Art Supplies on the Road

When I decided to take my business on the road, I knew I would need to be selective about how much and which art supplies I brought with me.  I am living out of one suitcase and one carry-on - that’s it.  That leaves very little space for things that can take up quite a bit of room, like paper.  So I brought only what I thought I needed. And in some instances it’s worked out perfectly, in others I’ve sorely missed having a Blick Art Supplies Store within driving distance.

Here’s a comprehensive list of what I have on the road with me:

In My Brush Bag:

1/8” Windsor & Newton Cotman Angled Brush

7” Connoisseur Kolinsky Round Pocket Brush

Mechanical Pencils

Kneaded Erasers

3 Pigma Micron 005 Pens

1 Pigma Micron 05 Pen

Pallet Knife (to remove the paper from the block)

1/4” Windsor & Newton Cotman Flat Brush

3/4 Connoisseur Goat Oval Mop Brush

Holbein Collapsable Water Dish

Paper Towels

Plastic Watercolor Paint Tray

Paper:

Moleskin Watercolor Paper Journal

Sketch Journal

Arches Hot Pressed 140lb 9x12 Paper Block

Arches Cold Pressed 140lb 9x12 Paper Block

I already had a collection of watercolor paint tubes and didn’t want to invest in new watercolor paint, so I decided to bring them with me.  The tubes are small so they don’t take up too much room and they last a long time so I don’t have to worry about running out.

In My Paint Bag:

Utrecht Alizarin Crimson

Sakura Koi Carmine

Grumbacher Cadmium Orange

Sakura Koi Yellow Ochre

Sakura Koi Lemon Yellow

Grumbacher Sap Green

Utrecht Viridian

Sakura Koi Chrome Light Green

Utrecht Cerulean Blue Pure

Grumbacher Cobalt Blue

Utrecht Phthalo Blue

Grumbacher Thio Violet

Windsor & Newton Raw Sienna

Grumbacher Raw Umber

Sakura Koi Burnt Sienna

Grumbacher Burnt Umber

Van Gogh Ivory Black

Utrecht Paynes Gray

Utrecht Cobalt Teal

Windsor & Newton Permanent Rose

Grumbacher Cadmium Red Light

Sakura Koi Pale Orange

Windsor & Newton Masking Fluid

One of the most important things I’ve come to realize is that it can be very difficult to find supplies outside of the United States, and if you do find what you’re looking for it can be really expensive.  I naively thought I would be able to buy more paper and what not with relative ease in Buenos Aires, but what I hadn’t counted on was how difficult it was for businesses to export products into Argentina.  This severely limited the brands and quality of the products I did find.  So, if you are going to go traveling for an extended period of time, really really think about what you actually need.  Be selective but not so much so, that if you left something behind you wouldn’t be able to live without it. Lucky for me I had a couple friends come visit, so I loaded them up with everything I was missing! :D

What item can you not live without?