As a working mother with two kids, getting to the easel can sometimes be hard. With the start of the school year comes lots of practices, appointments, and meetings, so I wanted to give my field art kit a revamp to make it easier create while I’m out and about.
Really, I have two kits: my hefty, planned-ahead-of-time art kit, and my actually-fits-in-my-fanny-pack art kit. My hefty one is what I usually bring to appointments and practices to sketch portrait studies. I’ve found that trying to capture someone’s likeness is a fun way to keep training my eye and honing my skills.
This hefty art kit includes a full range of Castle Arts color pencils (they’re decent!) and Arrtx alcohol markers (not my favorite) with a few Blick and Copic markers thrown in. It also includes a medium-sized sketchbook and a few pencils, including my beloved Prismacolor Col-Erase Pencil that I use for laying down the initial drawings.
While I really enjoy making portraits with this setup, nothing about it is demure. I have to pack it all in a large tote bag and while I can technically I can work in my lap, it does help to have a table to spread out my materials on. Most importantly though, I have to make a plan and remember to actually bring it along.
My much smaller art kit fits in my fanny pack, and while it can keep me busy when unexpectedly waiting somewhere, it is very limited. I have a smaller sketchbook, a number of pencils, pencil sharpener, and eraser. I still work on portraiture with this smaller kit, but sometimes I also try to capture the scenes around me. It’s *fine*, but also, have you seen my work? I love color! And I was really missing not having access to it with my smaller kit.
I had been hearing lots of chatter about Caran d'Ache Neocolor IIs, which are water soluble wax pastels. I really enjoy working with oil pastels, so while I was in Savannah this past August on vacation, I decided to swing into Blick and pick up a small grouping to try.
Pictured above is my little curated palette, which includes: Golden Yellow, Golden Ochre, Fast Orange, Salmon Pink, Vermillion, Periwinkle Blue, Royal Blue, Light Blue, Light Olive, Dark Olive, Russet, and Greyish Black.
I love small collections of objects in movies for some reason, and one of my favorite scenes in James and the Giant Peach is when James removes the floorboards to reveal his small box of treasures, including a little tin of crayons. These new wax pastels felt like my own little treasured collection and I was excited to start using them. Best of all, they fit in my little pencil pouch so I could have them on hand all the time!
My initial attempts were fun, but also a little frustrating. Wax pastels aren’t the greatest at creating sharp lines and can definitely be a bit challenging when working in a tiny sketchbook.
I was getting the looseness and mark-making elements I was seeking, but I wasn’t enjoying the softness of the edges. Recently though, while waiting in the doctor’s office, I pulled out a rarely used tool from my pencil pouch — my Micron pen. This time, I made my initial sketch in red pencil, added in the linework with the Micron, and laid in the Neocolors after.
I felt like I landed on a way to use these tools that accomplished a look I was happy with. Getting new tools is always exciting, but it can be disappointing when it turns out you don’t really know how to use them to achieve a look or style you’re after. I was worried I had made a bit of a mistake after my first few attempts, so I’m glad I was able to forge method for adding these into a regular sketching practice.
I finally filled up this little sketchbook that was started nearly two years ago. Which means, naturally, I had to purchase a new one. I was enjoying the access to color so much that I decided to expand my small art kit even more! I went ahead and ordered a little watercolor set to incorporate into my kit.
I opted for the Windsor and Newton Cotman Watercolor Field Set. Cotman is student grade level and more affordable, which is fine for my sketchbook. I hope that having having the ability to mixing color will open up some more possibilities, including creating more sketches of the scenes I’m occupying (rather than just looking up references on my phone).
With this updated kit, you would think I would be ready to go! Alas, I have created a new problem for myself. While it’s small enough to pack into a bag or purse, all of this is not going to fit in my current one. Time for a larger bag! But that’s a problem for another day.
I’m excited about the new possibilities as I’ve wanted to have a more consistent sketchbook practice, and having these tools on hand will make it achievable!
A Weekend in Savannah
As I noted earlier, my family and parents took a weekend trip to Savannah and Tybee Island at the end of August. We had a lovely time shopping, getting pummeled by the waves, and playing the longest game of Uno ever. I also got to hang out with my lovely artist friend, Jen Palmer. Check out her work, it’s amazing!
Group Art Shows
Oh and finally, I have not one, not two, but THREE pieces in three different group shows around Chattanooga.
You can catch my newest piece, End of Trail at The Good Look Gallery as part of their Summer Bloom show.
The Watchers is part of the AVA’s Annual Juried Member Show.
And We Paddled for Hours to Find You is currently at Cha Art Space’s exhibit at the Chattanooga Airport.
I can’t believe I’ve had FOUR shows this year! I’m really proud of the steps I’ve taken and work I’ve put into getting more eyes on my pieces. I hope to do even more next year (but let’s not get ahead of ourselves!).
Recommendations
Listening to: Milton + esperanza, a jazz album with the Brazilian legend
Watching: Scavenger’s Reign on Netflix, an incredible animated sci-fi adventure
Playing: Hades II, a rogue-like dungeon crawler based on Greek mythology (and witches!)
Love the micron addition. 🖤 encouraged and inspired by your tenacity to find a kit and process that works well for you. Signed, a person who gives up too soon when a process is not working.