IN: essential materials in my newly slimmed-down daily-carry bag. |
In preparation for my trip to Europe last summer, I put my daily-carry Rickshaw bag on a diet. After
much careful consideration, I jettisoned all art materials and tools except
what I considered to be the bare essentials for sketching in Spain and Germany.
After I returned home, and in the year and a half since that
time, things kept creeping back in. I pared it down again shortly before I went to Brazil this year, but now I find my bag overweight again (we all know how
that happens!).
Actually, it’s not so much the weight (which is still
tolerable) but the bulk that made me realize it was time to cut the fat. The bag’s
inner compartments were so stuffed that it was getting difficult to dig things
out, and when my “Stefano” sketchbook
was also in it, I could barely get my hands in.
Another motivator was that we’re moving rapidly toward
winter when I sketch mostly indoors and tend to prefer the monochrome simplicity
of pen and ink (with just a marker or two for color). Even the brightly colored trees that I delighted in painting last month are now mostly brown
or bare, so I won’t miss color there.
OUT: the "fat" nonessentials! |
The fat I cut was ruthless (shown at left): my watercolor paint box, four
fountain pens with various ink colors, two waterbrushes filled with more inks, seven
colored pencils, three Zig markers and a few other assorted writing instruments
I consider “nice to have” but not essential.
What stayed in my now lean-mean-sketching-machine of a bag (see top of page)? Three
fountain pens (waterproof black plus water-soluble black and brown), two
waterbrushes, Kuretake fountain brush pen (for bare trees), three Zig markers,
three waterbrushes filled with ink (bright blue for sky, dark blue and gray for
shadows), two colored pencils and – a new essential combo – a twig and small jar of India ink. (Not shown is my still-essential Stefano sketchbook, which doesn’t
stay in my daily-carry bag if I’m only going shopping or to yoga; I grab it as
I’m going out the door toward any potential sketch opportunity. Also not shown is
my tiny DIY sketchbooklet, which does always stay in the bag.)
A small belt pouch now holds the "fat." |
Of course, every dieter cheats, and I’m no exception. All of
the jettisoned supplies went directly into a belt pouch (shown at right) I bought this past
summer when I was experimenting with the“quiver” concept: A small holster-like bag that would contain my essential supplies at my side while larger items stayed in a backpack.
My current thought is that when I’m on my way to a full-on
sketch outing (defined by me as at least a couple of hours dedicated to
sketching, with or without other sketchers), I could easily grab the quiver – now
full of my second-tier “fat” supplies – and throw it into my car or over my
shoulder. It would be a good test of which, if any, of those jettisoned
supplies are actually essential. For day-to-day quick sketches (such as trees I
capture on my way home from errands or meetings), the lean kit would certainly
suffice.
Of course, my color needs are seasonal. I’ll probably add a couple
of red and green markers for the holidays. And come spring, I’ll certainly want
my watercolors back in my everyday-carry. We’ll see if I stick to this “diet” until
then.
Some of us LIKE to keep the fat, and even add the fat!!
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