In an earlier post, I documented some of the tools I was planning on bringing. I already tried to cut down. That was until we met for a trip planning gathering with local artist Tungtong.
Tungtong has been to Angkor many, many times over the years. He draws on 1m x 1m sheets of paper (huge!) and has made many friends with the locals. His sharing really opened our eyes to many things, including how to approach our art. He challenged us to think bigger, and perhaps draw bigger, and not try to stinge on materials, extra baggage costs, etc. If art is what we are going for, art should be our priority. Who knows, sometime down the road, somebody may want to pay top dollar for a sketch we did there, but if we compromised on materials, quality, etc., it would just devalue our work.
So much for trying to pack lighter...
Tungtong won an award with the Singapore Art Society this year. He is a very experienced artist and photographer. I should take his advice seriously.
On another note, I just acquired a tube of Quinacridone Gold. This pigment is no longer being produced, and it appears that Daniel Smith is the only art materials supplier that makes watercolours with the original PO49 pigment (other brands have since substituted the pigment for others). I've reshuffled a couple of half-pans in my travel kit, swapping a Raw Sienna for Quin Gold, and changing my Cerulean Blue to Daler-Rowney's Aquafine's Cerulean Blue (Hue). The Aquafines are actually student grade, but one of my artist friends said it was one of the better ones he has tried. I did a quick test comparing it with Winsor & Newton's and Rembrandt's, and found I liked the Aquafine's shade better.
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| #20 is Permanent Green, I think. I meant to check before taking the photo, but forgot. |
