I like to use systems to make it easier to build positive habits, and one such habit is sketching and drawing from life. Over the years this practice has done so much to support my illustration work, and it’s something I’d like to incorporate even more into my everyday life. While it may not be objectively difficult to pull together some art supplies for a sketching outing, the added step of tracking down things like sketchbooks, brushes and paint can be enough of a hurdle to prevent many sketches from being made. So if I’m heading out for a hike, going on a trip, or I just think I’ll have a little time to kill waiting for an appointment, I reach for a travel sketch kit that I always keep at the ready.
Today I’d like to show you what I carry in this kit, and how I adapt it for different activities.
The most unique part of my kit is probably the bag itself, which was custom made by my sister and built around some pretty specific art supplies. While I regret you can’t get one of these on Amazon, if you are putting together your own kit you could use any small bag that fits your supplies and is easy to carry.
There are many things I love about this bag. First of all, it’s beautiful, and with the shoulder strap it’s easy to carry around. It’s made of leather and thus quite durable. This bag has been on top of a truck full of zebras and wildebeest in Africa, carried through Irish rainstorms, and survived many toddler outings and camping trips with dirt, sand, snow, and strawberry jam. I’m happy to report that it is none the worse for wear. The downside of leather, however, is that it’s pretty heavy, so if I’m doing something very weight-sensitive like mountain biking or backpacking I sometimes put a few supplies in a Ziploc bag and carry that instead. If you’re looking for a bag for your travel art kit, canvas or strong nylon would also travel well.
The interior of the bag has a variety of pockets that keep everything organized, which is great for bringing an assortment of supplies. If I could add a few extra features I’d include a cell phone pocket so I don’t need to carry anything else with me, and a smaller pouch for tiny things like erasers so they don’t get lost at the bottom. But all in all, it’s a great bag for quickly grabbing supplies and running out the door to do some painting on location!
Inside the main pockets, I carry a few essentials:
Plastic palette: I have a lightweight 8” palette with enough wells to bring along my favorite colors. I like to scuff up the surface of the wells a bit before filling them with watercolor paint to prevent the paint from popping off the plastic at a later time. (It’s no fun to get to your destination and find that your viridian disappeared somewhere back on the trail.)
Sketchbook: The pocket of the bag is designed for a 5x8” sketchbook, so that’s what I tend to carry. I like the Pentalic Aqua Journal, which offers the best quality paper for water media that I’ve found on the market.
Water brushes: These are great because they eliminate the need for cups of water and spilling hazards and so forth. There are a variety of brands out there. I find these Pentel ones easy to fill from your water bottle or even a creek. I like to have a flat and several sizes of rounds. They are also great for water-soluble colored pencils if that’s your thing!
Rag: With the water brushes there’s no cup to clean the brush in, so I wipe the brushes on a rag every time I want to switch colors. Usually a scrap of bandana does the trick. It’s also handy for cleaning your palette as needed.
Pencil: I like a mechanical one so I don’t have to deal with pencil sharpener scraps, and I usually keep a backup in case I drop it in a river or something.
Eraser: I like a retractable/mechanical one so it doesn’t fall down in the pockets of my sketch bag. But if I could choose any eraser it would probably be a kneaded eraser.
Wax resist: I like to bring a white wax resist stick for texture and highlights like sparkling water etc. I used to bring a candle, that works too!
Other supplies: Flexible. Sometimes I throw in a few markers, some colored pencils, or just a pen for writing notes.
A great thing about sketch kits is that you don’t have to be limited to just one. My current kit is very watercolor-focused; when I put it together I was specifically interested in improving my painting skills. But in the future, I’d like to do more gesture drawing and quick sketches from life, so now I’m considering putting together a new, lightweight kit for that. Then when I’m running out the door I can choose which one to grab. The more sketches, the better!
For the artists out there, what do you like to bring with you when you sketch? Do you keep a kit handy? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading,
Jessica
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