Ultra portable plein air painting...

[eric135]

I'd like to share a technique I've started using to produce ultra-portable watercolor palettes, which I use for plein air painting, or for painting in my watercolor journal in situations where I don't want to mess with "the whole setup" (for instance, while sitting on the couch watching tv). I can also paint in very "tight" situations, where I can't pull out all of my supplies. I think this set up will be my main setup when I travel.

I owe credit to a YouTube video where this method was used with watercolor pencils as well, but I can't find the video to link here (if/when I find it, I'll add a comment).

If someone on here has already done this.... oops! sorry!

Background: I love the idea of painting plein air, but I am very self conscious about pulling out my portable pan set with the glass of water and brushes. With this method, I can paint with a 4x6" dry palette, a water brush and my Moleskine watercolor notebook.

No brushes
No water
No tubes/pans of paint.

What you'll need to make the palettes:
-two small cards of thick (I use 140 lb that happens to be pre-stretched) watercolor paper. The size is not really that important but my cards are about 4x6 in. I cut them by hand from sheets of my usual paper.
-A selection of your paints in watercolor tubes.
-A blow dryer

To make the palette:
1. Take one of the cards you've cut.
2. Place a small dollop of each paint directly from the tube onto the card, equidistant from one another and from the edge of the card.
3. Take the other card and place carefully on top.
4. Apply even pressure, but not so vigorously that the individual paints run into each other, or squeeze out the sides.
5. Pull the cards apart. You should now have little circles of paint with some space around each.
6. Allow the cards to dry. Use a blow dryer to thoroughly dry the paints in just a few minutes.

Here's a picture of what you'll end up with (one card shown, you'll end up with two cards):



How I use these little cards:
-I use a bulldog clip to attach the card to the left side of my open water color notebook and I paint on the right page. You can use another bulldog clip to hold the paper down, or use tape.
-I use a water brush. It includes a round brush and holds all the water I needed in the barrel. After this painting, my water brush was still half full of water.
-I don't carry any other brushes or water.
-I blend colors in the space between/around the little circles.

Here is a pic of what I ended up with as a finished product: the palette card (with a lot of paint still available to use), how my watercolor notebook is set up to use, the second card (still totally unused) and my water brush. I tried to paint as freely as possible, and not stingy with the paints. As you can see, there was plenty left over:



And this is the piece I painted, some of it plein air and then finished sitting at a table in a sushi restaurant:



-The size of the palette can be whatever you want.
-You can use as many colors as you want.
-When your done painting, you can just throw the palette away.

Of course, comments are invited.

Eric
Phoenix AZ

[zoodlemaker]

I like this idea very much. I might have seen the watercolour pencil technique on video too, but didn't think of adapting it to wc paint. One suggestion with the video I saw was it would make it easy to paint on an airplane....or train or restaurant.

[painterbear]

Hi Erik,
What a practical way to bring your watercolor kit along when plein aire painting and you don't have a lot of room to carry a lot of gear.

This has great potential for quick sketches of scenes you see everyday or on a special outing.



Sylvia

I've added a link to this thread in The Watercolor Handbook in the section called Painting Techniques: Basic and Beyond.

[janinco]

Thanks, Eric! I made up a palette on paper from an Artist's Loft brand acrylic pad that I got at Michael's - it's very inexpensive and the surface is like Yupo. The paints were much easier to mix and lift than on the watercolor paper. Carol said the paint pops off when it dries on Yupo, but I didn't have that problem with the acrylic paper. I can even flex the paper and it adheres fine. However I do use M. Graham paints which stay more tacky when they're dry. The paper can get quite wet and the paint doesn't sink in. (It doesn't work well with watercolor pencils, only paints.)

Jan

[charliez]

I wonder if the paint will stick to plastic laminated paper...
this will create a reusable mini palette.
Great idea!

[eric135]

@Sandra: I actually tried using the watercolor pencils instead of tube paint, but you really don't get much paint. In the video, though, she was just painting very small amounts. I think I could cover maybe 8x10in with just one palette card.

@Sylvia: It's good to be back (although I've been reading all this time, just not painting). Thanks for the cross link. Gee, how far I've come, to actually have written something you find useful!

@Jan: I don't know anything about acrylic pads and I'm totally clueless of what yupo is... I've never ventured out of watercolor... who knows maybe I'll expand my horizons some day... My mini-palettes are made of Fabriano paper, and it's not terribly expensive... it would definitely hurt if I were to use really good expensive paper. But even my Fabriano palettes don't bleed through. And my last batch of palettes I used old paintings I wasn't happy with (cut them up and used the backs) with no problems. I haven't had any issues with mixing, but I admit there is a lot of "scratching" than usual.

@Carlos: Interesting idea using laminated paper... but I just love using them up and tossing them away, even when I am using them at home (my only "serious painting spot" where I pull out all of my supplies is out on my balcony... if I'm painting indoors, I'm using my mini-palettes.

I have started producing them in batches of 8 or so. I don't think I've ever painted this much. It's great now being able to start painting literally in seconds.

Eric

[Neeman]

Or

Bixou Box with 12 1/2 pans is tiny and works very well with a waterbrush
It sits on your thumb using the loop

[cgonzaga]

It's practical and should work. I would hate to run out of paint though.
I have been using waterbrush intermitently, but there is always a longing for a regular brush and a cup of water. I'm finding it waterbrushes too restrictive and didly at times, but so convenient.

[doug105]

oops

[manfrommerriam]

This reminds me of the sample cards Daniel Smith sends out. Three colors but not spread around, just a dot. You can do actual art with those.
Have fun, Dave

[eric135]

@Neeman: I looked up Bijou boxes and wow they are small. I don't know why I get so selfconscious about painting in public. I guess my skills are not that great. Some day, I guess I'll be able to just ignore folks that want to look at what I'm painting. BTW I do have a Windsor Newton field box which I love to use when I'm able to bring water, brushes, etc.

@cgonzaga: I'm using my "ultra-portable palettes" with my Moleskine watercolor notebook, and the pages are 5x8", small enough that I've never run out of paint (so far). But I usually carry 2-3 palettes, tucked in the back of the notebook's back pocket. When I'm home (but not using my painting setup - for instance while working at my computer) I sometimes don't use my waterbrush but instead use a round brush and a glass of water. I'm not completely thrilled with the quality of the brush on my water brushes, I plan to upgrade to a higher quality item at some point.

@Dave: Figures I didn't invent the idea :-)

[Neeman]

I actually find the water brush restrictive as it limits my style to a certain wetness
I find it difficult to transition from very wet to very dry
Like I can with a brush

Shyness in public is hard
But worht overcoming
Idf people talk to me, I sau
"Excuse me but I am concentrating and cannot answer you"
And then ignore them
It works