Packing light for plein air travel

We still have plenty of time to get ready for our next trip pleinair painting trip, which is next June to Brittany with Mathieu of Provence ArtExperience and Yves-Marie of Sennelier (this trip is sold out, but you can check my website for other future trips that may still be available). But it’s never too early to start planning! I’m writing a series of posts about preparing and packing for our trip, and I’m starting off with this article about what to pack in your main suitcase.

Annie painting en plein air

Depending on which airline you use, you might be limited in the size, weight, and number of suitcases you can bring. Usually, you are allowed at least one medium size (25”) suitcase up to 50 pounds, and one carry on bag. More expensive flights might allow you more than that, but I have found that the medium suitcase plus a carry on is always enough for everything I need, including my art supplies. I use half of my suitcase for art equipment and supplies, and the other half for clothes and personal items. It still leaves me plenty of room to pack souvenirs later for the return trip. I always pack my portable luggage scale so I can make sure I don’t exceed the weight limit when I pack for my return flight home. Check with your airline (including the code-share flights!) to see which baggage limits will apply to you and your flights.

Annie Strack, Plein Air Painting in Provence

Clothing:

It helps to limit your wardrobe to separates that can be mixed and matched. Personally, I limit mine to just black and white items and I add color with a few scarves. Our lodgings always have a washing machine so there’s no need to pack a different outfit for each day of the trip. We always have plenty of shopping opportunities and you’ll want to save room for clothing and other items purchased while touring the village market stalls and charming boutiques. Pack comfortable shoes, but don’t worry – we won’t be hiking up mountains or running any marathons. Your normal, comfortable, everyday footwear will do just fine. However, stay away from anything with leather soles. The surfaces of the cobblestones of European streets are worn down as smooth as glass, making them slick as snot! Leather-soled shoes or sandals will send you flying (I learned this the hard way, and still have the scars to prove it). Don't bring too much! 

Annie Strack, Yves-Marie Salanson, and traveling artists at the Sennlier factory in St Brieuc, France

Even the most experienced travelers tend to over-pack. Almost everyone on all of my trips has ended up leaving things behind in Europe because they can't fit it all in their suitcase when it's time to leave. Weight is super important -- only bring lightweight items including shoes and clothing, and leave yourself lots of room to bring back new things from your trip. 

Toiletries:

In addition to your usual travel toiletries, pack a small bar of soap and a washcloth. Guest houses often do not supply them. For your toiletries (such as toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, moisturizer, etc.) bring small sample-sized products, or items that are almost empty. Plan on using them up and throwing them away before you come home. This allows you to have even more space in your suitcase to pack souvenirs on your return trip.

Electricity: adapters versus converters:

An adapter is something that goes on the end of a plug so it will fit in an outlet. A foreign voltage converter does that as well, but it also converts the current down from 220 to 110 volts. Your phone, laptop, tablet, and other rechargeable battery powered devices already have a type of voltage converter built into their charging cords – that’s the big boxy-looking thing on the cord or on the plug. In those cases, just adding an adapter will work just fine. However, other appliances without a built-in converter will overheat and quickly burn up if plugged in with just an adapter. I mean that literally – they will start a fire. In particular, hair dryers, curling irons, flat irons, etc. These need to use a converter. Converters cost quite a bit more than adapters, but may be necessary for some electrical devices you pack. Make sure you have what you need. If in doubt, err on the safe side and use a converter.

Accessories:

It rains. Bring an OLD umbrella; one that you can use while there but then leave it behind if you need to free up space in your suitcase for your return flight. It’s also sunny. Bring a hat or a plein air umbrella for shade when painting or sketching outside. If your plein air umbrella can double as your rain umbrella; all the better! There is always a beach or pool nearby, so pack a bathing suit if you want to go swimming.

Annie teaching plein air painting in Spain

Our tour guides always provide folding lawn chairs, so you don’t need to worry about having to pack folding stools in your suitcases. Although you will be expected to be able to carry your own gear, our daily excursions will never be too strenuous. I suggest packing a small backpack or tote bag for carrying your plein air gear to the daily painting locations. I use the same tote bag for my air travel carry-on as I do for my daily excursions.

