together a post with some info on the items I tend to use the most.
Everything in my Bag:
1.) Watercolor sketchbook (moleskine)
2.) Watercolor Marker (Winsor and Newton)
4.) Waterbrushes (Niji and Sakura)
5.) Ballpoint pen
6.) Pen (Lamy)
7.) #2 mechanical pencils
I use two waterbrushes for most of my travel work; a thin tip from Sakura and a fat, flat from Niji. Since I'm working in such a small format in the sketchbook, these two sizes generally have me covered. If I have a little extra room in my bag, I might pack one of my Hake brushes, but usually not for international trips.
It's no secret - I'm in love with indigo pigments. So much so, that I bought a few watercolor markers in that color for my on-the-go indigo needs. The marker itself is vibrant and heavily saturated and stands alone as an inking tool excellently. Add a little water with the brushes, and it flows into a pool of pigment that I can push around however I see fit.
My Sakura Koi travel palette has been a staple for my last 5-ish international trips. I love the compact size of the kit, pop-up palette, little sponges and vibrancy of the paints. It fits in my bag easily, and unfolds quickly for whenever the mood to paint strikes. Which is fairly often :)
It took me quite a few trips to narrow down what I use and what I don't use, to eventually end up with a small bag that had me covered -- so keep in mind that building a travel art supply kit is exceptionally personal. It's all about what *you* want to grab first, what will allow *you* to make your work ... this is just what works best for me :)
I am always curious about what other people use to make their art on the go, so I put out the question to Instagram and got some very helpful responses. Head over to my instagram to check them out!
What about you? What are your staples in your travel kit?
PS. Travel Tip :: A lot of restaurants have paper menus. If kept clean, they make excellent protective barriers for painting in hotel rooms. The paper mats pictured here came from Bocanariz, a lovely little place in Santiago :)
Sketching from our apartment lounge.
We're in the final days of our studio renovation adventure! The whole place is getting painted, new tile and baseboards - just a general facelift to make better use of the South Florida natural light.
And so, to avoid the incredible amount of dust, noise and all sorts of crazy machines that live in our space now, I've been working out of the 'business lounge' in our building. The first day was spent mostly going back and forth with the building about the wi-fi connection, but after ironing all that out it's been a nice quiet space to get a bit of work done. (But NO eating, as I informed by a smartly dressed member of management.... whoops).
As we near the end of the renovations, I've just about finished everything I can possibly do on a laptop and am positively itching to get back to my paints and canvases.
Seriously, the next time I am strapped for ideas of things to paint, I'll just lock up all my canvases. Not being able to paint has been a huge source of inspiration for when I'm able to work again.
<Ignore that croissant, I certainly wouldn't eat up here.>
Only a few more days until we can get back into the studio and normal life can resume!
#artistonvacation :: Belgium
A few photos from my little birthday Belgian adventure <3
Will be back in the States next weekend -- wishing everyone the loveliest of days!
EH Sherman Art at Art Basel!
It was a night of new friends, great art, tasty food and a few random celebrity sightings; a resounding success!
We headed over to the Projects Gallery first. It was my first time to the little gallery, (aside from dropping off my pieces) and I was very impressed with the owners, the layout and the other work in this particular show.
Meditation in Blue I and II :: 12 x 12 watercolor on canvas are displayed here, and each are for sale at $250 USD (contact the gallery for purchasing).
Having worked on this series for several weeks, it was a wonderful feeling to finally see them up on those gallery walls.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!
<3 <3
After taking a few photos (which will get added here shortly, still editing) we headed off to the rest of the shows on our list.
Colorado Inspiration
I have a running list of the things I love about Colorado; the friendly people, the smell of warm pine needles, bike paths GALORE and barleywine are just are few.
Oh. AND THE COLORS.
I've visited the state throughout most of it's seasons (no, this is not another I <3 Autumn post) and it is consistently one of the most colorful and beautiful places I've been too.
(Ok, ok, it helps that is autumn. But this state is absolutely just as beautiful during the Winter/Spring/Summer too.)
The moment we returned I gathered my hastily-painted sketches from the field and starting working on a few of the palettes that remained ingrained in my mind from our travels.
So I left the bags packed in the corner, popped on my Skyrim soundtrack (my favorite for painting with the outdoors in mind) and spent the next few hours scouring through my photos and playing with my paint.
Being that I'm still rather intrigued by a circular canvas format, I decided to keep the sketched palettes contained within that shape. Now I just need to get better at stretching canvas around circular boards...
With the palettes on paper, I was able to go back to adult things for a little while; packing, laundry, restocking the fridge...etc, but I'm hoping to come back to these soon.
Are there any other places that you might recommend specifically for their colors? I'm in the midst of building my travel list for next year, so I'm allllll ears!
Have a great week friends <3