Recently I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Maine with other painter friends. This was not a workshop. We wanted to get together to paint beautiful scenery, talk about our shared passion and enjoy each other’s company.
Packing for such a trip can be a challenge. This was my fifth time to prepare for air travel with my gear and I have a system I’d like to share that works well for me.
If you are bringing paint with you it will have to be in a checked bag. Another option is to ship it ahead of time. There is always a chance that your bag won’t make it to your final destination, though items shipped are occasionally lost as well. So far I have taken my chances with the airlines. If you will be in an area with an art supply store and you don’t want to check a bag you could also opt to buy paint once you arrive. You can’t fly with mineral spirits so some kind of arrangement has to be made for that unless you use water mixable paints or some other medium. (I have a friend who has painted with nothing but vegetable oil when traveling!) For this trip, I shipped mineral spirits to a friend who was coming by car.
Supports can take up a lot of space in the suitcase and add significant weight. I allow myself 3 canvases/day- 6″x8″, 8″x10″ and 9″x12″, a total of 12 for 4 days of painting. I’m talking about cut pieces of canvas, not stretched or mounted. I bring 3 plastic corrugated sheets cut to fit my wet panel carrier. On each, I tape the panels for day one and tone them with burnt sienna.
Canvas cut to the desired size with a little extra for the tape.
Now taped to the plastic panel along the drawn lines, toned. I use black panels to keep the light from coming through the canvas while I’m painting.
My panel carrier can hold 3 of these. The canvas piece can be any size as long as it’s small enough to tape on the panel that fits in your carrier.
I put the remaining canvas pieces in a storage bag with my roll of artist tape and pieces of wax paper. (Don’t forget the tape!)
At the end of the first day, I remove the paintings, tape new pieces on the plastic panels and tone them. And so on each day. At the end of the trip, I have a very thin stack of painted canvas pieces which I put in the storage bag with wax paper in between each. The last day’s paintings go back into the wet panel carrier still taped to the panels. Any smudges/accidents that occur in transit are usually very minor and quickly touched up. And for the “keepers”, refer to my post on mounting painted canvases on panels.
I have previously posted the contents of my backpack.
For travel I re-arrange things. I can’t include the small can of extra mineral spirits which I usually carry in case of spills. I have to put my paint container in the checked bag and I pack it like this- the jar with extra tubes in it is for my used mineral spirits once I’m there. It will be left behind for the trip home. I only bring small tubes on trips and I bring an extra tube of blue and white along with solvent free gel.
The label says “artist’s pigment in vegetable oil”. So far my paints have not be confiscated. I also put my pochade box and my empty mineral spirit can in the checked bag. Metal containers can hold you up in security even if they are empty. This time I put my tripod in the checked bag also. This freed up lots of space in the backpack which was my carry-on. I filled it with toiletries, pajamas, sunglasses, Kindle, etc. My brushes, a reusable trash bag, and smaller painting accessories stayed in the backpack.
My checked bag weighs about 8 lbs. when empty and is 24″ x 10″ x 17″.
This is how I pack the bottom of the suitcase- the glass jar is rolled up in a painting towel. The turp can is also in a baggie because it will likely be dirty for the trip home.
The bag with the blank canvases is in the top zipped compartment which keeps it from getting creased. Next, I put a plastic sheet on top.
This keeps my clothes separated from gear, more important for the trip home in case there is wet paint on anything. There is plenty of room in this bag for paint clothes (one pair of pants, one top for every 2 days, my collapse-able hat, a hooded water-proof windbreaker) and something to wear in the evening (one pair of nice jeans and some tops). I put one pair of flats in the suitcase and wear my athletic shoes on the plane which I wear while painting. I wear jeans on the plane which gives me an extra pair just in case- I often spill coffee on whatever I’m wearing on the plane. If your hat doesn’t collapse you can wear it.
So here is what I have to manage in the airport- if I carry a small purse it fits in the backpack too.
This time we stayed in an inn with no elevator so I was glad I didn’t have more stuff, and getting through the airport was a breeze. I wear the backpack so I have a free hand for the coffee I’m about to spill….
More on painting trips later. This is just “Packing 101”.
Have paint will travel!
Here is a link for the plastic panels. Cut them to fit your carrier.
