Pleasant Surprise at the 9by5 Exhibition

Yesterday I headed along to the City of Greater Dandenong Council's 9by5 exhibition opening at the Drum Theatre and was genuinely impressed. The foyer was packed with both a large crowd, and also with 225 works on show spanning a huge range of styles and media, from a few beginners right through to very experienced artists. Each artist could enter up to two pieces, and having everything the same size (9" by 5") made for a really cohesive exhibition. The organisers did a wonderful job fitting it all in.

My work ended up down the back (as usual), but I was pleased to find a red sticker already on one of my watercolours!

It was great chatting with some of the other artists. Everyone was enthusiastic and grateful for the opportunity to show their work. A point that kept coming up in conversation was how wonderful it is for people to be able to see and buy affordable original art, and I couldn't agree more.

The exhibition runs until 1st. May If you're on the south-east side of Melbourne, it's well worth calling in. and if you can't make it in person, the most works are also available to buy online.

Another Quick Tip - Experimenting with new tools and techniques

This is a simple recycling tip, to help keep your brushes happy. Stay watching for the Extra Bonus Tip about cleaning watercolour brushes at the end.

Still experimenting with new techniques and tools to create these videos. I just updated my very old version of VideoStudio, to the last every (2023) version. Despite the "end of the road" vibes. It does what I need. Faster rendering and higher resolution. Not to mention several new features to learn. This video for YouTube was filmed on my phone and edited with Corel VideoStudio.

So I still have a lot to learn about filming, presenting and more professional editing, BUT I am learning and enjoying myself. Maybe these tips might help or interest you.

Sending Watercolour Postcards : Does Size Matter?

The general answer is yes but the specific answer is not really!

Postcards and Christmas cards have fairly well established dimensions. For most postcards it is 4 by 6 inches, or roughly 10 by 15 centimetres. However, postcards are not exclusively this size but generally close and our Australian post office machinery for sorting mail handles this size easily. Assuming you card is stiff enough, 200gsm plus, you just need to put a stamp on the back with the address, don’t forget the postcode, and post.

Christmas cards typically have a variety of sizes, but 5 by 7 inch, or roughly12.5 by 17.5 cms, is a popular size. These cards are designed to be sent in a suitably sized envelope, which are usually supplied with the cards. Such larger envelopes by themselves can be hard to find and it might be best to find the envelopes first before embarking on larger cards.

Australia post have size and weight limits and standard post is now $1.50 for up to 13 by 24 cms and up to 5mm thick. 200 gsm paper is around 2mm thick and 300 gsm paper a fraction over 3mm thick but thickness varies by manufacturer and composition.

Australia post still offer cheaper rate 65c for card only posting around Christmas. I believe they now only sell the stamps in pack of 10 (ie $6.50) and I believe you still need to leave the envelope unseal and write card only on the back. Interestingly, Australian Post allow larger sizes for “season cards”, up to 26 by 34cm and up to 20mm thick, in November and December. So this might be an option if you make you own cards and send out several.

Here is a table of common sized option

Watercolour postcard	Either commercial watercolour or homemade postcards	10 by 15cm ~(9 by 17cm)	☑
A6 postcard		10.5 by 14.8cm	☑
Half A5 postcard	cut in half	14.8 by 21cm/2 =>10.5 by 14.6cm	☑
Quarter A4	cut into four	21 by 29.7cm/4 =>10.5 by 14.6cm	☑
A4 Card	Folded into quarters in envelope	~11 by 15cm	☑
A5 Card	Sent as is in envelope	14.8 by 21cm	⮽?☑ Only in Nov./Dec.

What Brands of Watercolour Postcard are Available and Where?

There are several brands of premade blank watercolour postcards. Here are a few I’ve used.  My favourite is Hahnemuhle which comes in a very nice little tin of 30 sheets, which is easy to pack when I'm travelling. I bought a couple of tins many years ago at a gallery in Fish Creek which is now closed. Unfortunately, this paper then proved hard to source. Recently I noticed that it is now available at The Art Shop in Bayswater.

Another brand of postcard paper I have used extensively is Winslow which I think is only carried by Eckersley’s. I originally bought a pad in Queensland. I think it is a wood pulp paper rather than cotton but it is a very robust 300gsm card. The pad only contains 15 cards, so it is not the cheapest option per card but often available at a discount price in-store.

