Bonjour!
I hope you are well, summer has just ended but I have still been releasing some youtube videos that I recorded during my holidays in the mountains. I really like to share my experience through videos as well. You know it, that’s why this blog exists in the first place.
During the summer, I did numerous hikes and most times I tried to take my sketchbook and a little bit of paint to try to show on paper what I had in front of me. Plein air painting is an exercise I deeply enjoy. But when you got to carry a huge back pack for a two day’s hike, you better think minimalist!
That’s what I want to share with you today : my minimalist watercolor set for hiking and travels. In the hope that maybe it can be of inspiration to you when it happens to you too.
The minimalist watercolor set :
When you carry a big bag an when space and weight is limited you have to think minimalist. Even when it comes to watercolors. That is why I never take more than these items for outdoor paintings.
- An A5+ handmade watercolor sketchbook with Canson Montval 300gr paper.
- A pot of water that seals well so water don’t goes away
- My watercolor palette of handmade paints.
- A set of 3 brushes (I’ll talk a bit more about this later)
- A red col erase pencil and a graphite mechanical pencil with a 2B nib.
This minimalist watercolor set that I take for travels and hikes is roughly 50 grams which is really little. I weighted it all. The sketchbook is the biggest item to take and might be the most problematic. So far I have managed to take it with me every time, but I am tempted to try a smaller one. Do you have mini sketchbook you like that you can suggest me ?
What are my favorites brushes to take for hike and travel?
In my set I only take 3 brushes. The one above is my most recent acquisition. I treated myself to a very nice actual travel brush. It’s the kind of brush that you can fold safely into your pencil case. So it’s this very beautiful flat handcrafted brush by Leonard.
The two other are a medium size flat beveled brush and a small Winsor and Newton series 7 for details and finish.
I am very happy about the flexibility of this set. I really have everything I need to paint on location. Above are some of the painting I did during some of these hikes and outings.
You can see a bit more of these painting and some more details about the set in my Youtube video. You can also see the paint brushes in action if you’re into that :
I hope you enjoy this blog, I’d love to hear about your small sets, your minimum, what is the littlest you take when you have no space for art supplies?
Check more of my plein air artworks :
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