Traveling light

This is the basic kit I'm trying out. Can I do my road notes with a Winsor & Newton pocket paint kit, a spray bottle and some paper? I think it will be tough.

This is the basic kit I’m trying out. Can I do my road notes with a Winsor & Newton pocket paint kit, a spray bottle and some paper? (The water bottle is for drinking.) The short answer is no.

In less than four weeks, I embark on an odd and interesting trip. Four of us are delivering a small SUV to Anchorage, Alaska. Because it will contain most of my daughter’s worldly goods, I intend to keep my luggage down to a carry-on bag, my laptop, my camera, and, of course, a small watercolor kit.

Here is my itinerary:

  • I fly to Chicago to meet the rest of my party;
  • Chicago to Jamestown, North Dakota;
  • Jamestown to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan;
  • Saskatoon to Grande Prairie, Alberta;
  • Grande Prairie to Toad River, British Columbia;
  • Toad River to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory;
  • Whitehorse to Tok, Alaska;
  • Tok to Anchorage, Alaska.
Watercolor with ink lines added later. Boring.

Watercolor with ink lines added later. Hard to control the paint without a wash brush.

In the meantime I have a few plein air events and a workshop to teach. The first event is Castine Plein Air, which starts on Thursday and culminates in a sale on Saturday at 5 PM. If you’re within a thousand miles of Castine, I urge you to attend. There are some fantastic painters in this show. I love Castine, with its white clapboard New England houses, the Maine Maritime Academy, and its long views back into Brooksville. I love the great artists who are juried in, and I especially love my host family. It is among my favorite events of the year.

Testing the waterproofness of my pen... it failed.

Testing the waterproofness of my pen… it failed.

Today I took Daisy dePuthod for a spin around Castine to show her my favorite painting sites.  Daisy and I know each other from the early days of the Rye (NY) Painters on Location. An orientation tour is a courtesy that my hosts extended to me when I started doing the Castine event. It felt right to pass it on.

Later, we poked around Brooksville so I could find the world-famous Bagaduce Lunch, which several of my friends had told me was terrifically paintable (they were right). We stopped at a small cove where I did some 5-minute watercolor studies in advance of my Yukon adventure. Could I paint with just a pocket watercolor kit, a single brush, a gel pen, and a spray bottle?

Straight up watercolor, no pencil drawing, no ink. If I had a wash brush it would be OK.

Straight up watercolor, no pencil drawing, no ink. If I had a wash brush it would be OK.

Nope. I’m going to have to buy a water-resistant pen and pack at least one wash brush and a folding water bucket for the trip.

In four weeks I’m going shunpiking around Canada. How can I not love my life?

Whitehorse, YK, makes midcoast Maine look oh, so sophisticated.

Whitehorse is the capitol of Yukon Territory. Its population is 23, 276.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me on the Schoodic Peninsula in beautiful Acadia National Park in August 2015. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops! Download a brochure here.

Carol Douglas

About Carol Douglas

Carol L. Douglas is a painter who lives, works and teaches in Rockport, ME. Her annual workshop will again be held on the Schoodic Peninsula in beautiful Acadia National Park, from August 6-11, 2017. Visit www.watch-me-paint.com/ for more information.