Assembling A Watercolor Field Sketch Kit

Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series

Assembling a Watercolor Field Sketch Kit

My Water Color Sketch Book

Lap Desk Sketch Setup

During the fall of 2016, I started looking at different blogs and websites of artists who watercolor sketch. I was amazed by how many artists were doing this and the variety of subjects they sketched. Some sketched landscapes, anything that looks interesting, and others are urban sketchers. There is a whole global community dedicated to urban sketching. You can check into it at Urban Sketchers. Another blog that inspired me to take up watercolor sketching is written by James Gurney. He writes a daily blog and does a lot of sketching in different media such as watercolor, gouache, and casein. He is an excellent artist and provides a lot of great information on his blog, I look forward to reading his daily posts. As I researched watercolor sketching, I had not thought about "Expanding My Artistic Horizons." Now I realize why I wanted to try watercolor sketching and why it was appealing to me. I wanted something fun to do and not have to worry about capturing a scene for an oil painting later. Something I could quickly do and not necessarily worry about proper perspective, proportion, etc. If I had started my "Expanding Your Artistic Horizons series at the time I set up this kit, it would have been my first entry. I did look at other artist's kits to see what they carried with them, below is currently what I take with me to sketch.

Watercolor And Field Sketch Kit Inventory

Watercolor Sketch Inventory

Targus 9 x 10 bag
Moleskin 5" x 8 1/4" Watercolor Notebook with Cold-pressed paper
Strathmore 100 sheet, 60lb, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" sketch pad
Van Gogh 12 color watercolor kit
Prismacolor 8 piece Brush tip maker set in several colors
Prismacolor 8 piece blacker maker in sizes 005, 01, 03, 05, 08, Brush, Chisel
Watercolor Pencils, off-brand in various colors
Pencil Holder
Sakura Water Color Brush Pen
4 sizes of Short Watercolor Brushes
HB, 2B sketching pencils
Staedtler LeD Holder with 2H lead
Wrights eraser
Faber Castell Pencil Eraser
Kneaded eraser
Kum Pencil Sharpener
Blending stump and chamois for blending
White Gel Pen
6" Metal Ruler
Various Sizes of Binder Clips
Various colors of dollar store gel pens
Small 2 inch water bottle with velcro
Homemade Sketching Lap Desk

Watercolor Sketch and Field Bag

My Field Bag

Field Bag Compartments

I bought a like-new 9 x 10 Targus bag at a garage sale in 2016 for $5.00. At the time, I bought it to carry my iPad, but it turns out it made a great watercolor and field sketch bag. It has several dividers, zipper pockets, and just enough room to carry everything. If I were going out to buy something new, I would get something slightly bigger. But my goal is to keep it small and as lightweight as possible.

Moleskin 5" x 8 1/4" Watercolor Sketch Book

Moleskin Watercolor Notebook

I read what other artists were using for their watercolor sketchbook. Of course, everyone has their own preference on what to use.  I decided to go with the moleskin 5" x 8 1/4" watercolor notebook. It is small enough to fit in the bag and in your pocket if you want to go in the field carrying the bare minimum. I do wish the paper was a little heavier weight since it does buckle a little when laying down a wash.

Strathmore 100 sheet, 60lb, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" sketch pad

Strathmore Sketch Pad

I already had the Strathmore 100 sheet, 60lb, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" sketch pad. I take it with me along with a few pencils and erasers in case I want to do a pencil sketch. I am thinking about buying something more suitable for the kit. This one is a little bulky, I would like something smaller with heavier grade paper.

Van Gogh 12 color watercolor kit

There are many different brands of watercolor kits in various sizes. A lot of artists make their kits out of tube watercolors. Since I don't own any tube watercolors, I chose to go with the kit. The watercolors seem to be of good quality, and it is small enough to fit in the pocket of the bag. However, I don't like that the little individual containers come out of the box so easy, As you can see, I have already lost one, and every time I go out to sketch I end up dumping them on the ground. 

Homemade Watercolor Sketch Lap Desk

Homemade Lap Desk

Some artists clip their watercolors on the opposite page of the sketchbook. I found this to be awkward and wanted something more stable and small enough to fit in the bag.  I taped two pieces of masonite together so I could fold it and place it in my field bag. Yes, it is crude, but I wanted to see how well the concept would work. I use two spring clips in the center to keep it from folding while I am sketching. After using it a few times, I found myself wishing it was a little bigger. I am constrained to the size of my bag, so I am trying to come up with another alternative.

Watercolor Pencils, off-brand in various colors in Pencil Holder

Watercolor Pencils and Holder

I just got some low-cost watercolor pencils and an inexpensive pencil holder. I would assume the pigment in more expensive pencils is better. I don't use the pencils often, but when I do, they seem to do the job. 

Prismacolor 8 piece Brush tip maker set in several colors
Prismacolor 8 piece blacker maker in sizes 005, 01, 03, 05, 08, Brush, Chisel

Prismacolor Pens

I carry Prismacolor Pens, both brush type in various colors and black marker pens. I don't use the brush markers much at all and use only a couple of the sizes in the black marker pens. I may take out the brush markers and only carry a couple of black pens. This will lighten the load a little and free up some space.  

Sakura Water Color Brush Pen
4 sizes of Short Watercolor Brushes

Brushes

I carry one Sakura watercolor brush pen and 4 different sizes of brushes. I want to get a couple of different sizes of brush pens, and wider flat brush to lay down washes. Also, substitute one of the other brushes for a larger round brush.

HB, 2B sketching pencils
Staedtler Lead Holder with 2H lead

Pencils

I only carry a few pencils. I use the Staedtler lead holder to rough sketch my subject before painting with watercolor. The pencil has a built-in sharpener in the top. I carry the other two pencils in case I decide to do some pencil sketches.

Wrights eraser
Faber Castell Pencil Eraser
Kneaded eraser
Kum Pencil Sharpener
Blending stump and chamois for blending

Various Pencils

For pencil sketching, I carry several erasers, blending stumps, and a small piece of chamois for blending. I take a pencil eraser to erase fine details along with a sharpener.

Various colors of dollar store gel pens

I have used the gel pens a little for adding titles or text. I probably could do without them, but since they don't take up a lot of room, I will keep them in the kit for now. 

White Gel Pen

White Gel Pen

The white gel pen is for adding highlights. I plan to add a tube of white gouache for this in the future.

Various Sizes of Binder Clips

I use the binder clips to hold the lapboard open, clipping on the watercolor kit, holding pages open, etc. You can see how they are used in the picture titled "Lap Desk Sketch Setup." I clip them along the edge of one of the bags dividers for easy access.

6" Metal Ruler

Small 2 inch water bottle with velcro

I carry a small water bottle about 2 inches tall to clean brushes or for extra water.  I placed some velcro on the bottom so I can stick it to the lap desk. If I feel like I will need more water, I will put in a couple of extra small bottles.










Conclusion

I am not experienced at watercolor sketching, but the kit seems to work well for me. There are a couple of things I would like to do in the future. Modify the small lap desk. Maybe make it four pieces if I can figure out a way to quickly fold or assemble it together. This would give may a more substantial surface while still being portable. Also, I wanted to try painting from a tripod, so I am thinking about a way to attach the lap desk to the tripod. Since I am all about keeping it small and lightweight, the tripod needs to be small and portable. Looking into one of the vintage camera tripods that are small and came in a leather pouch. I need to do a little research since I am not sure if they were only tabletop tripods, or some actually had legs that would extend.