Travel
More than Ordinary
In Robert Henri’s classic book “The Art Spirit,” he speaks of “more than ordinary moments of existence.” A spontaneous trip to Madrid with my artist friend Jim Aplin led to such a moment. Actually it was a series of moments over a period of three days. The setting was the Sorolla Museum. This is no ordinary museum. It is the artist’s home and studio. It almost feels as if he might step back in the room at any moment.
There is nothing so inspiring as standing in front of a great work of art and studying every brushstroke. Joaquin Sorolla filled his canvases with skillful drawing, rich color and juicy brushwork. A feast for the eyes.
His materials and supplies offer an intimate and fascinating view of the man and his methods.
At the age of 57, while out in the garden working on this portrait, Sorolla suffered a stroke. Although he lived another three years he was never able to paint again. But what an extraordinary body of work he left for the world to enjoy, and what an inspiration he continues to be.
“My only ambition was to create an honest picture that would interpret nature as she really is, as she ought to be seen.” -Joaquin Sorolla (1863-1923)
Great Expectations
21 Days “Painting” on the Road
“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road
Like so many of my fellow artists I suffer from unrealistic expectations. This means when I set out to do something, though it may not be grand or expensive, (it usually is), it certainly cannot be ordinary or dare I say easy. I believe this affliction is a common character trait of artists — a main driver for the skill of being able to dream big dreams and imagine impossible ways to make them come true, an asset in many ways because it gives us the guts to try and put our work out there to be considered by the world.
However, gone unchecked, these Wild Toad expectations sometimes can drive you right over the ledge. First stop, my most recent adventure into the land of great expectations, a 21-day road trip. A working/vacation trip to California via Kansas, Colorado, Utah and along Nevada’s loneliest highway into Yosemite’s Tuolumne Meadows and up and over into the Valley and out the other side — in the first week. Week two would begin in San Francisco where we would visit my husband’s relative (whom was to celebrate his 110th birthday in October) then drive down the Pacific Coast Highway touching base with my family in Huntington Beach, stop to take a one-day workshop with Jeremy Lipking in Agoura Hills, to me the pinnacle of the trip. On to San Diego by week three, then wrap around towards Vegas and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and find our way home through Oklahoma City.
At some point the reality of 21 days on the road set in. How would I practice for Lipking? Would I forget everything I think I know? So with a percentage of my recent OPA Spring On-Iine Showcase winnings I purchased my first real grown up plein air easel and in true form set myself up with all the gear to paint plein air on the road.
This will be easy. I’ll paint the morning of the Hot Air Balloon Rodeo in Steamboat Springs! I’ll paint El Capitan in Yosemite! I’ll paint on the beach in Surf City! I’ll paint up to four pieces a week, if the kids are having fun and I get up in time for sunrises. Ha! Ha! I’m a genius. By the time I get to L.A. I’ll have 6 to 8 pieces under my belt and be practiced and ready. Heck, I’ll even sell them on Facebook and make a little vacation spending cash!
Can you hear them yet? The pieces of my broken heart and impossible dreams tinkling to the cold hard floor? I didn’t have a clue what plein air painting really requires, having only painted plein air maybe 4 times. Ever. In my two whole years of painting. At all. I vaguely recall now that I actually hated plein air painting all those four times. Something about bees, or maybe it was hornets, comes to mind.
Why didn’t I stop myself? No, I drove right off. And the air was clear and blowing fresh in my face. Just like it is any time you drive off a cliff.
My first warning, the flashing red hand, “Do Not Cross” sign should have been the incredible amount of crap I was packing. I actually brought more in cubic square feet of painting gear than I did in clothing and toiletries. Real plein air painters know how to get around needing everything studio artists require.
I was so proud of myself when I managed to do color charts while riding in the passenger seat. I paint mainly portraits. I’m not familiar with very many blues, or green at all for that matter. I-70 is flat and there was plenty of sky and vista to reference. I only clobbered my clothes and the interior of the door. It was all good. Incidentally, the dash is a great place to dry paintings.
