ArtistsNetwork.com 43FGJKMNA THOUGHTFULLY STOCKED
PORTABLE WATERMEDIA KIT
IS THE SECRET TO SUCCESS
FOR ANY PAINTING EXCURSION.
By James Gurney
MY PORTABLE KIT
CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER RIGHT
steering wheel attachment for easel
(A); cotton rag (B); pencil sharpener
(C); water cup (D); camera (E);
white gel pen, graphite pencils,
water brushes, water-soluble colored
pencils (F); pencil box (G); belt pouch
with homemade sketch easel (H);
synthetic brushes, pastel sticks, plastic
container, neutral density fi lter (I);
pan watercolor box with 10 colors ( J);
spring clamps (K); watercolor journal
(L); small set of tube gouache (M);
measuring dowel (N)B
eing prepared for any sketching opportunity
means having a compact watercolor and
gouache kit ready to go at any time. Water-
based painting media are compact and adaptable,
and they can be used indoors or outdoors, as long
as the temperature is above freezing. Th ey have the
added advantage of being unobtrusive and easy
to clean up. Over the years, I’ve painted with oil,
acrylic, cel vinyl, markers and other media, but
I keep coming back to watercolor and gouache
because they play well together. Th ey make it possi-
ble for me to paint anywhere, anytime—from the
humble waiting room of my car mechanic to the posh
Presidential box seats at the Metropolitan Opera.
Th rough trial and error, I’ve streamlined my
watermedia kit to the essentials to ensure that I have
the widest range of options available to me via the
minimum amount of materials. Take a peek inside
my kit and see how I use it to create a variety of
sketches and paintings on the fl y.BUILDING A BRIDGE
FROM DRAWING TO PAINTING
Th e strategy behind my portable kit is to have at
the ready a wide array of options to create anything
from a simple pencil drawing to a fully opaque
painting. Each component complements the others,
allowing me to deploy art materials in unusual ways
and at various stages of the process. I might start,
for example, with a watercolor pencil drawing,
then apply big transparent washes, then add a few
opaque touches and fi nish with crisp highlights,
using a white gel pen.
Th is mixed-media approach to watermedia is
infl uenced by my experience as an oil painter,
in which pigments can be applied with a variety
of media and tools. I’m not concerned with the
traditional defi nitions of purity in watercolor
practice as long as the results convey the eff ects
I’m after and are conservationally sound.