Date of the departure is almost here so it’s time to prepare my backpack!
What do I need for a three months artistic road trip ?
Well I don’t really know how much I’ll draw and what I’ll experiment so I’m gonna be prepared !
The support
First I need something to be able to draw everywhere at anytime so a friend made me a great tool: a hand made wood support !
It’s attached to a tripod and can stand vertically or horizontally thanks to the hinge. I also have a foldable three- legged stool. With that, I can sit and paint everywhere, no need to find a table or a bench.
I’m sure this will come handy while drawing into the wild.
Trying the setup at home
The supplies
Papers
I decided to take several notebooks to come with me, with heavy papers to support both gouache and watercolour. I also took a small Moleskine sketchbook for quick graphite drawing.
I’m gonna bring along separate sheets of paper as well to be able to send them as postcards.
I’m using hot pressed paper mostly for watercolor and fine illustrations whereas cold press paper is nice to have a great texture on landscape and urban sketching.
Regarding the format, I have a few squared papers but most of them are not.
Colors
I don’t have a favorite brand so I’m using a mix of multiples ones in my current workflow.
I have watercolour from Daniel Smith (that I patiently pour into dishes to avoid bringing the tubes), Windsor and Newton, and Mungyo (which is surprisingly cheap for the quality). Gouache are from Graham & Co, Windsor and Newton, and the Japanese brand Holbein.
For the brushes, I like rounded shapes but I’m experimenting more and more with flat ones, and I love it !
Pens
Finally, I can’t go with my loyal pencils cases, made by another dear friend of mine.
In it, I have the classic black fine liner pens (in so many sizes) and a few coloured ones, mostly from Faber Castell. I have a few Watercolor Pencils to do the preparation sketches (they blend beautifully once they are wet) from Rembrandt and Fabre Castell.
Then I’m not gonna forget the white gel pen for the finishing touches and last details. And finally, a small bottle of India Ink, I like to live dangerously !
I’m not worried too much though, if I miss anything, Japan is a highly artistic country and art supply stores are common.
Well, hopefully everything will fit in my backpack, and when I’ll return, I’ll have amazing memories and plenty of paintings to remember them.
See you next time in my first stop: Tokyo !