What’s in your bag?

[By Mark Alan Anderson, 2019 symposium correspondent, in Amsterdam]

Over the past couple of days of this symposium, I have noticed a shift in how I’ve personally engineered my kit. I began by carrying everything everywhere in a shoulder bag. It is roomy and made of heavy canvas and protected everything from a deluge last Saturday. One morning I realized some items in that bag had not been touched even once, so some tools got weeded out and I began to carry a much lighter backpack. The last two days I found myself feeling much more comfortable and confident simply carrying a sketchbook in one hand and cramming my cargo shorts full of the other stuff I will absolutely need: pens, a little bit of money, sunglasses, etc.

I share this because I’ve been involved in numerous conversations with my fellow Sketchers this week with regard to “kit.” Sketchers lovetheir art supplies! And they love to talk about the latest tools they’ve acquired, which they are more than happy to dig out of their bag to share with you. In fact I must confess that I am a little bit nosy about such things myself. So this morning I set out to document some of what I saw carried and in use – or not– at today’s workshops.

I saw many seated on the ground with an impressive array of marker kits spread out next to them. More than one sketcher was clutching a fist full of pens and pencils and brushes in one hand while drawing with the other, their sketchbook balanced precariously on one knee.

Watercolors were present in a bewildering variety of configurations. From homemade palettes to the tiniest of paint containers to enormous kits – not to mention the range and quantity of brushes – those who use water media have found ingenious ways to not only use their media but to pack and carry it as well.

So, what tools are worth carrying with you into the field? Tools, by their very nature, are utilitarian. Functional. They serve a purpose. Carrying things you’re not going to use “just in case” means you might be hauling extra weight around, possibly for no productive reason. Some of the most valuable, but often overlooked tools, are the most functional: seating, bags, and headgear.

So, as this year‘s symposium draws to a close, I wonder if your own sketching kit has evolved over the last couple of days. I wonder if what you have experienced in workshops or at demonstrations or by chatting with your fellow sketcher has in any way influenced what you choose to carry. Or maybe, like me, you simply choose to carry a little bit less.