Bring a telescoping hiking stick, or better yet -- a mono-pod. I've been using mono-pods for some time, now. They work like a telescoping hiking stick, but they have a camera mount on the top. They double as your hiking stick and also help to hold your camera steady. You'll find them at stores that sell tri-pods and other camera equipment. Hiking sticks are great, but if you use a camera then you should invest in a mono-pod instead of a hiking stick. Although my trips aren't strenuous, you will be able to navigate the terrain much better using a stick.  

Annie Strack, jurying the Dinard Plein Air festival in Bretagne, France

Make copies of your vaccination card, passport, tickets, and travel itinerary. I always keep an extra copy of everything locked in my suitcase, and I leave another extra copy at home with my hubby, just in case. Also take a photo of each of these documents and store it on your cell phone and in your cloud. 

Anyone have any other suggestions? I’d love to hear them, post them in the comments!

Want to hear our expert tips on packing art supplies? Click here to learn more!

Viviva colorsheets

 Several weeks ago I received a new product to test and review, the Viviva color sheets and sketch book. Although I'm still recovering from cancer treatments and haven't returned to a full working schedule, I still didn't find the time to test them until today. I'm so glad I did! I'm having a fabulous time, playing with the pigments and filling up sketchbook pages! 

These new Viviva color sheets are perfect for traveling. They offer two palettes in book form, Original and Spring. The Spring includes a selection of metallic/iridescent colors. Each palette "book" contains 16 colors and includes a mixing area, yet it weighs almost nothing -- only a little more than an ounce -- which makes it an ideal choice for air travelers or just to keep in a pocket for painting anytime, anywhere. 

I was amazed at how saturated the pigments are on these sheets, there is easily enough paint to fill several sketchbooks with paintings! The company claims that one book of 16 colors is equal to a set of 16 half pans, and from my experience that would appear to be correct. I can't imagine some of these pigment being so intense, and I suspect there may be dyes involved as well as pigments. Whatever the case, the paint is formulated to quickly reconstitute with water which makes it easy to use. These have become a new favorite of mine, and will go with me everywhere. 

Paired with a small sketchbook (the 4x6 Viviva sketchbook is perfect!) and a water brush, it's everything I need for a day of colorful creativity. I highly recommend it!

The 4x6 Viviva sketchbook contains medium weight cold pressed paper and is perfect for water based media. The Viviva color sheet books fit nicely inside, making it a compact and very practical painting kit. 

UPDATE!! 

I'm going to be offering a special promotion of these in a few weeks, so be sure to check back!

Free watercolor painting demo -- Kayaks

Here's the finished painting from my demo! I cleaned up a few edges, and I added in two extra kayaks in the background. I made the kayaks in the background lighter in value, color in temperature, and grayer in intensity to depict distance through atmospheric perspective. 

 If you missed my live online demo the other day, don't despair -- I just uploaded it to YouTube! It's one hour long from start to finish. Be sure to check it out, and subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the latest updates. Better yet, follow me on Facebook, too, then you can watch in real-time when ever I paint live online!

 

I used my favorite art supplies in this demo -- Sennelier colors, Dynasty brushes, and Hahnemuehle paper. These are my "go-to" supplies that I recommend to everyone! 

another demo coming up!

 Next Monday I'm doing another live demo on Zoom, this time for the Salem County Art League in New Jersey. I'm really loving the option of conducting my demos via Zoom, as it allows me to teach for art groups anywhere in the world! Even better, the audience can tune in from anywhere in the world! My last zoom demo of the koi was so much fun, and so many artists asked me to do it again that I'm doing a similar painting for this next demo. 

Once again, I'll be using my favorite art supplies! Sennelier watercolors, Leonardo paper from Hahnemuehle, and the Water Lily line of brushes from Dynasty Brush.  