 Last year I purchased a different brand in a tin called Potentate. It’s supposedly 100% cotton 300 gsm with 24 blank sheets in the tin and comes from China. I bought it from Amazon as it was on special, possibly $15, which was enough to give me free freight on an larger order. I like it but have not been able to find a supplier in Australia and it no longer seems available through  Australian Amazon.

Finally a large number of the postcards I have sent were "homemade", possibly more than half, and particularly the many birthday cake postcards that I sent to the WSV members during lockdowns, These handmade postcards, were just watercolour paper just to size. My YouTube below makes me cringe a bit at the video quality, I made it at the beginning of the Covid locked-downs. Hopefully, it may give you context as to why I like original hand painted watercolour postcards.

Whenever I am cutting up watercolour paper I try to keep any pieces that are roughly 10 by 15 cms in the little folder I made for my Canadian trip and carry this with my plein air gear. This size is great for quick sketches, value or colour studies even when they’re not intended to be postcards.

Can you Send Watercolour Paper Safely in the Post?

I have actually sent a lot of postcards unprotected through the post. From such diverse locations as Canada the UK, Northern Europe, Africa, South Asia, Brazil and even far northern Queensland with just the stamp on the back and an address, without problem. A few took a while to arrive, particularly through the Covid 19 lockdowns. In one late delivery, I had forgotten to add the postcode!

Being watercolour and paper many people worry they are not strong enough and will suffer water damage to smudge or lift the painting. Yes, water damage is a real potential problem but within Australia, the Postal Service does have a pretty good track record. Of course, providing the recipient has a waterproof mailbox!

Concerning the robustness of any watercolour postcard it depends mainly on the thickness and weight of the paper. Cotton-based watercolour papers are actually quite robust but I have not tried sending anything less than 200 gsm homemade postcards. Most of the commercial cards are either 230 gsm or 300 gsm. As far as I know, none have arrived scuffed, creased or damaged. Some wood-pulp-based paper in cheaper watercolour pads feels a lot softer and may require posting in an envelope.

Speaking of which you can always put your postcard in an envelope. Standard envelopes available for letters might prove a little tight. Just refold the top flap to accommodate the card’s width. Given envelopes are also made of paper they will not guarantee that there is never a possibility of water or physical damage.

As far as future provenance is concerned, I romantical have the view that future generations, even art historians or curators might enjoy researching the postmarks and stamp designs. Even today something sent through the post is considered quaint and more authentic.

From Frustration to Innovation: Saving a Watercolour Painting Gone Wrong

As artists, we often stumble upon unexpected challenges that lead to creative solutions. I want to share a recent experience that turned a potential disaster into an interesting experiment with old watercolour paper and ground.

Lately, I've been on a mission to use up my old/unused art supplies – particularly my watercolour paper stash. During a recent Wednesday Wanderers session, I pulled out what I thought was my trusty Bockingford paper, a brand I've always appreciated for its forgiving nature. Oh, how wrong I was!

The Problem

As soon as I began applying my usual semi wet-on-wet technique for the background, I knew something was off. Instead of the familiar behavior I expected, the paper acted more like blotting paper – greedily soaking up every drop of pigment. The whole sheet remained stubbornly wet throughout the entire session. Even after drying, the paper was noticeably warped.

I suspected this must have been a forgotten sheet from an ancient pad, likely suffering from deteriorated sizing. But rather than consigning my work to the bin, I saw an opportunity for experimentation.

The Solution

Remember that watercolour ground I'd recently purchased for the VAS 9 by 5 exhibition to paint on wood? That became my saving grace. I decided to apply two very light coats to the troubled paper. While this process did lift some of the original colour (an expected side effect). 

The improvement in the paper's surface was remarkable.

The Result

The experiment proved successful! The watercolour ground not only rescued my painting but also gave the paper a second life. It's fascinating how often our artistic "mistakes" can lead to discovering new techniques and solutions.

Key Takeaways:

• Don't be too quick to discard "failed" paintings

• Old art supplies might surprise you (not always pleasantly!)

• Watercolour ground isn't just for wood – it can rehabilitate problematic paper too

• Sometimes the best discoveries come from trying to fix our mistakes

Has anyone else experienced similar issues with aged watercolor paper? I'd love to hear about your creative solutions to art supply challenges!

Originally shared on Instagram.

