Painting on the Go with a Small Travel Kit

'Beauty in the Bush'. 5x7. Pastel. sold

You never know when you might have some downtime. And when there is downtime I am itching to paint. It has been a busy few days visiting my son, daughter-in-law and grandbaby in Chicago. Yesterday we braved the cold and snow and went for two long walks in the neighboring park and at the Chicago Botanic Garden. I was in heaven. The snow made a wonderful backdrop for the lingering fall color and the emerging winter colors. My timing was perfect (and I did make a wish for a little snow)

One of my favorite sights was a big fat Cardinal in the middle of a purple Beauty Berry bush. He sat for my photos content to get his fill of berries. I knew I wanted to paint him. So when we decided to make today a stay at home day I was content to pull out my Mini pastel kit and paint the cardinal.

My small travel kit has gotten a lot of mileage. It is actually a book cover that zips closed. Inside I can fit everything I need to paint 5x7 and smaller. I have two small boxes filled with assorted pastel pieces. I make sure I have a variety of colors in a range of values. If I don't have the right color I will at least have the right value.
Today it was much too cold for plein air so I used my iPad mini to pull up my Cardinal photos and worked inside where it was warm and cozy. As always I am glad I threw my travel kit into my backpack!

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