How to Create a Travel Art Kit for Beginners
Summer plans are being made! However, your plans are not complete without a travel art kit.
Remember my post all about travel art vacations? You don’t have to wait for a special tour or workshop to be artistic during your travels. Create a travel art kit to take out when creativity calls.
Basic Travel Art Kit
Start with a basic kit. Add to it depending on the art medium of your choice. I start with pencils, pens and erasers.
- Fine point pens (Pilot Precise V5, JV Pen Java)
- Sketching pencils (MET Art Supply, General Kimberly)
- Plastic eraser (Prismacolor)
- Gum eraser (Prismacolor)
- Pencil sharpener
Watercolor Travel Art Kit
For watercolor painting, add watercolors and special watercolor paper. I cut regular sized paper into smaller rectangles. This makes the paper easier to travel with. Strathmore is my favorite brand for watercolors pads. I buy most of my art pads from them.
For all the travel art kits that include paint, I use a small container with water and a piece of paper towel. This allows me to clean the brushes in between colors. Fun fact, the water container I used came from a printer ink cartridge.
Palette paper has a shiny surface and is used for blending colors. You can also use a plastic palette.
Brushes can be expensive. Many are sold individually. I’m linking a set that I bought recently. It is very good quality for the price and includes a wide variety of brushes.
- Watercolor paints (Yarka)
- Paint brushes – (1) flat wide, (1) round thin, (1) round medium (Craft Smart)
- Watercolor paper (Strathmore)
- Paper towel squares
- Water container
- Palette paper or plastic palette (Dollar Tree)
Acrylic/ Gouache Travel Art Kit
Acrylic and Gouache paints are a little harder to use in a travel art kit. This is due to how messy they can be. Either are still a good option if you’ll have enough room to spread out when you paint.
- Acryl Gouache paint (Turner), Acrylic paint (Blick Studio)
- Paint brushes – (1) flat wide, (1) round thin, (1) round medium (Craft Smart)
- Mini canvases (Dollar Tree)
- Paper towel squares
- Water container
- Palette paper or plastic palette (Dollar Tree)
If you really don’t want to get messy, choose colored pencils.
Colored Pencil Travel Art Kit
- Colored pencils (Raffine)
- Small sketchpad (Strathmore)
Illustration Markers Travel Art Kit
The last type of travel art kit includes illustration markers. Illustration makers are great for capturing cars, trains and similar items.
Illustration markers, like watercolor, need a special type of paper. Otherwise, the markers will bleed through the paper. Use what is called bristol paper.
- Illustration markers (Prismacolor)
- Bristol paper (Strathmore)
What are you going to add to your travel art kit? Where will you create your art? Don’t think you need to travel far. Discover art right in your own backyard.
Nice ideas, Kelcy…
And yes, right out our back or front door …so much beauty in creation…
We had an invasion of cicadas for the last 4 weeks and they are truly a marvel of creation..red eyes and all…!
Thanks again for an interesting post…much to look forward to in the future.
Glad you enjoyed the post. True. I guess even the cicadas can be considered art.