Traveler's Dozen for this Artist

Lately, it seems that my home studio is ignored, empty, and dark. The road gets more of my company than our cat Simon, and so have created an artist survival kit for myself.

I try to remember to keep it simple, silly (KISS) and so have pared down to the following dozen plus bonus items. After realizing that I truly use on a few things, this is it. To see a sample of the item, click on the item description in my list.

1. 3 to 4 pencils of 4B hardness 
2. pencil sharpener with attached "trash can"
3. round #8 and #5 brushes for watercolor painting techniques
4. black ink in unleakable container
5. plastic white tub top (recycled item) to use as a palette for ink
6. 2 sketchbooks: 3 x 5 inches and 8.5 x 11 inches, one for purse, one for sitting a while
7. laminated sheets, two for each sketchbook (keeps pages dry when working wet)
8. 2 large binder clips (keeps sketchbook pages open in wind)
9. scotch tape (for business cards, tickets, etc.)
10. MP3 player for podcasts, music, etc.
11. digital camera for reference photos to take home
12. business cards because I am optimistic
13. sunblock

This all sounds like a lot, but it packages down easily since most of my travel requires sunblock, MP3 player, camera, and business cards. The most bulky of all the items is the larger sketchbook, and the smaller items are usually tucked into it.

I prefer to keep my travel kit to black and white sketches and ink paintings because it keeps everything simple enough for me to actually use while outside of home. My philosophy is that as I improve in black and white, my use of color will improve, too. For more on how black and white exercises improve your perception of colors, click here for photographer Jason Eldridge's blog post about returning to basics.

If you want to know what I am up to for the next days, click on the following link: ADV Rider Ride Report for FLA Rider

Smiles from the road!
Angeline Marie of
Angeline Marie Fine Art