147. Another Travel Sketching Kit

I’m heading off on a big summer vacation. I can’t tell you where, because it’s a surprise for my husband so I have to keep a lid on it until we actually get there.

Once again I’m re-thinking my travel art supplies. I’ll be on the go a lot on this trip, so my kit has to be so light that I don’t dither over whether or not to take it with me.

But I also REALLY want to make a fabulous sketchbook from this trip, for reasons that will become clear once I can tell you more about the trip.

I considered filling up a series of pocket sketchbooks and then binding them together in one of these Travelers Company 016 Refill Binders. But I wanted something a little larger than that for this trip. Was there a happy medium between a passport-sized sketchbook and the 5x8 size I usually carry around?

Yes. Yes, there is. It’s the hard-to-find A6 size, roughly 4x6, popular in the UK but weirdly elusive here in the US.

But I did find a few, and I’ve been trying them out with a super minimal set of art supplies. Here are links to everything I’m going to show you in this video:

Moleskine 4x7 Art Collection Sketchbook, portrait size

Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketch Book, portrait, 4x6 size

Hahnemühle Watercolor Book, portrait, 4x6 size

Pentel Pocket Brush Pen with refills and here’s a whole lot more about those pens

ArtToolKit Pocket Palette and here’s one example of my ever-changing color selection

The Athleta Anytime Veritical Crossbody bag is maybe my new travel/art supply bag?

OK, here’s a look at how all this works together: