About...
I am a retired architect doing travel sketching with watercolours. My wife, Lindy, and I (with our dogs) live in Tucson and on Mount Lemmon in Southern Arizona. Email: info@stephenbrigham.net
Lindy and Steve sketching the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon - upstream and downstream
Some books...
Project sketch journal with Banner University Medical Center
My travel kit...
The minimal approach: sketching the Taj Mahal with just a hotel note pad and a borrowed pencil. Sometimes "minimal" means not sketching - a minute after this picture was taken, two heavily armed security guards threatened to arrest me for sketching.
Here is what I currently carry in my kit:
- Sketch book: I compromise on watercolour paper for the sake of convenience and speed, but try to use sketchbooks with140 lb. cold press paper and 10" x 7" pages if I have room. If I need a pocket size, I like the "Pentalic Aqua Journal" with 48 pages of 140 lb. paper.
- Pen/pencil: I keep trying to use fountain pens with permanent (waterproof) ink cartridges, but find the ease of a fiber-tip pen best for quick travel sketches. My latest pen is the dual headed IDenti pen by Sakura. It has a large tip on one end and a fine tip on the other – the ink is waterproof which allows me to throw the wet paint on right away. If I have time I'll do a pencil sketch first with a fine tipped mechanical pencil. However there’s usually not enough time to get too precise or fussy, I try to get the ink down fast. I've learned to "celebrate" my mistakes.
- Paint: The KOI Watercolor Paint Pocket Field Sketch Sets are durable and have nice colors. If I have space, I take the 18 color set, but the 12 color set provides enough variety for what I do. The kit is also perfect for using water brushes since it has two cleaning sponges on either side of the colors. It’s a great kit that folds up small and opens large. With its durable thumb ring on the base, I can also hang onto the kit in just about any wind.
- Brush: I use water brushes exclusively. There are many manufacturers, including Kuretake which has an effective 10 mm flat brush. For more detailed work, Pentel makes an effective small brush. Both have large water reservoirs eliminating the need for carrying water containers.
- Pack: I love my old leather knapsack that I’ve had for years. However it’s not very waterproof, so recently I have been using an inexpensive red canvas shoulder pack from IKEA (FÖRENKLA Backpack).
- Misc: an old facecloth is handy for cleaning brushes or dabbing a sketch - and keeps me from using my pants. I've tried to carry a small fold-up stool, but lately I just find a place to sit or stand for the short time I have to get the sketch.