In my dreams I was to be awake fresh after 11 hours of driving and set up in a perfect position for the gorgeous morning of the Hot Air Balloon Rodeo in Steamboat Springs. In reality, we set out on our bikes together to watch the launch. I would go back to the RV for my paints after I scoped out the scene. I had plenty of time, right? But as the sun got higher and we finally found parking I got more and more, lets just say, frustrated. By the time we parked our bikes and walked forever to get right up under the baskets of the balloons, I was down right fit to be tied. I knew then the balloons would launch and set back down in a matter of minutes. I might get far enough away to get a photo or two, but it would all be over before I had so much as set up a palette.
Okay, major plein air painting realization: The sun moves quickly and so do hot air balloons.
After hot miserable tears, I resolved to paint the view from our RV later that evening. I left everyone to setup and make dinner and insisted on having 2 hours to myself to paint. And I did sell that little painting on Facebook. See! I can do it…
That little piece was the only piece. All in all I painted en plein air 3 times, four if you count the time I set up my easel at the beach but had to run through the hot sand half a dozen times to get the essentials I realized I’d forgotten, such as brushes and then paper towels, etc. I never actually painted that day. I gave up after two hours of struggling to set up and was then overwhelmed by beach umbrellas.
Essentially, I was worse for ware by the time I sat in Lipking’s workshop. (But you’ll have to read about that on my blog.) I have since recalculated my plein air expectations to include admiring those incredible artists who do it so well and simply doing it more often myself. Yes, more practice. That will have to be good enough.
On the Road to the OPA National Exhibition in Fredericksburg
Early this year one of my paintings (a large one) was juried into our Oil Painters of America National Exhibition in Fredericksburg, Texas. I knew both that it would be very expensive to crate and ship the painting and also that I wanted to attend the opening at Insight Gallery, along with the many fun events that OPA organizes around the national show. So, I decided to drive to Texas from Southern California to hand deliver the painting and make it a paint-as-you-go camping trip. I had done something similar in 2007 when I had a painting accepted in that year’s show, also in Fredericksburg. Back then I had experienced some of the awesome state parks in the area with plenty of inspiring exposed rock landscapes, and I have, at the ready, a camper van I refer to as my “paintmobile”.
This road trip would also provide a much needed break from the intense-in-every-way experience of caring for my mother in her final months of life which ended in February, along with the necessary work afterwards. Mom was an inspiring painter and art teacher, and taught privately until just a few weeks before she took her last breath at the age of eighty-six. She was certainly my first art teacher, and introduced me as a child to the concept of landscape painting and camping as one of the most worthwhile of combined endeavors.
I’m no spring chicken, so after a day of visiting and recuperation we went out painting in the Pinnacle Peak area. It was the first painting I had done since my Mom left this life. I have to tell you that I wondered if I would be able to paint—it had been a few months— the longest I had gone without painting since I started doing it full time ten years ago. But there I was, painting in a garden of cactus, agave and palo verde, and I felt so alive in the cool Arizona morning, responding to the beautiful shapes and colors before me. I had bridged the gap, I was now beginning the return into the stream, the flow, the continuum of being a painter, on the path again to creative expression.
The next morning I took off without being committed to where I would camp that night. On the way I stopped in Tucson to check out the art galleries there and then got back on the road.
One thing I love about camping in remote areas is the visibility of the night sky. The western national parks have played a big role in my art career and they almost always provide those dark night skies. I lived at the South Rim of Grand Canyon for four years and a large portion of my work is inspired by that well-known natural wonder, and other wild areas that need our protection in order to remain the essential healing balm to our modern life that they are. I also have participated in the Artist-in-Residence program at Badlands National Park, another spectacular landscape.
It was getting hot and more humid and after I drove through El Paso I headed to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, also on my list of not-yet-visited National Parks of the the West. This area is located just south of Carlsbad Caverns, a national park I visited many times over the years and as a child growing up for a time in New Mexico. I saw several pronghorn antelopes grazing along the narrow highway. When I arrived the sun was low and the massive limestone mountains were illuminated with a stunning pink and gold light. I camped there with the idea of painting in the morning. Because it was so windy the next morning, I realized that work was impossible without a guaranteed upset of the entire pochade/tripod setup. Forced to get back on the road, I now had a strong understanding of how the unrelenting wind can drive people crazy.
While waiting for the OPA scheduled activities and the opening of the show I switched back to oil paints and worked while camping at Enchanted Rock State Park and Pedernales Falls State Park. Incredibly, that little red bird, or his brother, showed up again at the Pedernales River. I highly recommend both of these parks for painting, except for the insects that can spot a plein air painter a mile away. I did try the digital tablet again but, alas, there was too much glare for the great outdoors.
