There’s a popular saying: “the best camera is the one you have with you.”
It’s about the importance of being able to capture the scene in front of you. You might spend a lot of money on a fancy camera, but if you don’t carry it with you, you won’t be able to capture it.
I have a similar struggle with urban sketching. Sketching is about noticing, and the right scene to sketch can present itself at unexpected times. Most people now carry around a camera all the time (as part of their phones), but a sketching kit isn’t something we normally have on us.
Like many artists, as I build up my urban sketching practice, I’ve also built up my collection of art supplies. And while I try to keep my palette compact, I also have the urge to carry a range of pencils, markers, and brushes so that I’m equipped to sketch any scene I encounter.
The problem is, my kit is now too large to carry in my regular handbag all the time. I need to remember to bring it out with me. Therefore, I sketch less.
So when I took Liz Steel’s Travel Sketching class for the second time, I decided to get a tiny new palette that I could carry everywhere. Since I already have my Traveler’s Notebook with me all the time, adding a palette and brush means that I now have a sketching kit on hand, always.
I first saw the Art Toolkit Demi Palette from a fellow sketcher at the Cockatoo Island workshop. It’s so cute and tiny, and I love how customisable it is. I finally bought one for this second time through the Travel Sketching course, to test the idea that I would sketch more if I had a kit on me all the time.
I also added a water brush to my bag, to practice getting better results with it. I definitely prefer a regular brush, but there’s no substitute for the convenience of a water brush when I’m sitting on a camping chair at my kids’ sporting match, or I’m on a long-haul flight and want to do something with my hands while I’m watching a movie.
Sketching with a tiny kit isn’t about creating amazing art. It’s about being able to slow down, notice, and capture the moment. It’s also about practicing translating what I see to the page, and breaking the habit of mindlessly scrolling on my phone. Instead of consuming, I create something.
In the Travel Sketching class, Liz teaches us to sketch using an economy of lines, shapes, and layers, to capture what we see on our travels in the most satisfying way.
From world-famous landmarks to the mundane scenes of everyday life, my tiny sketching kit means I never have an excuse not to sketch.
“How would your life change if, whenever you found a free moment, you reached for a sketchbook instead of your phone?”
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