What’s in My Travel Art Bag
Leaving Home is Hard for Me
Anne Morrow Lindburgh wrote, “Is there anything as horrible as starting on a trip? Once you're off, that's all right, but the last moments are earthquake and convulsion, and the feeling that you are a snail being pulled off your rock.”
I’m totally in the “earthquake and convulsion” mode today as I prepare to head to the Arctic for two weeks. I’m overwhelmed with to-do’s but I’m trying to keep my anxieties at bay. After all, I’m so fortunate to be able to take this incredible trip, even if things don’t go smoothly.
I want to Pack Everything!
Part of why leaving home is hard for me is that I want to pack all my stuff—and that includes my art supplies. But let’s get real: I need to be judicious about what I bring and what I’ll actually use.
I’ll be seeing some very inspirational scenery and animals, and I want to be able to capture that inspiration in a sketchbook. I also have “thinking work” to do while on this trip, such as narrowing down the concept for my next series.
What’s in My Art Travel Kit
Here’s what I whittled it down to:
My iPad and Apple Pencil: I want to work on creating masks and stencils in Procreate while on travel.
A couple of notebooks: I have a heavy-duty mixed media sketchbook as well as a homemade notebook made from gel prints. These will be great for sketching, collage, taking notes, and more.
A few Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils, bits of Derwent Inktense blocks (in the matchbox), and a brush
A graphite crayon and graphite pencil
A pencil sharpener
A few Solid Markers
Two black pens and a white pen
Collage paper, my trusty glue stick, and my Tim Holtz scissors
A tiny phone stand, in case I want to take video while I work
Want to See an Inspirational Travel Art Kit?
There’s a delightful man named Steve who comes to our home twice a month to keep our fish tank in tiptop shape. Not only is Steve a reef tank expert, but he’s also an artist! He does historical and military illustration as well as other types of illustration. You can see his Instagram profile here. We like to share our art with each other and talk shop from time to time.
Steve is on the road all day most days, traveling to offices and homes all over the area to care for the fish tanks. So he’s created an impressive, organized portable art studio! He recently showed it to me and gave me permission to share it with you:
First, Steve’s art kit is housed in a very sturdy and official-looking silver briefcase. I think I teased him about carrying “the football” or top-secret documents. But this case provides a safe home for all of Steve’s supplies. My dog Jazz is checking it out in this photo!
As you can see, the interior of the case is super organized. Steve keeps his supplies in labeled file folders. He keeps pen, pencil, and eraser at the ready.
Steve’s case also contains a clever purchase: a Saunders storage clipboard. This serves as Steve’s drawing desk, and it has storage underneath for pens and more. I wonder if urban sketchers are onto this!
I was inspired by Steve’s portable art studio. What a great example of fitting art into one’s day.
Do You Do Art on the Road?
Do you think I’ll actually use all those supplies on my trip? I’ll circle back to let you know!
WBU: Do you do art when you’re away from home? If so, how do you pack supplies? Let me know if the comments.
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