33. Weekly Roundup - Back from Cornwall Part 2!
What I actually used vs what I packed (spoiler: way too much!)
Hello fellow sketchers!
As promised, I'm back with a more detailed post on what art supplies I used on my recent Cornwall trip! A couple of weeks ago I showed you my carefully planned travel sketching kit, but this week I thought I’d share what I actually used versus what got left behind in the Airbnb. Spoiler alert: I packed way too much (as usual!).
The Reality of Holiday Sketching
I spent quite a lot of time before my holiday planning for every sketching scenario, but the reality of being on holiday with your family is quite different. We wandered around together, stopping at cafes, enjoying our break away together. I didn’t end up sitting around for hour-long painting sessions like I imagined I might. Instead, I grabbed quick sketches here and there, which meant I needed a much more minimal approach. It actually ended up being much more fun like this too!
What I packed but didn't touch:
Neocolour crayons (didn't even unpack them!)
Most of the travel brushes in my Sendak Mini
The ceramic mixing palette (beautiful, but unnecessary)
Extra pencil sharpeners and erasers
Half the watercolour pencils
What I actually used:
My fountain pen (Lamy Safari with Platinum Carbon ink)
Pitt oil-based pencil
Koh-i-Noor Magic pencil
Pentel Waterbrush
A few watercolour pencils (mainly back at the Airbnb for adding colour)
My watercolour tin (just once on the beach)
The Sendak Mini, lovely as it is, was quite heavy and bulky for holiday wandering. When you're carrying water bottles, snacks, and all the other bits and bobs of a day out, every bit of weight matters!
Cornwall Sketchbook Tour
I am very happy to say that I did find time to sketch, and ended up filling 17 pages during our short trip! Here are some highlights:
Carbis Bay Beach - My first sketch on arrival, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the scale and beauty of the place. I used my oil-based pencil, and watercolour pencils, then added a bit more of the green from my watercolour tin, as my colour pencils didn’t really have a good green for this scene...
Morning shells - A quiet moment back at the Airbnb, sketching some shells I’d collected at Carbis Bay beach. Just yellow and blue watercolour pencils, keeping it quick and simple during my morning coffee.
Coffee in St Ives - A quick sketch of my husband and the carafe of water while waiting for our coffees. I really enjoyed making quick sketches like this, and at the time thought I would add colour later, but preferred keeping them the way they were in the end!
Porthminster Beach montage - This is probably my favourite sketch of the trip. Rather than trying to capture the whole (rather overwhelming!) scene, I created a montage throughout the hour we spent there: people thinking twice about a swim once they felt how how cold the sea was, seagulls being absolute menaces stealing people's food, boats in the bay, and the general joy of beach life. I added minimal colour back at the Airbnb using just a few watercolour pencils.
Padstow coffee sketch - On our final morning, using my Magic pencil to capture our coffee by the harbour before heading home.
My Revised Minimal Travel Kit
Learning from this experience, I've created a much more realistic travel kit using a Lihit Lab Smart Fit pencil case - significantly slimmer and lighter than my Sendak Mini.
What's inside:
Fountain pen (any will do, but I love my Lamy Safari)
Selection of Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils
Pitt oil-based pencil (absolutely love this for line work)
Water brush with small cloth
Koh-i-Noor Magic pencil
ArtGraf water-soluble graphite (takes no space, perfect for adding tone)
Pencil sharpener with shavings compartment (essential for outdoor sketching!)
This setup will let me create quite a range of sketches alongside my sketchbook, without weighing me down or taking up precious bag space. I can always add a small watercolour tin in place of the pencil sharpener and ArtGraf - it can be flexible!
Watch the full video:
Don't let the impossible task of curating the ‘perfect kit’ stop you from making a sketch. Sometimes the most memorable drawings come from the simplest tools and spontaneous moments :)
Quick Tiny Sketch of the Day - Week One
I'm also taking part in The Curious Sketchers 'Quick Tiny Sketch of the Day' challenge on Instagram (#QTSOTDchallenge), and I wanted to share a few from my first week with you! The challenge is to create one small sketch every day - nothing elaborate, just capturing a moment or detail from daily life.
It's been such a lovely way to keep the sketching momentum going after Cornwall. The key to keeping this up all month will be consistency over perfection!
Follow along on Instagram for daily updates, and maybe join in yourself - it's never too late to start!
Looking Ahead
With the summer holidays here, I'll be doing lots more trips out with the children - to the beach, around Somerset, and going on various adventures. While it'll be harder to sketch with my boys around, having this minimal kit will be even more important when I'm juggling water bottles, snacks, and keeping everyone entertained!
I'm also enjoying sketching from photos I took in Cornwall, so expect to see some interpretations of those beautiful coastal scenes in upcoming posts.
Over to You!
I'd love to hear about your own travel sketching experiences! Do you tend to overpack like me, or are you naturally a minimal kit person? What's your go-to travel sketching setup?
Hit reply and let me know - I read every single response and would love to start featuring your stories and questions in future posts. Your input helps shape what I write about next!
Until next week, happy sketching!
Emma x
Absolutely lovely to see your art supplies and mini SENDAK! 😍
I love your sketches! I am very tempted to get that size stillman - I love the size and format and it looks a perfect size for out and about along with the lihit! ☺️