Sketching outside

Aided perhaps by the long days and sunny weather, I’ve been getting back into sketching outdoors recently.

It helps that I’ve finally sorted out my sketching kit. For the longest time I was unhappy with my options, and could never quite work out how to improve things. I love sketching in charcoal, but don’t like having to bring fixative with me (or worry about smudging). Same with pastels (plus I never seemed to have the right colors with me). These days I’m down to an efficient little set of materials that fit in my purse, so I can carry them every day.

I’ve got an A5 sketchbook with two binder clips on it (essential for keeping pages in place on a windy day); a small pencil box containing various pencils, an eraser, a sharpener, a paintbrush, and a few bits of charcoal and pastel; a travel watercolor box (with a thumb ring on the bottom, so it can perch on my left hand) and a small container of water.

It all fits into a 17x24cm ziplock bag (along with a paper towel or two). I also usually have a couple of black drawing pens floating around in my bag, as well.

Since putting the right materials together and having them with me almost always, I have been much better about using spare moments to sketch rather than play with my phone or whatnot. I look forward to arriving places early, in order to have time to sketch. I know all this sketching is good for my eye, and my art. You learn so much about a subject by sketching it, things that a photograph can miss.