Back in Fredericksburg I met many OPA artists and enjoyed the week getting to know some of them. The “paint-outs” in in the hill country around Fredericksburg were well chosen, and the entire event was smoothly organized. Artist demonstrations and presentations were alternately informative, entertaining and inspired. I was so honored to be a part of such an impressive group exhibition, and thrilled to win the Realism Award of Excellence from the internationally renowned artist Sherrie McGraw.
I had made the trip to the Oil Painters of America 22nd National Show with the idea that I was heading into the unknown and hoping I could rekindle the creative side of life after experiencing profound loss. Now I’m back in the studio and putting the finishing work to the plein air starts I have accumulated for a while now—I never seem to be satisfied with what I get in one 2 hour session. I always see much that needs refinement once I get them back into the studio.
Taking Flight: Tips for the Winged-Artist
Tip of the day
Always pack like you are flying to Europe, even when you are traveling by car. You will get better at packing light and will appreciate it even when you are driving to your local beach or mountain range.
Essential Tips For Traveling with Oil Paint
Here are a few more tips for the winged-artist, no matter where you are going:
Pack less than you need
You already know this one and still, you don’t listen to yourself do you? Pack no more than 2 bags: One bag will hold most of your clothing and a small bag of paint. The other bag will hold most of your paint gear and a second small bag of paint. You may also pack an optional carry-on, just remember that now you have to be able to maneuver with 3 items. It helps if your carry-on tethers to your luggage easily or is a back-pack style.
Invest in a luggage scale
For $15 you can purchase small luggage scale which could save you hundreds of hours of worry or hundreds of dollars. Remember to PACK the luggage scale. You will need it when you return to weigh all of those wonderful souvenirs you bought.
Use your paint back pack as your carry-on
In addition to your make-up and jewels, items to be included in your carry on luggage (should you opt to have that added piece) are things that would very difficult or expensive to replace such as your easel (needs to be a compact style for this. I will be posting soon on my latest equipment find!); your brush roll with brushes (be sure to remove palette knives); and 1 or 2 PanelPaks with clean panels (just enough to hold you over until they locate your checked luggage if it is stuck somewhere in transit). Also pack business cards, event and travel contacts, schedule, maps, tickets, and other information in your carry on luggage for easy retrieval upon arrival.
Pack your voltage converter
Pack your voltage converter for whatever country you are visiting, camera, charger, memory cards, and other expensive electronics like computers and iPads in your carry-on (or do without them for a week… even better!)
Do not expand your luggage
Whether or not you are the typical souvenir-buying-tourist, likely you have experienced that things just don’t fit right when you pack to come home. You always wish you had a little more room for some reason. If you flew to your destination without expanding the extra expando-zipper on your suitcase, you will be able to do that now and have plenty of room for your stuff to fit. Just don’t forget to weigh it!
Details on traveling with oil paint and art supplies
In your checked luggage you will obviously need clothing (my list is shown below) and your REMAINING PAINT GEAR. Here are specifics on how to prepare supplies and make sure your oil paints and gear are packed carefully.
Paint
Carefully wrap each tube of paint with bubble wrap and label the outside with the color name. Tubes often punch holes in other tubes if you do not do this. What mess when you squeeze really hard and all the paint comes out of a tiny hole into the palm of your hand.
The length of travel determines how many tubes of paint I will need. For a week-long trip, I will pack 1-large tube of each color PLUS an additional tube of white AND 2-small tubes of each color. Then I place the tubes in thick zip-lock bags; the large tubes in one and the additional large white and small tubes in the other.
Next, I place a sheet of paper in each of the zip-lock bags that reads:
ARTISTS’ PIGMENT ENCLOSED.
The US Department of Transportation defines “flammable liquids” as those with a flash point 140 degrees F or below. Artist grade oil colors are based on vegetable oil with a flash point at or above 450 degrees F. THEY ARE NOT HAZARDOUS.
If you need to confirm this, please contact TSA at 866-289-9673 or their Hazardous Materials Research Center at 800-467-4922.
To contact this traveler, dial (ADD YOUR PHONE NUMBER HERE).