My Most Portable Sketching Setup

One of the primary objectives with my art gear that I took to Queensland was figuring out the minimum I required when painting or sketching. A significant oversight was that I forgot to pack a small sketchbook, so I had to purchase an A5 Visual Diary at the airport. I managed to find one with 110gsm Cartridge paper which I figured would be okay for pencil and pen, but maybe a bit thin for watercolour.

It was just the right size, combined with my dot chart, a water brush, and sometimes a gel pen. I actually did a lot of sketching with this. Anyone else who has tried sketching people at the beach knows that no sooner do you start the sketch than the people move away, stand up, change positions, or go home. Capturing people on the beach can be a fun challenge, but you probably only have a short time to get the basic gestures and textures.

What I found is that these sketches could capture a lot more life in the figures than a photograph. If I was careful how much water I used with the water brush, I had no problems with wrinkling the page as I was painting, so decent-weight cartridge paper is probably okay for this size sketchbook if you're just using it to collect some gestural pictures quickly.

I really appreciate the dot chart on the CD laid out like a colour wheel. On this particular dot chart, I may have overdone the number of colour dots. It's easy to mix the colours you want onto the paper as you go, and I really didn't need that many colours - going back to the 6 basic families is probably okay, possibly with one or two darks and an earth colour.

Creating the dot chart like this is both practical and very cheap and won't discourage me from experimenting. So I've already started making up a few, -CD colour wheel dot charts to start very minimal sketching kits based on a water brush and a small collection of pencils and/or pens.I have a few water brushes, but I really liked the Pentel waterbrush with the bulbous water barrel - it's easy to load with water, always has a decent flow, and the bristles are easy to clean. On the trip I also bought a cheap set of water-soluble graphite pencils in two grey shades and black, and I liked them. Perhaps I'll look out for more upmarket suppliers, like Derwent.. I also like gel pens, particularly the ones with soluble ink.I'm okay with just using the cheaper spiral-bound A5 visual diaries, as long as they have thicker pages (e.g., 120 gsm) rated for mixed media, which should mean they can take a little water media if I want colour.. My intention is to have several of these kits easily accessible everywhere so there is never an excuse not to stop and sketch - e.g., in my studio, office, car, art bag, and perhaps even in the back pocket of my camera bag.

Plenty of fun to come!

The Dilemma of "Bully" Colours in Watercolour Palettes

As I mapped my watercolour pigments onto a hexagon grid, seeking to merge colour systems from RGB and CMYk to the likes of Ostwald and Munsell, I noticed an interesting pattern. The warmer colours (yellows, oranges, reds) spread out more on the grid's edge, while cooler colours, blues and greens and even deeper reds and purples on the outer sections seemed to merge in tone and hue.I wondered if this was because I had picked the darker richly pigmented “bully” colours? Those strong staining colours that look so overwhelming straight out of the tube.  

This observation led me to two questions:

1. Do I have enough variety in my blues, deep reds, purples, and magentas?

2. Should I retain strong, staining "bully" colours in my basic palette?

To address the first question, I experimented with new colours during a trip to Queensland. I bought some extra colours shown here that I added to my normal palette using little half pans stuck in with bluetak. I was particularly chasing tropical colours and I also wanted at the same time to try out a couple of MaimeriBlu colours. My choices were  good. This exploration will be covered in a separate post.

The second question about "bully" colours like phthalo green and blue is more complex. These intense pigments can be powerful in mixes but require careful handling. 

They offer several benefits:

1. Desaturating complementary colours while maintaining harmony

2. Creating strong contrasts when used sparingly with analogous colours

3. Adding warmth (Quinacridones) or coolness (Phthalos) to mixes

4. Achieving split-tone effects, like warm highlights with cool shadows

Instead of discarding these pigments, I'm considering using them as mixing aids rather than relying on convenience colours like naple's yellow or sap green or any of those gorgeous pigments you may have impulse purchased but seldom used. This approach might help create a more nuanced and harmonious palette.

You are invited

 I’ve given myself a little challenge for my paint out next Tuesday. Everyone is welcome to come along and especially those who want to do a bit of plein-air painting. It’s scheduled to take place from 10am to 3pm on the 21^st of May in Parliament Gardens, in the city. It’s that little triangular piece of gardens opposite the Northern End of Parliament Station at the intersection of Albert Rd and Nicholson St. It is primarily aimed at creating interest for the “Luminous: A Festival of Watercolour” Exhibition at the Victorian ArtistSociety just up the road in Albert Street. Anyone who wants to paint is welcome, more than welcome.

