What's in your bag 2

Some of you may remember my earlier post where I showed what equipment I carry in my minimal watercolour kit. As is always the case, and despite all the good intentions and endless reorganisation, I took far too much equipment with me for my recent holiday in Dorset. However, during the course of the holiday I started to refine what I physically carried around with me daily. Some of it was still 'just in case' but there were certain items I had to have and the rest stayed back in the car or caravan.

The first photograph shows what I had left when I got back home.  From the top clockwise: two small plastic water bottles, mosturising cream with sun filters, tin of six soft grade graphite pencils, pencil roll containing a waterbrush, eraser, sharpener, brush, graphite pencils, watercolour pencils, Inktense pencils (Indian, Chinese and Sepia Ink), 0.1 and 0.3 fineliners, Pentel pocket brush and a mechanical pencil, and finally wet wipes, tissues, field sketch box filled with Cotman watercolours, set of Sceptre Gold pocket brushes (6, 8 and 3/8 flat), Derwent 165gsm A5 sketchbook and my old precious W&N enamelled paint box filled with half-pans of gouache . Not shown here is a small ziplock bag which contains a sponge, a spare sharpener, a putty rubber, a plastic eraser, a pocket knife and a paper stump. I also have a small belt loop case which carries my phone and camera. Phew!

The second photograph shows my waterproof day sack with all the gear listed above packed snugly inside. The sack fits quite comfortably around the waist and as long as you don't overfill it you almost forget it's there. I know that I will continue to change and refine what I take but I'm getting to the stage now where I can eliminate a lot of the unnecessary bulk and weight.