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Author: Annie_Howell-Adams, Contributing Editor
| Traveling with Oil Paints
article by Annie Howell-Adams |
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| Before leaving on a month’s painting trip to France, I scoured the internet looking for an article suggesting what to take. I was hoping for something similar to a kid’s checklist for summer camp, 5 pairs of sox, 4 filberts, and 2 tubes of white. Finding no such materials list, I started to think about what to paint on, what to paint with, and what I was going to do with them afterward. Each person knows what they like, so a materials list is a lot of personal choice. Clearly a person cannot take the contents of their studio with a 50 pound weight limit per bag on the airlines, nor would you want to. However, I can see why steamer trunks were a good idea back in the day. We rented a house in the Champagne area for a month and had the luxury of being in one spot so we could set up a studio like situation. |
| Planning for our trip grew out of several conversations with painters who travel. Evelyn Boran takes 2 sets of stretcher bars and a roll of canvas when she travels to paint. Each evening she prepares 2 canvases for the next day. Paintings are 40 to 60 percent completed on location, then hung on a laundry line to dry. At the end of the trip, they are rolled up, then stretched and finished at home. Working on a small panel is easy and wet panels can be packed in a box. I have a 12” by 16” box made by Raymar which works very well. Boxes come is a variety of sizes. You just slide the wet panel in and the spacers keep them apart. The box can be closed and fits right in your luggage. I would like to have several boxes, each a different panel size. |
| A friend, Dick Barnhart, went to Europe and bought all his supplies in Italy, including panels. He is now discovering that European sizes are not the same as standard US frame sizes, causing him to have to custom frame his paintings. 3 or 4 custom frames jobs are practically the cost of an airplane ticket to Europe! A person could measure and mark off standard sizes to cut at home, or take precut panels.
Several years ago, I took a roll of 24” wide canvas and bought charcoal and fixative in Paris. I drew directly onto the canvas, laying in the compositions. Later, combined with sketches and photos, I was able to paint at home, plus, there was no worry about wet paint. That method worked nicely, particularly if on the go or have limited time to devote to art on a trip. One note, I made the mistake of drawing to the edges. Be sure to leave enough border to stretch canvases, 5” each edge, otherwise you have to mount them on panels. |
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