I’ve been experimenting with my own dot charts set up on DVDs as very simple portable palettes for plein air painting. For those familiar with painting outdoors 10am to 3pm or 5 hours is a very long time. The light will change dramatically over that time frame, especially this time of year. Therefore I plan to do say 3 or 4 paintings/sketches and I also thought it would be a good idea if I made them using different artists colour palettes. 

So I’ve made up two new dot chart colour wheels on DVDs. The first is based on Andy Evansen’s palette which is a fairly conventional traditional English style watercolour setup although he’s American. He recomends starting with a painted value study and I’ll try to follow this recommendation. He also looks to join as many shapes as possible with his first midtone wash another idea I really like.

My second palette also on  a DVD is based on Vincent Van Gogh’s later palettes, which were of course for oils, not watercolours. I had previously researched the colours through his letters to his brother Theo. He had recognised he was having trouble with fugitive colours like emerald green and his red carmine and lake colours,  also he worried about using alizarin crimson. These days there are more permanent versions of these colours available. I did research into Vincent’s colours for a project last December where I was asked by Royal Talons to be their Instagram artist of the month and they kindly supplied some art materials. It was fun. 

Depending on the lighting I’d like to tackle something that Turner might do. I’m certain he  would be looking for a dramatic sky or foreboding shadows. If nothing else there’s the waterfall, sure to produce some interesting fluid shapes. A few years ago I made up palette a turner inspired palette following the recommendations of Tony Smibert, a real expert on JWM Turner. I plan to focus on warm versus cool colours and look for a moody emotional connection.

Finally I’ve got my current palette based on six families of hues, red, yellow, green, cyan blue, and magenta. I trust it will afford me the best opportunity to mix stronger intense colours, higher chroma in artist jargon of colour pigments.

Even though the garden’s pretty small there’s plenty to see and paint. Alternatively just come along to see me paint and also visit the exhibition.

The Beauty of Minimalist Plein Air Sketching

Sometimes the most memorable artistic moments happen spontaneously without an elaborate setup. A case in point - I was out enjoying the late afternoon on the forshore at Cowes, intending to stay to paint the sunset. However, as I awaited the warm light a ship standing by and people milling about on the beach provided the perfect scene for a quick sketch.

That's when the beauty of a minimalist sketching kit came into play. I didn't need much more than a small sketch pad, a couple of water brushes, and my trusty little dot chart colour wheel. 

There's something immensely satisfying about working with just the bare essentials out in the field. You become hyper-focused on transcribing the essence of the moment through swift brushstrokes. No fiddling with complex setups or hauling cumbersome gear - just you, the scene, and a sparse collection of tools.

Speaking of those essential tools, one item that continues to prove invaluable is my homemade dot chart colour wheel. Not only is it highly portable, but crafting your own allows you to arrange pigment scales exactly how your artistic brain understands colour relationships best.

Making one is also delightfully simple...

Is it me or AI that’s improving" ?

 Painting Granitic Rocks

This week's Wednesday Wanderers was painting a vista on the East Coast of Tasmania, a little channel of granitic rocks against some silhouetted trees reflected in the water. I was trying out a different Art Spectrum watercolour paper, 300gsm but 20% cotton and heavily textured. Didn’t really like it at first, unfortunately it’s also very absorbent so I ran out of time to wait for it to dry during the session. I returned to it yesterday, adding a little bit of detail, some deep tone and colour. It turned out OK (see below).

As has been my way of late I have also checked out what AI might make of my style. I did a “sty;e transfer” on night café studio, which trains on my artwork (above) and applies that to the originl photo. The results were pretty good (see below). Still a couple of tiny “distractions”. So the question is “Have I improved or has AI?” Perhaps its both, especially in the rendering of the granite boulders.

Pushing my luck I decided to also do some generative Ai testing using the prompt- "bright blue sky granite rocks silhouetted trees with strong reflections watercolor" 

So the score (according to me).

Me  1/1           my Style Transfer   0.95/1         Generative AI   0.2/3

How would you score the images?

Connecting What and Who are the Wednesday Wanderers?

