Yesterday I got one of Cathy Johnson’s Art Tip Newsletters, and it had some interesting tips and links for making your own traveling watercolor boxes! Cathy’s incredibly wonderful book Living History: Drawing on the Past sent me in the direction of being a living history artist, and was also the inspiration for my tiny watercolor box… it’s not terribly grand or exciting, but at shows or reenactments, somebody always asks to take a peek inside! In case anyone needs to create a small “on the go” art kit that wouldn’t stand out like a sore thumb at historic events, here’s an idea…
I found an old oil pastel box while cleaning out boxes of art supplies. I chunked the oil pastels in a jar with a bunch of others, and started doodling on the box lid… sort of a “schoolgirl” type of drawing. (If I wasn’t in such a hurry, I might’ve tried using a wood burning tool to etch the design, but alas, this was most likely done at midnight the night before a reenactment, so quick and fast was the goal!) Then I just painted the design a bit with watercolors. I already had two commercial travel watercolor sets that I had never used, and coincidentally the pans fit in perfectly! (Coincidences are especially appreciated at midnight the night before a reenactment.) When they’re used up, or if I ever make another, I’ll look for some metal watercolor pans, or make some homemade ones.
Anyways, here’s the cute little box… It works wonderfully for 19th century events. Probably pushing it a bit for 18th century, but it’s better than modern!
And a peek inside…
And my “historic-art-box-to-go”…
The watercolor box fits in my art box if I arrange things just so. Another greatly appreciated coincidence.
