Traveling artists: what art supplies do you pack and what type of artwork do you do?
 

Hi,

I have wondered what art supplies traveling artists bring on their overseas trips.

I'll share what I do and am very interested in hearing what you do.

One of my artist friends had all of her oil paints taken from her checked luggage because they are "flammable". This was at a Florida airport before her 2-week prainting trip to New Mexico. So, I won't chance taking oils (my favorite medium) on an airplane.

ART SUPPLIES I PACK:
I have become very simple. Gone are the days of lugging an artist's supply store along! Must have some room in the bag for goodies to bring home! Did some one say ceramics and textile?

I pack a very small sketchbook, a mechanical pencil and a good black ink pen... perhaps a Uniball micro. It seems this works for me when I am travelling with my husband, who loves art; but, is a non-artist. With a small sketchbook (imagine the tiniest Moleskin - 3 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches) I manage to come back with some drawings: I work quickly and catch things in the moment. In Spain, for instance, some of my most interesting drawings were done while watching flamenco dancers and during the parade at the Feast of Santa Eulalia in Barcelona.

I have also taken a very simple watercolor kit when I have more available down time: a tiny spray bottle, a retractable da Vinci brush and an empty film can for washing my brush. I have two kits: one - a Schminke travel-size water color kit and one that is self-made from tubed colors - Antwerp Blue, Raw Siena, Winsor Yellow, Transparent Oxide Red and Alizarin Crimson. 7 x 9 inch water color pad. I squirt out what I think I might use and leave the tubes at home. I only take one of these watercolor kits.

While traveling I take photos ... so that is perhaps the artistic medium I use most often while traveling.


TYPE OF ARTWORK I DO:
At home, I do a lot of drawing with many different types of drawing implements... carbone pencils, charcoal, conte. I love to draw the gorillas at the zoo or do portraits of people. I also do figure drawing. I paint in oils... still life, portraits, and some landscape.

Now, it's your turn.

-Sharon

Greetings to a fellow artist ( in my case mostly dreaming)
A small book of watercolor paper and a small tin box of Karat Aquarell watercolor pencils.
Fits in my purse ..

Hi Scarlett,

In reality I am also dreaming. (I am a computer geek by day.) And, that's ok. The salary allows for travel and paid vacation make it worthwhile. Furthermore, I don't think I would want any gallery dictating to me what subject matter or type of painting I should paint.

I certainly need to get to a schedule of painting on more regular basis. Can't believe I've blown away a couple hours goofing around on the net this morning preparing thoughts for the next and future trips.

-Sharon

My son was also told by his art school that oil paint supplies could not fly (I guess it is the cleaner solvents, not the actual paints) - so I guess this is not that uncommon.

My friend's experience was that it was the actual paints. She did not pack any solvent. All Old Holland oils. OUCH! :((

I just finished packing my supplies for our upcoming trip to London and Paris.(Just five more days to go!)I also am an oil painter, but do not travel with them. This trip I am just taking a watercolor sketch pad with some water soluble pens. After drawing with the pens on paper, I take a brush loaded with water and it creates a toned wash.Its a great way to keep a travel journal, and use them for later paintings back home in the studio.

I pack a sketchpad which I also use as a journal and planning source--print and write out lots of info in it first, then use it for sketching and writing and keeping small mementos.

I do huge abstract oils--mostly political--and smaller watercolors and collages. Also have been making dreamcatchers for gifts.

What a good question, Sharon. My 16 year old daughter is our resident artist.

She never goes anywhere without a small pad of paper and her pens and pencils. And a camera, which she uses as a reference for colors afterwards. Next summer she is going to Italy on a school trip. The two teachers organizing the trip are the Latin teacher and the art teacher. The art teacher has encouraged all the students to bring their art supplies with them. In their free time, they'll all be sketching. I can't wait to see what Italian memories our daughter will capture on paper!

Oh dln, your fortunate daughter!!!

You all must be so excited. That will be a fantastic adventure.

I buy the few items I want when I get to Italy. I really work on packing light. But must still cut down on the amount of clothes, sigh.

