As it quiet standard for me, I always carry a sketch bock and a little portable palette of watercolours, some soft pencils and a few brushed. Also after finding I like Derwent’s Inktense sticks (particularly over in New Zealand) I had bought them along as well. Tonight was quiet mild compare with yesteday’s dust/sand storm, when it was dark well before the sunset. It was probably still in 35-40 C range but really dry heat.
So I pulled out my portable pallete but it has been here over a week now and all the paint in the pallete had cracked and crumbled (indicating just how dry it has been). It would be a bit of a disaster using that, out in the evening breeze. Sunset was approaching fast so I just took out the sketch book, the Inktense tin and a big rubber band to hold them togethr, A couple of pencils and brushes in my pocket and a bottle of water (for me to drink as well as for painting) and a paper cup (for my paint water). Even with my trusty Pentax as well it was easy to carry this kit.
The fauna out here includes desert cobras, scorpions (big ones) and camel spiders (all poisonous) so I had no intention to sit as I sketched. Instead I slung the camera over mu shoulder, put some water in the paper cup and recapped the water bottle leaving them on the ground. I then opened the intense tin and put the lid underneath it. Took a couple of stick and put the sketch book ontop, so the Inktense tin was doubling as a sketch board, I had to slide out the the intense tin as I changes colours but that was easy, provided I used one hand to hold the Inktense tin and the sketch book together and the other hand to change sticks,. When I need water I did have to bend and load the brush up with water but that that wasn’t such a big deal. However the sunsets incredibly quickly here to I just into the rhythm of sketch and the sun began disappearing. Still I was very please with my effort and improvised hand held sketching table.
For PhotoFriday‘s topic Wilderness