I used to always include the MSDS (Manufacturer’s Safety Data Sheets) with the tubes, but have not done that in a long time. These can usually be found on the manufacturer’s web site or on artist supply web sites.
I put one bag of paint in EACH pieces of checked luggage. This is a safe-guard just in case one gets lost or confiscated, I will at least have enough to get me by a few days until I can purchase more. By the way, knock on wood, I have NEVER had a single tube of paint be taken from me.
If asked, never refer to your paints as paints. Refer to them as “artists’ pigments”.
Panels
4 or 5 for each day x 7 days = 28 to 30 panels. Put half of your panels in one bag and the other half in the other.
Wet Panel Carriers
I suggest bringing wet panel carriers for carrying wet paintings. I have 2 PanelPaks in each of the sizes I like to paint. These are thin and lightweight. Each PanelPak will accommodate 2, wet canvases that are the same size. Be sure to throw in some extra bands in case you lose or break one. When assembling PanelPaks with new, clean, panels, place the canvas side out. This will help you easily identify which ones have useable panels in them and which ones already have beautiful works of art safely tucked toward the inside.
Other Gear
- Back-pack (can double as your carry-on luggage, or used to provide extra padding in the top of your suitcase)
- Plein air umbrella
- Rain poncho or jacket
- Flashlight and clip-on book lights (for painting nocturnes)
- Utility tool and cork screw (seriously, cork screw is on my list)
- Painting hat
- Palette knives (remember NOT to have these in your carry on luggage)
- Sketchpad and pencils
- Empty, seal-able, OMS container* and small zip-lock bag
- Small roll of wide, transparent tape
- Mediums which are allowed by law (see manufacturer’s specifications)*
Collapsible cooler (makes great padding for potentially breakable toiletries. Use frozen bottles of water and have cold drinks and snacks all day.
*DO NOT take mineral spirits on flights. You can get them at your destination. Your first stop, after your glass of (readers, insert favorite beverage name here), should be (in order of preference) a local art store, hobby shop, or home restoration store to purchase Odorless Mineral Spirits, White Spirits, or Turpentine and other mediums. In a pinch, use the local olive oil instead of OMS. Just don’t confuse which bottle is for your back pack and which is for your dinner!
When you get to your destination, buy paper towels, baby wipes, sunscreen, bug spray, snacks, and water and save your grocery sacks for trash.
Frames
If it is a plein air festival, you will also be required to frame your work. Here are two possible options:
- Pack a small box of framing gear which includes hanging wire, strap hangers and screws, point driver, wire cutters, and screw driver. Have frames drop shipped to the location from your supplier.
- Pre-wire frames for horizontal hanging (you can always change them if you paint vertically). Ship frames, point driver, wire cutters, and screw driver to your location.
Whatever method you choose, pack extra promotional materials (business cards, workshop brochures, copies of your bio, etc.) to have on hand or affix to the back of your painting.
If I am teaching a workshop, I add ‘Workshop Booklets, 1 per student,’ to this list.
Suggested Clothing
Pack 3-days’ change of clothing and washing powder. Here is a copy of my personal packing list:
- Painting clothes (shorts, jeans, tees, layers) for 3 days. Check the weather reports for the region and pack accordingly. No matter what picture you have of a place in your mind, there is no reason to show up in Carmel in a bikini if it is only going to be 62º for the high.
- Under-garments (Okay… so my list actually says bras and panties… substitute boxers or briefs if appropriate.)
- Barrettes and hair ties (obviously, optional)
- Belt
- Hiking shoes, tennis shoes, or boots (as geography demands) and socks; sandals if appropriate
- Sleepwear
- Dress clothes, jewelry, and nice shoes if needed (for opening receptions, networking dinners)
- Prescriptions and over-the-counter remedies such as Advil
- Lotion, make-up, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste, razor, hair products, and soap (assuming you are not staying in a luxury spa hotel that supplies these for you).
- Laundry detergent (dry or dissoluble sheet type) and Murphy’s Oil Soap (for removing oil paint from clothing).
You will probably question a few of the items I use (like the transparent tape and small zip-lock listed). Visit my blog at www.loriputnampaints.blogspot.com for information on that.
I’m certain there are lots of other great ideas out there. This is just what works for me. It’s become routine now. Hopefully it will help you too.