Four questions to ask yourself when investing in ‘travel sketching’ equipment.
I want to weigh in on investing in your art supplies when on the go.
These are the only 4 questions I would ask myself:
Is it Versatile?
Is it Sturdy?
Is it Waterproof or bleed proof?
Is it Light weight?
“I want Options, but I want to stay agile”, is what I find myself thinking when I am packing for a travel sketching trip. So what this means is sometimes I will want to pack way to much, and often I don’t use all of it, and it’s just weight I could avoid. At the same time, I don’t want to regret not taking enough paint and ink, or run out before the end of the trip.
A travel sketcher’s kit in my experience needs be versatile, sturdy, waterproof, and light weight. Once I gather all my ‘options’ for packing, and ask myself these 4 questions, I tend to leave all the many options and just pack the basic that fulfil those 4 basic criteria.
The basic equipments for making art on the go needs to be hardy, and good quality enough to make it through travel. That means buying the best quality you can afford, and not buying the cheapest.
My art equipment on the go needs to be versatile, if I can bring one pen that does two or more kinds of lines, that’s the pen for me. If the brush can do broad and fine lines, if it can hold a lot of water as well as have a good sharp point, that’s versatility.
Sketchbooks needs to be sturdy. Hard cover or soft cover doesn’t matter that much. I’ve used both and as long as they aren’t easily bend and the stitching is of excellent quality, both types works. Paper needs to be at least 150 gsm because watercolour takes time to dry and it shouldn’t soak through when you are on the road.
Bristle of your brushes needs to be protected, so a travel brush is essential.
Watercolour paint in a palette is much more travel friendly than tubes. The palette has to withstand being dropped more than once and the lid is tightly sealed in case of seepage or leaking.
And finally you need waterproof pens or waterproof inks in your fountain pens. Refills are necessary only if you’re going to travel more than 7 days. Bring some pencils just in case you ran out of ink.
A lot of urban sketchers kit tend to include a fude pen, because it’s the most versatile, with the fude nip able to draw thin and thick lines interchangeably.
Water containers. This one’s changing overtime as I go through different travel situations, but the one container that fits the 4 categories above is a small metal container with a tight lid that can easily be cleaned even in plane’s toilet. This one can be clipped to the drawing board or directly to the sketchbook with a magnetic clip
Clips, I tend to use the one magnetic because my watercolor palette are made of metal and they can stick and keep them secure in different sketching situation. But i also carry the simple bulldog clips because it is versatile (for example, I have used bulldog clips to hold my pants up or when I have to wade through seawater on my way to an island, they’re useful! Trust me!)
As for towels and tissues, I carry a small hand towel, until I get to my destinations. I usually end up carrying around many different cafe and restaurant serviettes from then on depending on the quality.
I would ask myself, would my sketch kit survive dampness, fine to squeeze into different bags, hardy enough to withstand situations beyond our control? When our equipments are versatile, sturdy, waterproof and light weight, then this is the peace of mind I want to feel.
While options are always good, peace of mind I think is more important.