It is obvious that we are inspired by hummingbirds these days.  We have also been inspired by new art supplies!  I recently took a travel drawing class with an incredible local artist, Alison Watt, and she invited us to play with her to-go art supplies.  I was most excited by the Koi Water Brush and the Peerless Water Colour booklet of paint!

With them you can add vibrant paint to your travelling art projects without worrying about a cup of water (which always seems to get knocked over).  Another concern that disappears is how to dispose of the paint water it in an environmentally responsible way.  With a water bottle (that you will likely already have) or a water body nearby, you can fill the water brush.  With a napkin or scrap of newspaper you can clean your brush between colours.  Et voila, art on the go (or “plein air art” as my artsy kids call it) has never been so easy!

A week later I ran across this video demo of working with watercolours outdoors.   Clearly, all signs were pointing towards a splurge on some new travelling art supplies.  After all, we do have a trip to France planned, and one can always convince me to get some new art supplies (even without a real excuse).   I picked up the water brush at a growing little art shop in Nanaimo (you must check out the selection at House of Indigo).  The next time we were in Victoria, we stopped by Opus and picked up the Peerless paint booklet (update, House of Indigo now carries them too!).  The friends we visited gifted us with a new set of watercolour pencils.  For their intense and creamy pigments, Derwent Inktense are now my absolute favourite watercolour pencils!

Keen to try them out, I recently packed up my new supplies for a sailing trip with colleagues across the Strait of Georgia towards the mainland.  That is a travel journey I really should tell you about someday….for now, let’s just say the waters were a bit too rough to get my paints out!  The first night of the Community Workshop 2013, there was no painting for me as I was still weaving a bit and my sea legs sent me to bed early.  On the second night I poured my small stash of travelling supplies on the fireside table and started to play!

Pretty soon I was joined by 6 other conference participants who were claiming “I can’t paint” and “I am not an artist”.  I am happy to say, that these same people were soon totally immersed in playful art and confirming my reassurances to all of them that “everyone is an artist — everyone can paint — just try, have fun and let go of the outcome!”.  As we gabbed and painted together, I painted this hummingbird (from a photo) for my hummingbird family that I was missing (my hubby and kids….and the birds too, of course).  Don’t you just looooove that green?

Perhaps you too might want to pick up a few simple painting supplies and give it a go?

P.S. While I was away, my husband created a YouTUBE compilation of the hummingbird babies developing from egg to fledging.  Check it out! Yes, these hummingbirds are truly inspiring!