Equipment and Materials
One of the keys to successful outdoor sketching is to take as little as possible of exactly the right equipment with you. It is all too easy to take far too much, and then to loose heart as you struggle along carrying heavy bags. Or even, not to go at all!
In this section I want to show you how you can sketch with very little equipment, and also how to lighten what you take. So if you are setting out on a day's painting in the countryside, or about to sit in a city cafe and sketch the passers by while having a coffee, you will find some help and inspiration here.
Sketchbooks, pencils and pens
Find out what sketchbooks, pencils and pens I recommend, and what is my very favourite piece of sketching equipment.
Click on the picture to find out more.
What do I need for sketching in watercolour?
Watercolour is the most portable of all the media for painting outdoors, and you can travel easily and lightly with enough equipment and materials to paint anything from a quick sketch in a book, to a complete larger painting.
Click on the picture to see a selection of equipment and materials for lightweight watercolour painting.
What do I need for sketching in oils?
Sketching outdoors in oils may seem to be a bit difficult, but since the days of the French impressionists in the 19th century painters have used oils outside. Today with lightweight easels, pochade boxes, and thin board instead of canvas, the task is even easier.
Click on the picture to find out more.