 What were you doing during the lockdowns? (well assuming they are over) 

Here is something I did and we are having an exhibition, If you are in Melbourne or allowed into Victoria please come and have a look.

Wednesday Wanderers was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Unable to meet or paint en plein air during strict lockdowns, three committee members from the Watercolour Society of Victoria were feeling isolated and fed up with their own four walls.  It’s easy to forget that before COVID, many people had never used or even heard of Zoom.  We used it to connect a diverse community of watercolourists interested in escaping from the pandemic blues once a week.  We adopted a quirky speed painting format that challenged our skills and fit in with the technology requirements. 

Immediately it became apparent that there was a need for something like this, as membership quickly grew.  It has enabled artists who could never have come to a real-world paint-out to spend time some enjoyable time painting together in a safe environment.  Time poor artists, artists who live far from Melbourne, housebound artists, and those caring for family members. 

 We continue to meet fortnightly now that lockdowns are presumably a thing of the past.  We now have Wanderers in many parts of Victoria, as well as New South Wales, Western Australia, and the United States.  We have become a warm, welcoming community that continues to grow.

,,, Jane Elliston

Another Sponge Tip for Watercolourists

Carting around water pods at the beach, if your sketching can be just one extra task too many. I decided to try out using a couple of pieces of foam/sponge. One to clean pigment off the brush to other to hole clean water to wet the brush.

Return to the Old Chestnut :: Scaning Versus Photography

I have looked at the issues of the best way to get a digital copy of your art work many times. I'm still open to finding the best way, but realise there might be different solutions for different media and how the image is to be used. With watercolour possible the most difficult to find a good solution, because much of it's magic lies in it's transparent colours.

 

Now it's your turn. The above images have been capture with webcam, phone, mirrorless camera and scanner (in no particular order).

Which best shows the watercolourness? 

Which looks best?

I just missed "world pigment day"

 

I discovered that yesterday was “World Pigment Day” thanks to an email from Windsor & Newton. Honestly who makes up these names & days?, but it is an excuse to post my revised portable watercolour palette based on the idea of six primary colours (ie combining the photographic RGB scheme and the printers CYM(k) schemes). BTW Being watercolour I’m not using black. Whereas previously I had tried the conventional idea of a warm and cool version of each, I’ve now concentrated on trying to get a transparent and opaque version of each. Some of the pigments are same as before but I have more transparent versions now. The #watercoloursocietyofvictoria ‘s #paintaway was a great opportunity to try this out for “plein air” work. I enjoyed it a lot. (also see my instagram)

A more convention RYB Pigment based Colour Wheel (from Winsor & Newton)

More Ethereal than Surreal

Today's photo is another heavily post processed contribution, in fact it is using the one-click style filters that I generally dislike. However... ... you'll never know if you don't give it a go... This image (I'm not going to say it is still a photo) was completely created on my phone. Starting with a way to close selfie, then I used an app called Porta to generate the watercolour style feel with faded edges.

I'm not sure how the blood shot eye effect arose but it suits the apprehensive and ethereal mood. (My eye isn't blood shot at all).

#TURNOFFSOCIALMEDIA :: Work in progress

Seems there was a lot of angst generated yesterday, because the social media drip was taken away. The really sad part was that the emergency services in Australia (triple zero) has to take to conventional media  to stop ringing to report Facebook and Instagram. So sad….

Well there is a good alternative #TURNOFFSOCIALMEDIA and go and do something in the real world, the more creative the better or actually talk to someone, especially a friend. It will be really good for your health.

Yesterday I when for a walk for with my sketchbook, watercolours & pens (the actually fit in my camera bag) Sat in the sun (and strong breeze) and sketched.

Time disappeared into a flow of seeing and sketching. The only rude reminder of reality was fighting against the wind. Such is life and it is good.

The Challenges of Watercolours at the Beach

I now have a very comfy beach chair that is perfect to sit and do some sketching at the beach. I also have a nice little backpack that holds my art gear. So I should have little trouble making decent sketches. However there are two challenges wind & sand that introduce a fair bit of stress to the watercolour sketching process.
Using my wet/watercolour portable pallette on the beach is a like a magnet for sand. The mixing areas in particular have areas of wet paint being mixed and any small sand grains tend to collect here. The sketch book itself often collects a lots of sand on the damp areas and the little grains tend to suck in the surrounding moisture and pigments creating a speckled effect (nice for foliage and sand but not attractive in the flat wash of sky). If I put the sketch book down on the beach to dry … sand everywhere.

