You have the supplies you need to paint watercolor at home. Now you’re ready to try painting outside. But carrying all your gear outside isn’t practical. What do you need to make it as easy as possible? Here’s what I use.
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All-in-One Kit/Carrying Case
I don’t have an affiliate link to Art Toolkit, but I extremely endorse them, but they make the kit that I use: the Pocket Art Toolkit! It is a cute zippered case which comes with a bunch of handy goodies, like a little sketchbook, water brush, an one of the company’s special compact paint palettes with reconfigurable pans (which I love).
They come in two sizes: A4 (8.5×11) and A5 (5.5×8.5). I prefer the smaller one (pictured) because it’s so easy to take anywhere: it fits in a fanny pack or large pocket, takes up little room in luggage, and can be easily carried on a hike. The larger Folio Palette (pictured), which I typically use, also fits in the Pocket Toolkit.
I have kitted mine out with a brush cleaning cloth. That’s really the only must-have item that doesn’t come with it.
The case can be purchased alone if you want to DIY the contents.
Travel Palette
As mentioned above, I use Art Toolkit’s super-flat palettes. The Pocket Palette (pictured left) is hardly larger than a credit card but carries a surprisingly large amount of paint. The Folio Palette is better for holding 15+ colors.
I typically fit my palettes with their “Standard” (pictured left) pans. “Double” is a good size for colors you use quickly. The “Mini” pans I find too small to get your brush in effectively.
Water Brush
For me, a water brush is the key to making plein air possible. The water is in the barrel, so you don’t need a water cup; no need to worry about carrying your water or disposing of it! This makes watercolor nearly as convenient as drawing. Adjust your expectations, though – there’s a learning curve, and it will never be as precise or nice as a regular brush.
The Pentel Aquash is the water brush that comes in the Art Toolkit. It’s my favorite for washes. Another popular option is the Niji, also known at the Kuretake, which is a bit better for details. Note that only the “Mini” lengths of the Niji/Kuretake will fit in the Art Toolkit.
Pentel Aquash Medium: Amazon.com
Niji (or Kuretake) Water Brush, Mini: Amazon.com
Travel Sketchbook
Again I feel like I’m adding no special insight here because I just kept on using the one that comes in the Art Toolkit, the Moleskine Watercolor Album. In my area, it is widely available.
Note the sketchbook must be smaller to fit in the Art Toolkit: The 3.5″x5.5″ size Moleskine fits in the Pocket Art Toolkit (other A6 sketchbooks may also fit). The A5 or 5″x8.5″ size fits in the larger A5 Art Toolkit. I prefer “landscape” orientation with the binding on the short side.
Moleskine Watercolor Album, Pocket, Landscape, 200gsm: Amazon.com
Brush Cleaning Cloth
At home I use old washcloths or paper towels; in my plein air kit, I keep reusable painting towels from Etsy sellers. None of the ones I’ve used in the past are still selling, but search for “resuable paint brush cloth“.
Another neat option: these lightweight terrycloth “handkerchiefs”, which are more like thin washcloths, are extremely compact for how absorbent they are.
Hamamonyo Gauze Pile Handkerchiefs: Amazon.com
Waterproof Fineliner
I personally find a fineliner pen to be more useful on-the-go than in my studio practice, because it can be so difficult to create precisely contoured watercolor paintings in one layer / with a water brush.
In a very small sketchbook, I also find that I prefer a finer line usual. This generally means a fine-nib fountain pen or 01 size felt-tip pen.
My favorite travel fountain pen is the cute and tiny Kaweco Sport, but any normal-size pen will fit in the Art Toolkit. Fountain pens have a bad reputation for leaking ink when pressure changes (as in an airplane), but as this happens when air pockets expanded, this can be avoided if the pen is fully loaded with ink. It’s also smart to put it in a Ziploc bag to fly. See also Pen & Ink Supplies Guide.
Kaweco Sport Skyline, Cyan, Fine (the one I have!): Amazon.com
Alternately, it may be simpler to use a disposable fineliner!
Sakura Micron Black, Size 01, 6 pack: Amazon.com