Thrilled to win!

 I'm thrilled to announce that my painting "Portrait of Chris" won second place in the Alaska Watercolor Society 46th Annual National Exhibit! 

Portrait of Chris, 20x14 Watercolor by Annie Strack

Check out what I have to say about the new Water Lily line of brushes from Dynasty Brush! 

I'm also pleased to announce that Dynasty Brush quoted me and used my painting in their latest promotional video! 

More koi and other news

I'm thrilled to announce that my painting "a Tug at my Heart" is juried into the Kentucky Watercolor Society 43rd Annual Aqueous Exhibit! This is my 3rd acceptance which earns Signature Status in KWS. It is the 16th Signature Status that I've earned, although I still have not earned it from the Big Three societies. 

I wrote an illustrated tutorial for Plaza Art Store with this painting, you can see it online. 

I also worked on this small painting of Koi last week, using my Water Lily brushes from Dynasty Brush on the Leonardo CP paper from Hahnemuehle. 

The Water Lily line of brushes from Dynasty Brush are a soft synthetic hair that resembles natural Kolinsky sable more than other other synthetic brush available. The hairs are extremely absorbent and have a nice spring that is neither too firm nor too soft. Besides being vegan, they have all the characteristics of Kolinsky, but with the durability and affordability of synthetic. 

The Leonardo line of paper from Hahnemuhle is 280 pound watercolor paper that comes in rough, cold, or hot pressed surfaces. It is bright white and the cold and rough have wonderful textures. I prefer blocks, and this paper comes in handy blocks of 10 sheets. I seldom treat myself to a heavy paper, so painting on this 280 pound paper was a real luxury for me that I greatly enjoyed. 

watercolor sketchbooks with toned paper!

A couple of years ago I started using an ivory toned watercolor sketchbook from Hahnemuehle and I immediately got hooked on toned paper. They just sent me two new watercolor sketchbooks, one in a lovely shade of cool grey and another in a warm soft brown.

These arrived yesterday evening, and I couldn't wait to open them up and get started!
You can order these books now at Wet Paint. In Canada, Above Ground Art Supplies and Gwartzman’sArt Supplies have ordered it but it's not yet on their website. These are the first stores to roll them out.

Using toned paper allows an artist to use the paper to provide some of the color in the painting. It's especially fun with pastels, gouache, or other opaque media. I used traditional watercolors in these paintings, accented with opaque white from a felt tip pen. On the right side of the photo is the fact sheet -- it's printed on glossy white paper, and you can see the color differences in this photo between the white of that paper, and the grey and brown paper in the sketchbooks.

I used the beige paper to create a sunset effect in this scene with a lighthouse, by leaving the paper to provide the color for the sky and some of the water. A white pen provided a bit of white for the lighthouse and it's reflection in the water.

In the beach scene, I let the grey paper color the sky and added a few brush strokes of payne's grey to create a dark stormy cloud. I left the paper color for the sand, and just washed it lightly with sepia to warm it up. Lastly, I added the whites of the crashing waves with a white pen.

The sketchbooks come in two colors, cool grey and warm brown. Each color is available in three sizes: 4.13 x 5.83 inches, 5.83 x 8.27 inches (that's the size I used in these photos), and 5.51 x 5.51 square. The 60 pages of 95 pound paper is acid free and age resistant, and has a slight texture that's just a little smoother than standard cold pressed. The books have a color coordinated linen cover and matching elastic band, giving it an elegant sophisticated feel. Although these would make fabulous gifts for any artist, I'm keeping both of these for myself. 

Want to keep up with the latest products from Hahnemuehle? Follow them on Facebook! There you will learn the latest news and updates. 

Art of the Carolinas 2019

What a week! Art of the Carolinas 2019 was a huge success again, with record breaking attendance and sales. I taught workshops all day on Saturday, and worked in the Charpak booth all the other days.

Unpacking and setting up the booth for Chartpak at the trade show

I met up with a lot of old friends and former students while there, and it was just like old times.