However it is the wind even just a brisk breeze that plays more havoc. It blows around more sand and also pulls at the pages of my sketch book )one sketch book was pretty much unbound on this trip so it is now a lot of loose pages. Also the wind makes it hard to balance my portable paint pallette, brushes and water
There are a couple of  good solution to windy days, that I discovered, and relied on, on my recent trip. The first is big bulldog clips and/or masking tape. to hold my sketch book securely on my drawing board. The second is my set of Derwent Inktense Blocks which I use little like a “dry” pallette. Using a water brush I can just pick up the paint I need from the blocks and essentially leave the blocks dry (and less sand attracting). I tend to then mix the colours on the sketchbook page and I’m pleased with the results.

Sketching Kit Three :: The Original (Blue Folio)

This is actually my long standing sketching kit, having undergone many changes yet remaining much the same. It is based around my small portable folding palette preloaded with colours, I experimented with the layout of colours but reached the current set up a few years ago now.  Top Row are warm colours, and from left to right, Cotman Dioxazine Violet, W&N Alizarin Crimson, W&N Cadmiun Red, Cotman Indian Red, Cotman Yellow Ochre, W&N Lemon Yellow, W&N Cadmium Yellow, Cotman Gambage Hue, Cotman Raw Sienna, W&N Burnt Umber. Bottom row is the cooler colours again from left to right,  Cotman Chinese White, Cotman Lamp Black, W&N Paynes Gray, Cotman Sap Green, W&N Viridian, W&N Phthalo Turquoise, W&N Phthalo Sapphire, W&N Cerulean Blue,W&N Cobalt Blue, W&N French Ultramarine  These started out as mainly Windsor and Newton Artist’ Watercolours (in tubes & expensive) but this has given way to a few Cotman colours (also in tubes but affordable). Where transparency is not a characteristic of the colour I desire, such as in earthy tones like yellow ochre, I suspect the Cotman’s are just as good. For small/quick sketches the Windsor and Newton watercolours may be overkill anyway but they come into their own on good quality watercolour paper and larger works. I have been known to put this folding palette in my camera bag with a couple of brushes a small sketch book but kits one & two living permanently in the camera bags have made that unlikely now.

I carry the paints and media in a blue canvas folio. It holds my field drawing board, which has a appropriate sized nut glued on the underside so I can amount it on my camera tripod if a portable easel is required, but normally using it on my knee is fine. This board is just a bit larger than a quarter sheet of watercolour paper and I usually carry 4-8 sheets held in place for transport with rubber bands. I often have a sketch block or watercolour pad included, although I now like the idea of having a few post card sized pieces of watercolour paper as well. I sometimes finish a sketch, write a message on the back and post it (my post cards from Canada were popular with my family). I can also fit a full sized plastic palette and my canvas roll of my watercolour brushes. Its a pretty light setup and the canvas handles make this easy to carry. I usually also carry a full set of watercolour tubes in my luggage in a largish plastic screw top jar which can double as a water jar when needed, I seldom take these out sketching. The orange flagging tape is to make the kit easier to find in the field, whilst the blue is strong it can disappear when left in the shade, the orange tape against the blue is hard to miss.
I also still have my foldout studio always ready when I want to create a decent work place on the go. However this blue bag kit is what I will be taking in my luggage for most of my Endless Summer project trips.

Sketching Kit Two (Think Tank Bag)

Despite having a fairl hefty Pentax K20, typically with a weighty Tamrom 18-200 zoom and polarizing filter, I actually bought a Think Tank Mirroless Mover 30i before the trip to Canada last year. Despite being designed for a mirrorless system but it holds my camera and my sigma 70-300 zoom plus a few small accessories, battery extra cards etc. It also has a slot at the back probably designed to take an ipad mini but it is just fine for an A5 sketch block or A5 Visual diary, so I also slipped in an old tin of Neocolour II water-soluble crayons. I like using them, they have good intense colours once activated by water and I’ve had these for several years but haven’t been able to fine a local supplier so I tend to use then on and off. The discovery of water brushes means I don’t have to carry water but I do also pack in a couple of brushes, pencils and/or pens. All this takes up very little room and almost no extra weight (depends on thickness and paper weight of the sketch book mainly) so I can leave it in my camera bag at all times.