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Author: Jamie_Williams_Grossman, Contributing Editor
| I'll be the first to admit that I like to go plein air painting with all my favorite equipment and supplies, having every comfort and convenience of my full studio out on location. Sometimes it is impractical to travel with a large setup. The location may be difficult to get to. Perhaps you don't have space in your car for a lot of supplies. Maybe you like to have a bag all packed to go on a moment's notice. Following many tips from other plein air painters plus my own experiences, I've put together a featherweight kit that enables me to go anywhere with few sacrifices in supplies. Here's the full kit, all ready to go painting! |
 | I can just sling this 11 1/2 X 14" bag over my shoulder, and I'm off to paint. I slip some panels into the bag, or canvas taped to foamcore, or carry a stretched canvas. There's even enough space in the bag for a small box to carry a couple of wet paintings. The easel is the aluminum type that folds up small and has its own case; it has a carry strap that I could sling over my shoulder too, but it fits right into my bag. One of the tripod easels would work fine also. Sometimes I bring my french easel and the bag instead of the lightweight easel, if I won't have to walk far. I purchased this bag at a Jerry's store, though I'm sure it is carried by many art supply stores and online sites.
Most plein air painters don't carry this many brushes, but I had to cut my usual traveling number in half to fit them in this bag! They don't weigh much nor take up lots of space, and I love having a wide variety to choose from. |
| One of the biggest problems with a small setup is that we all love to have a big palette. Here's a large palette in a small space! This is a Holbein-type, metal watercolor palette that I use for oils. Closed, it measures less than 14" long and 6" wide. |
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| When the palette is open, it is 12X14, with room for more colors than I'd ever need to bring, and plenty of mixing areas. (See photo below.) I fill four of the color cup areas with white and two with cadmium yellow pale, yellow ochre, and other colors I use the most. The color cups hold quite a bit of paint. I have yet to run out of a color in the palette. I squeeze out the color onto the palette from huge tubes at home before I go out to paint, then fold the palette up and put it in a plastic bag. Buying paint in those big tubes is very cost-effective. Since I don't carry the tubes with me, I don't have to worry about how much the large tubes weigh, and don't have to skimp on how many colors I bring either.
The palette easily wipes clean with the smooth, enamel finish. Whenever I feel my mixes are getting dirty, I just wipe off the palette and start mixing anew. When I get home, I place the closed palette with the paint inside a plastic bag in my freezer, or store it in an airtight plastic container like the Masterson palette holder. Don't try to vacuum seal it; my plein air partner did that and crushed her palette with the paint in it. Yuck! This photo was taken after a plein air expedition. The mixing areas were wiped clean. I only painted an 8X10, but there is so much paint left that I could have easily done a 16X20! Top off the color cups with fresh paint before you go out again. I use traditional linseed vehicle artist oils, and group them on the palette by color groups, with the earth colors in the lower section. What colors I bring with me depends a lot on seasonal issues. The palette arrangement makes it very versatile. |
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| So, how much stuff can I really fit in this little bag? All this! No supply sacrifices are necessary. |
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