Drawing tools

I sketch on location. So I have to carry my drawing tools around. Here is my equipment as of October 2024.

I made the tool roll from a tea-towel, having scrutinised the ready-made options in art shops and found nothing that worked for me. The lovely paintbrush which I received as a present is nine and a half inches long. It doesn’t fit in a standard pencil wrap or pencil case, which are too small. All the “artists brush wrap” rolls I found online and in the art shops are intended for oil brushes and are 13 inches long – too big.

So I made one. It also holds my pen, pencil, big paintbrush and paintbox, and more brushes.

I carry the water separately, and use a screw-top plastic container as a water pot.

I’ve used different types of sketchbooks. See this link for details of the sketchbooks I’m using. For most urban sketching I use a sketchbook from the Wyvern bindery.

For outdoor adventures and landscapes I use a JP Purcell A5 sketchbook

My watercolour box is from David Cooper at classicpaintboxes.com bought many years ago. It holds 12 colours. See the paintboxes page for my watercolour selection and more details.

Here’s my water pot invention:

It is an empty body lotion container, which happens to be exactly the right size to fit a small round palette.

I cut little indents in the top, so I could balance my brushes – I got irritated that they used to roll off and go in the dirt on the pavement.

I pour in water from my water bottle, then when I’m done I can pack all the damp stuff in the container, screw on the top and put it in my bag, without worrying that the damp cloth will wet the sketchbook.

In some locations, such as trains, railways stations, some halls, cafés and public spaces, there’s nowhere to pour away your dirty water, so I can just screw the top on the container and wait until I’m outdoors again.

I usually also manage to put a smaller water pot  inside, so I can work quickly with different colours. The little tiny water bottle is in there in case I’ve drunk all my water from my big water bottle!