INSTRUCTOR: JIM SALCHAK Sketching & Painting in Watercolor Keeping your painting materials to a minimum is a key thing to keep in mind when planning to paint on location in Italy. We will be carrying our gear on ancient cobblestone streets in a medieval village and/or town and you don’t want to arrive at the painting site too pooped to paint. I believe the goal of the workshop is to capture in our sketches and paintings the “sense of place” of what we came to see, a world that is centuries old and only a little changed by modern times. But most of all we want to enjoy the process. My job is to help you achieve this goal by demonstrating how I do it and by providing advice and assistance with your own work. Materials List The following is what I will be using and my recommendations on materials and equipment. These are not mandatory. Feel free to bring what you are comfortable with but remember to travel light. Paper – Quarter sheets (11”x15”) of 140 pound cold press watercolor paper. I use Arches, Fabriano and Waterford paper and cut full sheets into quarters. I carry these in a portfolio made from two pieces of 12”x16” mat board taped together at the bottom. The paper will have to be attached to a rigid board during the painting process. I use a 12”x16” piece of Masonite and bulldog clips. Plywood, Gator Board or foam core can also be used. Blocks of watercolor paper, 10”x 14” or 9”x12”, are also great to use on location and do not require the rigid board as the paper is bound to a heavy piece of cardboard. Brushes - My current favorites are sable synthetic mix brushes. They hold plenty of color and have that extra spring that I like. I will carry a 1” flat and rounds ranging in size from number 14 to number 8. I also carry a rigger for line work and a synthetic half inch flat scrubbing out small areas. You will need as a Minimum, a one inch flat or large round brush for washes and several smaller brushes, like a number 10 and 8 rounds and a rigger. Palette – I will be using a small metal folding palette that holds 12 full pans. It comes with 12 empty pans that I fill with my usual tube watercolors. It has a ring on the bottom so it can be held. It is made by Daniel Smith and is item number 285 240 001 ($42.49) in his 2007-2008 catalog. The phone number is 1-800-426-6740. Homee make a good plastic folding palette with 18 wells that has a rubber seal. It is available at most art supply stores and mail order stores like Cheap Joes. There are many choices for palettes. What’s important is it should be compact and work for you. Watercolors – My current palette has the following colors. The Brand is M. Graham unless otherwise noted. This is my basic 12 colors: Quinacridone Burt Orange (Daniel Smith) – a substitute for Burnt Sienna Quinacridone Gold (Daniel Smith or W&N) - a substitute for Raw Sienna Azo Yellow Gamboge Yellow Vermilion (Van Gough) Quinacridone Rose Permanent Blue Violet (Van Gough) Ultramarine Blue Cobalt Blue Cerulean Blue Manganese Blue (Blockx) Prussian Blue – I use color mostly for making greens I sometimes add the following colors: Cobalt Turquoise (Da Vinci) Raw Sienna (Holbein) Quinacridone Violet Cadmium Orange Opera (Holbein) Bring a small tube of white gouache. Water Container – I will carry water in plastic drinking water bottle and use a Holbein Collapsible water container when painting, Daniel Smith item number 676 020 002 ($1.39). Portable Camp Stool – I use a very compact stool sold by REI. It is called the Byer Tri-Lite Folding Stool and folds to only 13” long. It cost approximately $20. Easel – I use a light weight camera tripod with a tray and watercolor attachment purchased from www.sun-eden.com. I will use an easel because of doing demonstrations. You might want to consider sitting on a stool and holding your work on your lap with your supplies at you feet and forgetting the easel. Miscellaneous – Paper towels or tissues, paint rag, pencil, eraser, bull dog clips small sponge and masking tape. Sketchbook – This is a key item - See below. Camera – A small digital camera. Carrying Bag – I carry Everything in a backpack. Sketchbook – Use the sketchbook everyday to sketch and take notes on what you are seeing, the time of day, the weather, what you had for lunch and anything that will bring the experience back to you when reviewing your notes at some future date. Also, when you are painting, put your planning sketches and thumbnails in the same book. The sketchbook will become something you will treasure. There will be times when we will want to paint using ink and wash in our sketchbooks. This will be particularly true on travel days and when there is not time to set up to paint. I recommend drawing with a fine point pen and then adding watercolor. These little paintings are often more spontaneous and fresh than larger works. On a painting trip to Central Europe in 2004 this is all I used. I recommend the 9”x12” Canson All-Media Sketchbook that contains 50 sheets of 90 pound watercolor paper. Also good is the Aquabee Super Deluxe with 60 sheets of 93 pound paper. Use the 6”x9” or 9”x12”. Pen – I like the Pilot “Precise V” rolling ball penwith a fine point. Other fine point pens are fine just make sure they are waterproof or nearly so. Watercolors for the sketchbook – Use the Daniel Smith metal palette discussed above or almost any small watercolor set with 12 or more half pans will do. Cotman and Winsor & Newton make a small Field Sketch Box has a self-contained water bottle and attached cup. Otherwise a bottle of drinking water and a collapsible cup or a small jar of water will work fine. Brushes – I carry two travel brushes with a protective cap, #8 and #5. Just the one #8 would be fine. Carrying Bag – On the days when we are planning to do sketchbook work and leave our plein-air painting supplies at home, put all of the above in a small bag our large purse (ladies) along with your camera.

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