Travel Light with Plein Air Watercolor

Yesterday, I took the most minimal kit I could think of:
Hat, spray bottle with water, Kilimanjaro paintbook (bound with both watercolor and sketch pages) , and my zip up kit with the 12 color Yarka pan set, brushes, pencil, etc.
Put keys, camera phone in your pocket, find a log or rock to sit on and have a great day learning from nature.

Except for the Yarka pan set, here's a peek inside the carry case.

Just in case this one is not compact enough, try this pencil case set.

Plein Air Vineyard

"Richard's Vines"
Original Plein Air Watercolor by Michele Cooper
Size: 8x10

What a fun day I had!
There's a new winery and vineyard preparing to open in October. It's not too far from where I live and today I decided to go out and see what the sunshine, warm temperatures and summer light had to offer.

Here I am on location with the subject (tiny in the distance from this viewpoint).


I finished the painting about 99% in the field and then brought it back to the studio for a few little tweaks.


This is my "Plein Air Car Kit" ready for action. When the weather is this nice, the passenger seat turns into a nice shady mobile studio. No easel necessary. I stand outside in the shade and paint away.

When the weather's not so accommodating, it all works just as well while sitting inside the car.

Want to put together a kit of your own? Click the link for a description of the zip up kit and its contents. (I used the Yarka 12 pan set from the Starter Kit today.)
My Watercolor Starter Kits for Beginners have everything but the sponge, cup and water bottle. See here for more information.

Plein Air Sidewalk

 This is the view out the south window of my studio. We have been having some fantastic sunny weather here in the Pacific NW.  I'm sitting at my desk, working on ......desk stuff....and the urge to go out and paint is irresistible.



 I've spent some time making a contour drawing with a 2b pencil on 140# D'Arches watercolor paper.

Whew! these black pants are burning me up! No time!

Now for the rest of my setup! I have so many outdoor painting kits, you wouldn't believe! Just search this blog for descriptions of a few (watercolor outdoor kit, and/or plein air).

So what do I use for painting 4 feet away from the studio? A camp chair, cardboard box, folding palette, two or three brushes and a water container. I just flick the excess water off my brush into the bushes, no need for a sponge.

Gotta stop, haul everything back into the studio, shower, change and zip off for my night class at SVC. Weather's supposed to be good tomorrow, so I'll take this up again then. I'll update this post with the finished painting as soon as it's done.
Stay tuned! :-

It took a while, but here is the finished painting.

Backpack Outdoor Kit

A single strap sling backpack is small but useful for carrying your outdoor kit while traveling. Make sure it's big enough to carry your favorite size sketchbook or watercolor block.

This is my windbreaker (folds down and fits into its own pocket), single strap backpack, and Anderson easel (in its own case).

For photos and description of contents click here.

To see it all set up on location click here.