Me with some of my students from Charleston, 

Several of my friends from the Louisiana Watercolor Society came to visit me!

My workshops sold out within a week of opening registration, and were the first workshops to sell out. I can hardly wait until next year! Remember, workshop registration begins on July 1st, so be sure to get on their email list now so you'll get notified when registration starts! 

Happy students in one of my workshops at Art of the Carolinas!

My old friend Linda Lopez flew up from New Orleans to help me with my workshops, and she was a godsend! I could not have done it without her! 

Linda Lopez and me at Art of the Carolinas

On the last day of the expo, the PRESIDENT of Jerry's Artarama stopped by the Chartpak booth where I was working and told me I will definitely be invited back to teach workshops again next year. YAY!!! 

upcoming classes and workshops!

Registration is now open for my Winter Semester classes at the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, Pennsylvania. I only teach there during the winter semester, and my classes fill up really fast so if you're going to sign up you need to do it now!

My annual Workshops in Charleston in March has only 4 spaces left, so that's another one that I recommend you sign up now for. Charleston in the Spring is beautiful and I highly recommend to my students that they stay a few extra days to take in the sights (and food!) of this enchanting historic city.

Tomorrow I arrive in North Carolina for the annual Art of the Carolinas, an expo put on by Jerry's Artarama. As a representative of Chartpak I will be working in the trade show, and teaching workshops. My workshops sold out long ago (my workshops are always the first ones to sell out!) but there are still other of great workshops with from other instructors to choose from. I also recommend shopping the trade show, as many of the art supply manufacturers have tremendous one-time deals at this event. And of course, be sure to stop by the Chartpak booth on Friday or Sunday and visit me!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention! This recently came in the mail from the Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society! I actually earned Signature Status a few years ago, but I guess I never got a certificate at the time. A nice little surprise to come in the mail!

Summer School

Every summer I teach a semester of classes in my own studio in south east Pennsylvania. The curriculum is painting and drawing lessons that are completed in each session, and students can come for a day or a half day, and pay by the lesson -- instead of committing to a whole semester. When the students arrive I usually give them a choice of lessons, and let the day's class decide which lesson we will cover that day.

This week, our lesson was one about color theory, and each of them painted a couple of complementary paintings based on their own palette colors. Pigment properties are always part of every lesson, as is composition, perspective, drawing, etc.

My summer classes are sponsored by Hahnemuhle, who has generously provided my students and me with 12x16 blocks of their Cezanne watercolor paper. I've lost count of all the times that Hahnemuhle has sponsored my classes and workshop! They make amazing papers for artists, printers, and photographers, and the papers are so wonderful that it's hard for me to pick a preference! My students were totally thrilled to get a fresh new block of paper at the start of the class!

My demonstration paintings from this week's classes...

Brittany, France!

Plein Air Painting in Brittany with Sennelier! June 10 - 19, 2020!  Postponed due to Covid-19! 

New Dates! Due to overwhelming response, we have scheduled TWO tours! Both groups are SOLD OUT, however we can add your name to our waiting list in case a spot opens up! 

June 8 - 17, 2022 

and

June 22 - July 1, 2022

Registration is now open for my plein air painting workshop in Brittany, France, co-hosted by Sennelier! The first group sold out quickly and we are now taking reservations for the second group (ALL GROUPS ARE NOW SOLD-OUT)! We will paint the castles and chateaus, forests and parks, and the seaside villages and beaches of the northeast coast of Brittany.

We also have an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime invitation to visit the Sennelier factories in Saint Brieuc, and the Raphael and Leonard brush factories, where we will be treated to hands-on demonstrations and given art supplies to use.

And, as the honored guests of Sennelier, we will be the featured artists at the annual Dinard Plein Air Festival! This annual plein air painting event encompasses the seaside resort of Dinard with it's picturesque squares and markets and breathtaking beaches.

UPDATE! I just found out that there will also be a Concours d'Elegance in Dinard during the plein air festival. Painting these beautiful automobiles will be a real treat for the artists!

