No. 41: Packing Supplies for Ten Days in Spain, and Another Retreat in 2025

Join me next year in Tuscany!

A recent page in my sketchbook featuring part of a photograph seen at the Vivian Maier exhibition at Fotografiska, some fresh snap peas, and a spool of my son’s sewing thread.

This week I leave for a ten-day trip to Spain, where I will be teaching for a week alongside my friend and very talented artist, Ohn Mar Win. We have co-taught many times, but this is our first week-long retreat together. There will be a total of nineteen of us exploring, drawing, and painting in southern Spain. We are so excited about it that we have planned another retreat (which I will share more about below) for 2025.

I am always a little overwhelmed when packing for a trip, thinking about the weather, how many pairs of shoes to bring, layers, clothes that are comfortable but also versatile, etc. All the lists and things to do make my head spin leading up to that moment when I am off to the airport, at which point I know that anything I have missed or forgotten will work itself out one way or another. Then there are the art supplies, which are a whole separate part of my packing that I intentionally keep minimal. Somehow, I have this part down, and the main reason is that I am always working on the go, so my supplies are in a perpetual travel-ready state. But what art supplies to bring on this retreat, and on trips in general, seems to be the cause of other people’s stress, so I hope that I can help simplify it a little bit.

My philosophy is to bring what you love and what you know you will use, and anything else you will either just miss a little bit, in a fleeting moment, or not even think about in the midst of creating. We overthink and often overpack. The basics are all you need when moving about on your journeys. Why have more weigh you down? The joy and freedom of creating with the first thing you grab from your bag can become a part of your process. Also, how fun is it to seek out an art supply shop in a small town or big new city and buy a few things if you really find you are in a bind?

Here is what I am bringing for this trip:

• My handmade sketchbook (I often make one specifically for a trip)

• Two drawing pencils with pencil point protectors so they don’t get my bag messy

• A small brass pencil sharpener

• A plastic eraser

• A few disposable fine-line permanent pens like Pigma Micron

• My assortment of Lamy Safari fountain pen with an ink converter that I fill with Platinum carbon ink. (I have a fine tip with black ink, a broad tip with black ink, and another fine tip with sepia ink). If I make sure that they are all fully loaded with ink, they will last the whole trip, but I do have tiny jars with extra ink just in case.

• Two extra small sets of watercolor paints - I am bringing the Draw Your World palette that I created with ArtToolKit and Greenleaf & Blueberry (we are working on a re-release, so stay tuned!) and this small set with bright florescent colors.

• My Derwent Inktense Paints, set of 24.

• Derwent Push-Button Waterbrushes, set of 4. I use these with all of my paints.

• A small ziplock bag with an assortment of Caran d’Ache Neocolor II pastels and Museum Aquarelle colored pencils. I like these because they are all water-soluble so I can add water if I choose to or work with them on top of my paintings for added texture and free-play.

• Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleedproof white

• A few rags for blotting and cleaning the brushes

• A pile of small watercolor paper for postcards

• Travel folding scissors (TSA safe) and a glue stick

When I walk around, I pare this down even more. I take my sketchbook, a pencil to plan pages and jot down ideas, an eraser (yep, I’m a pencil and eraser person… you can read more about that here), and one or two pens.

Sharing my supply list and my way is just one approach to making art, and I love seeing the diverse ways my students interpret experiences in their unique styles, using the materials they love best. How does my packing list differ from yours? Did I miss something you can’t live without?

Ok, onto more news - my next retreat with Uptrek is ready to book!

Sketchbook Journey Retreat with Artists Samantha Dion Baker and Ohn Mar Win in Italy

Certaldo, Florence, Italy

April 7 - 14, 2025

Ohn Mar and I are teaching together next year as well! This time, we will be going to Italy!

Create a wonderful travel sketchbook during this week-long art retreat with Samantha Dion Baker and Ohn Mar Win in Tuscany, Italy. Let the romantic landscapes, endless vineyards, and historic towns inspire you as you learn new techniques and experiment with mixed media. Benefit from daily classes with your favorite artists, enjoy one-on-one interactions and support, and embark on exciting art trips, all while creating a travel sketchbook to cherish for a lifetime.

Explore Italy’s history and heritage with unforgettable art trips to San Gimignano and the medieval towns of Chianti Classico. At your premium retreat venue, Tenuta di Sticciano, relish Italian cuisine and form connections with 16 other like-minded artists. Nurture your art, celebrate your accomplishments alongside a supportive community, and create heartwarming visual memories.

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I know that algorythms have changed a lot on Instagram when my note here on Substack, with the same illustration, has so much more engagement. Click below to see the full frame.

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Messgae to Paid Subscribers

Our next meetup will be early July, after I return, have adjusted, and am ready to share a flip through of the sketchbook that I fill up during the trip. In the meantime, be sure to check the chat throughout next week, as I will be sharing over there during our trip.

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