About a year ago, I decided to hone in on my art supplies and chose a few select items to put in a box.
This box is my 'studio' on the go.
We don't have much extra room in our home for a dedicated studio space. In the past I have done work in our basement, which I still do from time to time, but the dark space and being away from my family wasn't making it easy or enjoyable for me to create.
Now my work space is mostly done at our small eat in kitchen/dining space, right next to the bananas and citrus fruit. So when it's time for dinner I pack up the box and put it away in my bedroom. It's easy for me to grab or take on the go or to my favorite place to create - the patio!
Let's start with the box! It's a document storage box I got at the Container Store years ago. It measures about 3 inches deep, 16 inches in length and 13 inches wide. It's very sturdy and has a linen fabric covering. I've linked a similar one here and of course you can always find similar items on Amazon!
I have two brands of sketchbooks I like in my box. I prefer stitch bound soft cover books with Mixed Media Paper from Strathmore and a hard cover watercolor paper Moleskine. I like them because the paper quality is great and they LAY FLAT! You can find these at Hobby Lobby too and use those 40% off coupons!
They lay flat!
When I decided to squeeze everything in a box, I had to narrow down one main supply that would be my color source. I have tried TONS of art supplies over the years, but had never done gouache. I tried out some cheaper options and still didn't love them. I decided to splurge on this Holbein Acryla Gouache Lesson Set because I found a STEAL on them (still a splurge) and I am IN LOVE. These things are MY JAM! Color is the most inspiring thing to me and these babies pack a punch! They are my GO TO art supply. I hardly miss anything else!
The original set came with 12 basic colors and I have purchased some individual tubes as well.
I can't even tell you how much I love the HOT PINK and NEON YELLOW I found at Blick Store!
Speaking of color, I grabbed a few paint swatch samples from Home Depot for when I want to play around with color combos. I keep these in my box too.
Since gouache is my main art supply, I obviously need a paint palette and water. I love this butcher tray for mixing colors. Its also nice to hold my paints inside the box. I use a small glass spice jar for water and hand stamped tea towel for wiping and drying my brushes.
As for drawing utensils, I decided to go with good quality brushes, pencils and markers. I really like these Cretacolor graphite pencils. I have the 2B shade, which is a little darker than I prefer, but great none the less. I probably could go with a harder pencil, since most of my pencil lines end up being erased. I use them to pencil in shapes or letters and then I erase them. I love the contrast of black and white with all my colorful art, so good black pens and a white pen for accents was a must. I love Microns because they last forever and they come in different sized tips. I have the black set of 3. It comes with 01, 03 and 05 size pens.The Uniball white Signo pen goes over the dried gouache beautifully. And a good ole BLACK SHARPIE. Can I get an Amen?!
For brushes I wanted to keep it REALLY simple. One big and one small. I have a Grumbacher size 4 Goldenedge synthetic round brush and a size 12 Utrecht round brush. I found the blue brush (old from college). I think its a Windsor and Netwon 10mm Filbert. These are the ONLY brushes I use.
Lastly, I keep a full sized pad of watercolor paper (for individual projects I don't want in my sketchbook), a ruler (from Target), cheap ole pink eraser and good metal pencil sharpener.
I am the type of gal that loves trying out new supplies and usually jumps from thing to thing when it comes to what I make art with. But I have been using these supplies in my box almost EXCLUSIVELY for over a year now! I absolutely love the simplicity and ease of having GREAT quality supplies close by at all times.
This box is my 'studio' on the go.
We don't have much extra room in our home for a dedicated studio space. In the past I have done work in our basement, which I still do from time to time, but the dark space and being away from my family wasn't making it easy or enjoyable for me to create.
Now my work space is mostly done at our small eat in kitchen/dining space, right next to the bananas and citrus fruit. So when it's time for dinner I pack up the box and put it away in my bedroom. It's easy for me to grab or take on the go or to my favorite place to create - the patio!
Let's start with the box! It's a document storage box I got at the Container Store years ago. It measures about 3 inches deep, 16 inches in length and 13 inches wide. It's very sturdy and has a linen fabric covering. I've linked a similar one here and of course you can always find similar items on Amazon!
I have two brands of sketchbooks I like in my box. I prefer stitch bound soft cover books with Mixed Media Paper from Strathmore and a hard cover watercolor paper Moleskine. I like them because the paper quality is great and they LAY FLAT! You can find these at Hobby Lobby too and use those 40% off coupons!
They lay flat!
When I decided to squeeze everything in a box, I had to narrow down one main supply that would be my color source. I have tried TONS of art supplies over the years, but had never done gouache. I tried out some cheaper options and still didn't love them. I decided to splurge on this Holbein Acryla Gouache Lesson Set because I found a STEAL on them (still a splurge) and I am IN LOVE. These things are MY JAM! Color is the most inspiring thing to me and these babies pack a punch! They are my GO TO art supply. I hardly miss anything else!
The original set came with 12 basic colors and I have purchased some individual tubes as well.
I can't even tell you how much I love the HOT PINK and NEON YELLOW I found at Blick Store!
Speaking of color, I grabbed a few paint swatch samples from Home Depot for when I want to play around with color combos. I keep these in my box too.
Since gouache is my main art supply, I obviously need a paint palette and water. I love this butcher tray for mixing colors. Its also nice to hold my paints inside the box. I use a small glass spice jar for water and hand stamped tea towel for wiping and drying my brushes.
As for drawing utensils, I decided to go with good quality brushes, pencils and markers. I really like these Cretacolor graphite pencils. I have the 2B shade, which is a little darker than I prefer, but great none the less. I probably could go with a harder pencil, since most of my pencil lines end up being erased. I use them to pencil in shapes or letters and then I erase them. I love the contrast of black and white with all my colorful art, so good black pens and a white pen for accents was a must. I love Microns because they last forever and they come in different sized tips. I have the black set of 3. It comes with 01, 03 and 05 size pens.The Uniball white Signo pen goes over the dried gouache beautifully. And a good ole BLACK SHARPIE. Can I get an Amen?!
For brushes I wanted to keep it REALLY simple. One big and one small. I have a Grumbacher size 4 Goldenedge synthetic round brush and a size 12 Utrecht round brush. I found the blue brush (old from college). I think its a Windsor and Netwon 10mm Filbert. These are the ONLY brushes I use.
Lastly, I keep a full sized pad of watercolor paper (for individual projects I don't want in my sketchbook), a ruler (from Target), cheap ole pink eraser and good metal pencil sharpener.
I am the type of gal that loves trying out new supplies and usually jumps from thing to thing when it comes to what I make art with. But I have been using these supplies in my box almost EXCLUSIVELY for over a year now! I absolutely love the simplicity and ease of having GREAT quality supplies close by at all times.
Gouache, the quality brands, is da bomb! My goal has been to figure out and start rocking that watercolor thing! I see all these artists make it look so easy. Im mainly an acrylic/ gouache artist, so watercolor has been a bit of a beast! I learned also, qualitydoes matter in supplies. Gotta have the right tool for the right job!!❤😉
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