When I was painting in Provence in few years ago, I ran into my old friend Yves-Marie Salanson, director of Sennelier. It was serendipitous, and Yves-Marie invited me to bring a group of artists to Brittany so they could visit his companies. 

Yves-Marie of Sennelier with Annie Strack in Provence

Yves-Marie and I became friends many years ago in the early days of Twitter when I was working as a Contributing Editor and Columnist for Professional Artist Magazine, and I later helped him when he was developing his new formulas for the Sennelier watercolors. I tested and reviewed paint samples for him, and I introduced other artists to him to also work on the project with us. 

It's been over a dozen years and we've been friends ever since, although we had never met in person until we ran into each other, quite by accident, while I was painting in Roussillon with my students in 2018. We made plans then and there, that I would soon bring a small group of artists to Brittany where his company is headquartered so he could show us around as his guests. 

Well, we finally got it all organized, with help from Mathieu of Provence Art Experience -- Mathieu is the world's best when it comes to organizing trips for artists, and this is shaping up to be our greatest trip. 

This trip is already half full (only ONE space remains in the second group!) so please don't wait to reserve your spot! (SOLD OUT, join our wait list). Because we are limited to a small number of guests on this trip, we are only able to accommodate artists in this group. We are not able to offer discounts to non-artists wishing to join us. 

These groups are limited to just seven artists -- that's less than half the number of people you will find in any other tour group, which means that every person on our trip is pampered with individual attention. These small intimate groups allow us to be flexible and spontaneous with our itineraries so that each person gets more than just a tour - they get the freedom to create their own personalized adventure. 

My tours are special, as I include lavish extravagances that all the other workshop artists simply can’t do because they just don’t have the resources or connections that I have. So, I only do one European tour per year, as it takes a great deal of time to plan and create these extraordinary travel experiences.

(Private concert by the Gypsy Kings on our veranda in Provence)

Lots of artists are now teaching workshops overseas, but my trips are so much more impressive than the standard, “copy and paste” itineraries that everyone else is offering. Other artists are all selling the same old cookie-cutter tours over and over again, and taking their groups to over-crowded tourist locations where hordes of artists are already staked out elbow to elbow as they all paint the exact same scene.

(Attending a wedding in the village square)

The artists who travel with me enjoy upgraded rooms in luxurious accommodations, gourmet meals prepared by award winning personal chefs, unique special events that are created exclusively for my groups, and no hidden fees or expenses (everything is included except for airfare!). Click HERE for tips on packing artist equipment and supplies for air travel.

My unique position as an Artist Ambassador for the world's most recognized brands of artist materials and my long history of working with art supply manufacturers and retailers means that my workshops are always sponsored by companies that produce fine artist materials and generously provide supplies to my participants. 

This trip is superior to all others, and provide one of a kind VIP experiences that other artists can’t even begin to offer. I take my groups to see extraordinary sights and paint at breathtaking locations that other artists don’t even know about.

Our house in Brittany!

We've secured an entire castle just a short walk from the beach for our accommodations. More photos of our Brittany house are posted here, check it out! There are five days in between, when the the first group of artists leaves on June 17, and the second group of artists arrive on June 22. So, for a small daily rate, artists in group one can add a few days on to the end of their trip, and artists in group two can add a few days onto the start of their trip. Ask Mathieu for the details. 

We have unrivaled entertainment on our tours as well, which can range from celebrity encounters, private concerts, personal tours of famous places, exclusive invitations to exciting events, and so much more. 

Travel restrictions are being loosened, be sure to keep up with the latest travel information on the official government website for travel to France. 

Many artists return year after year to take my workshops, and as a result, space is extremely limited to new attendees. Reserve your place now while there is still space available. 

To read my tips on packing light for this trip (or any plein air painting trip overseas!) click here.  

Sign up at Provence Art Experience Tours, and be sure to follow this event on Facebook to keep up with the latest updates!