LoveItaly, you said the right thing--shopping! I forgot to say that for anyone travelling to Italy, framing is very inexpensive. Can you imagine sketching or painting some fabulous Italian landscape AND having it framed in Italy as well? That would be a real treat.

Mental note....must go to Italy!

-Sharon

dln, if you want to know, LOL, my last trip to Italy, had to leave Venice airport about 6:30am so had to be at airport at 5:00am.

My friends and I ate, drank wine, felt bad about "how soon will we be together again?", It was about 1:00am. My friend, Marida's husband had left the room, came back with a beautiful oilpainting. A present for me to take home.

I already had packed my suitcase and almost packed my carryon.

But here was this beautiful oil painting. Of the Castle of Congeliano.

Their son, my good buddy, like a nephew, wrapped the framed oilpainting in bubble wrap. And than tried to get it into my already over loaded suitcase. He took out half of my clothes. Put the framed oilpainting in (keep in mind it was now about 2:30am) and then put the clothes and other stuff I had bought back into the suitcase. Than he "sat" on the suitcase, and somehow closed it.

But by this time I noticed the back of his shirt was, well shall we say, wet with presperation. He ran and took a shower and changed clothes.

And sometime later we barreled down the road to get to the airport in time to stand around and wait forever to check in.

Of course I was in great shape flying out of Venice, which by the way had terrible turbulance, changing planes in Amsterdam, and flying onto SFO. Oh yes, with no sleep the night before I left I think I was a Zombie going through customs at SFO. LOL.

But did have enough brain power to declare the oil painting on the custom form. And the beautiful oil painting of the Castle of Conegliano is in my living room. You can imagine how special it is to me.

But oh dlm, the experience your daughter will have - I am sure this memory will be with her forever. My paternal grandmother spent one year in Florence, all by herself, at the beginning of the 1900's studying art. Her stories were amazing. So can only imagine what your daughter will experience.

I take a pad and a pencil but buy whatever art suupplies I want there, but again am still working on packing light. Your daughter, I know, will have a trip of a lifetime.

I have a watercolor travel kit that fits in a baggie and consists of a Winsor Newton travel kit (originally had 12 Cotman half pans that I replace with Artist half pans), a small collapsible water bucket, 2 Isabey retractable brushes, and couple of pencils that I carry with a 10x5 Canson 140lb hard bound book. It fits in my pusre and has been to sidewalk cafes in Paris, to plazas in Rome and Venice and all over Tuscany with me.

I make a 5 X 7 ring bound book for each trip we take which includes watercolor paper for sketch and painting, text paper for journaling, and envelopes for stashing ephemera.

I have a small zipped bag for pigment liners like the Microns or the Staedtlers and as well as a pair of travelling watercolor brushes. I go back & forth between taking the Cotman field box or a select supply of watercolor pencils. Love both of them. I've also been known to stash an exacto knife, some plastic erasers, and a small ink cube for some impromtu block printing.

My rule is it all has to fit in a gallon zip lock bag.

I was never exactly an "artist" (that is, didn't do it professionally or as a business), but I usxed to draw constantly, until a little over twenty years ago. I used to travel with simple art supplies: a small, but not tiny, to medium sized drawing pad, and usually mostly "clean" drawing media like regular medium to soft drawing pencils, and Prismacolor pencils in colors in the browns to light black range. I used to take a kneaded eraser, just in case I used charcoal or Conte crayons, but I usually tried to avoid those more powdery media or traveling. I always took a single-edged industrial razor for sharpening pencils and for miscellaneous other perectly legal, nonviolent purposes unrelated to drawing (in the days when airport security didn't care).

I never draw any more. That's sad. I have to start doing it again.

P.S. I usually preferred to draw people. I always loved drawing people, with animals and trees also favorie subjects. I had no interest in drawing architecture, though I enjoyed looking at it. On one trip to Jamaica with a friend who also drew, we both drew graceful twisted trees. I had one of those tree drawings framed and still have it hanging in my living room, almost 30 years after I drew it.

My wife does watercolors and we bring as little as possible and she buys the supplies there because she finds them superior.

machin, what brand of watercolors does your wife buy in Europe? Thank you.

Topping for LoveItaly.