How to *actually* make art while traveling 🎨

Travel has a knack for demolishing the best of habits. Sure, I brought resistance bands on my vacation. Did I use them? No, sir.

That’s because the overused motto of “just do it” isn’t enough. You have to make it easy. You need the vision to execute the habit. How are you actually going to do the thing?

In this epic issue:

• A recipe for actually making art when you’re away from home

  • (You can apply this to any hobby! Except, evidently, resistance bands. Or is that just me? 😅)

• How I successfully completed 10 ink paintings on a 7-day vacation

• A look at some of those paintings

This is my favorite of the ink paintings I did on my latest trip. Folks on Deviant Art really took to it as well. It began with a reference photo I took as a distant storm blew over the mountains across the lake, the sky a patchwork collection of black clouds and streaks of blue peeking through.

When I sat down to paint, it took less than 30 seconds to set up my makeshift station and begin putting ink on the page.

Here’s how.

I packed with my situation in mind. For this trip, I would have stretches of time around the campfire hanging out with my travel companions. So I took a small pouch that fit in my camp chair’s side pocket and added the following:

• a pocket-sized watercolor sketchbook

• three pocket watercolor brushes

• a tiny container of paintbrush cleaner

• three small plastic vials of ink

• a water spritzer

• a two-section palette

• 1 fountain pen and 1 white gel pen

I’d pull out the sketchbook, pour a little ink and water into the palette, choose a paintbrush, and go.

The best part was I could keep spending time with folks while I painted. When I was done, I’d clean the brushes and palette — by which point the painting was likely dry (or close to it) — then pack everything back up and head out on the next camp adventure. Perfect.

Now it’s your turn —

A little forethought makes it a whole lot easier to enjoy a hobby on the road. Here’s how to do it:

1. Honestly consider what your travel days will look like:
   - When will you have time for your hobby of choice?
   - Where will you be when you have that time?
   - How much energy will you have to work on said hobby?

2. Build your travel kit based on what you’ll have space, time, and bandwidth to execute.
   - Unless you’re somewhere with ample space to hunker down in, you’ll probably want a kit that’s compact and easy to clean. It likely won’t be your usual setup, but a rough sketch on the fly is better than nothing.
   - If you’ll only have ten minutes here and there, then choose tools you can quickly pack away at a moment’s notice.

3. Keep your kit handy during your trip so it’s easier to crack open whenever you’d like.
   - If your kit is buried in your luggage, you’re less likely to dig it out. Do yourself (and your muse) a favor and keep it nearby.

How do you integrate your hobbies into your travels? I’d love to hear how you streamline when you hit the road. (Especially if it involves resistance bands because evidently I need some pointers there. 🫣)

Cheers,
Rayne [M.R. Badillo], Editor

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