Travelling with your paints
Travelling with your paints
Don’t worry I hate being separated from my paints and art gear too. Here is how to minimise the bulk when travelling with your paints so that you can still stay in touch with your passion!
Packing for a car trip if you can’t give up the serious paints for a week
For a car trip, you can easily pack a very portable French easel or a tripod easel in the boot of your car which folds to the size of a small suitcase.
See the Jasco French Box Easel demonstrated here folded away and standing.
You will also need your carpenters bag full of paints, spare brushes and use empty tins or yoghurt containers which are unbreakable for water or turps jars.
Workshops Canvases
Canvases can be slotted in around suitcases and into crevaces of the boot and the back seat.
Small to mid-size canvases work best here. If you are using oils, might be a good idea to consider drying times as you will need to pack them back into the car again to bring them home.
I have been known to construct elaborate string webs to separate oil paintings perching precariously in the back of the car.
A bottle of cobalt drier might help your paintings to dry as will making sure your holiday is long enough to allow the paintings to dry whilst you are there and knocking them off in the first few days.
Consider painting onto canvas boards or even prepared MDF board cut to suit the size you like as they are thinner and you can pack more pieces. If using oils, know that impasto will take longer to dry.
Workshops painting onto canvas boards
Painting smaller and putting the wet paintings into fruit boxes, and stacking the fruit boxes to separate the paintings and allow air is another good way to get the paintings home safely.
Bear in mind if you are painting with oils then they will stink out the car for the other passengers!