Painting on Location

2. Travelling light

Gairloch Harbour Watercolour on Two Rivers tinted paper 38.5 × 28.5cm (15¼ × 11¼in) Finding the best viewpoint from which to paint a subject can make all the difference. Here, I wanted an interesting combination of background, solid middleground interest, and foreground reflections - which I thought would best suit a portrait format.

Because time is precious when painting on location, you want to be able to work as efficiently and effectively as possible, and this means having just the right amount and the right type of equipment with you. Travelling light is best: you don't want to be weighed down with unnecessary gear or have to waste time searching for things. Remember, you will be working on a smaller scale than you would normally choose in the studio, and similarly the technique will be different - essentially an alla prima, 'one-hit' technique (applying the correct colours straight away, without any underpainting or further modification). So you want equipment that will aid that process. For me, that means a limited palette of colours; short-hair, springy brushes; either stretched paper or a watercolour block, for working in watercolour; and prepared boards that are not too dry or too slippery, or small stretched canvases, for oil painting.

Equipment

I have now devised a way of carrying a reasonably lightweight selection of materials for both oils and watercolour. I prefer to have both media available because I can never be quite sure, until I arrive at a location, what I am going to find in the way of subject matter and conditions. In hot, sultry conditions I prefer to work in oils, while cooler, bright conditions suggest watercolours - allowing washes to dry steadily, rather than too fast or, in a damp atmosphere, perhaps not drying at all. Usually, I take a selection of equipment in a rucksack that has an attached folding stool. I have one rucksack for oil-painting equipment and another for watercolours. Additionally, I usually carry a lightweight folding easel.

Basic materials

It takes time and experience to find the materials that work best for you, and it is also a matter of trial and error. If, for example, the particular texture or absorbency of the watercolour paper you are using prevents you from achieving certain effects, experiment with a different paper.

My Craig Young watercolour palette, which is a modern-day version of the classic Binning Munro palette, with paints and mixing wells in one convenient metal box.

My oil-painting rucksack, with its attached folding stool.

This pochade box enables me to work on quite a range of different-sized boards, from 17.5 × 25.5cm (7 × 10in) to 40.5 × 30.5cm (16 × 12in).

Over many years of painting en plein air, I have discovered that the surface I prefer for watercolour painting is stretched Arches 640gsm (300lb) Rough or Two Rivers tinted paper - particularly so if there is time to work on a larger scale than usual. So for outdoors, I normally choose paper of approximately A3 size (297 × 420mm/11½ × 16in), but if conditions are right I do occasionally work at almost twice this size. The Arches paper is thick and robust. It will take generous washes and stand up to quite vigorous treatment. I also like to use Saunders Waterford blocks. These are blocks of paper gummed on all four sides so that the paper doesn't need stretching. Various sizes are available.

The colours I use for watercolour painting are cobalt green, viridian, French ultramarine, cerulean blue, cobalt blue, cobalt violet, raw sienna, permanent rose, aureolin, Winsor lemon, gamboge, burnt sienna and vermilion. These are tube colours, which I squeeze out to fill the compartments in my watercolour palette.

For both watercolours and oils I prefer short-haired brushes, because these have more 'spring'. My watercolour brushes are mostly Kolinsky sables, sizes 8, 10, 12 and 14, but I also have some sable/synthetic-mix brushes. I carry a selection of brushes in a protective brush pack. Similarly, for oils, I like a mixture of natural-hair bright bristle brushes, sizes 1 to 14, and some synthetic-hair short, flat brushes, which I find are extremely good for adding rigging lines and other details.

I now include more yellows in my oil-painting colour palette than previously. This is something that has changed over the years, as I have developed a better understanding of which colours suit the colour mixes required for my preferred plein-air subjects. My colours are titanium white, cadmium orange, permanent rose, cobalt violet, viridian hue (students' quality), viridian (artists' quality), terre verte, cerulean, French ultramarine, raw sienna, Indian yellow, burnt sienna, Winsor lemon, buff titanium, Naples yellow and Naples yellow light.

Outside, I usually paint on small hardboard panels, generally no larger than 30.5 × 40.5cm (12 × 16in), which my framer makes to suit my requirements. I use the smooth side of the board and this is prepared first with a coat of acrylic primer, then with a coat of gesso primer and texture paste mixed together. I vary the proportion of this mixture, so that some boards have more texture than others. Then, to ensure a dense, white finish, I add a further coat of gesso primer and let the boards dry.

Most of the boards are painted with a neutral coloured turpsy wash (paint mixed with a generous amount of turpentine), some with a warm-toned wash (French ultramarine, raw sienna and burnt sienna), and some with a cool, neutral-toned wash (French ultramarine and raw sienna). This gives me a choice of surface textures and colours for different subjects, and I also have some white boards for the subjects that I think will work better with a 'rub-out' technique (see here). Also, sometimes I take a small canvas to work on, or a canvas board.

I have painted in oils and watercolour for most of my career - the two media complement each other perfectly, I think. However, for almost a year, right at the beginning of my career, I concentrated mainly on working in pastels. This is a beautiful medium and one that I can strongly recommend for location work. The essence of pastel painting is that you place the right tone straight away, rather than rely on colour-mixing on the paper. If you rub colours together or overlay colours to any great extent, you lose the crispness and vibrancy of the work. Lay and lift - that is the secret of the pastel technique. Consequently, you need a large range of colours. I used to have a palette of between 80 and 120 colours kept in various compartments within a pastel box.

Whatever medium you decide to use, my advice is to buy the best quality that you can afford. This particularly applies to the support (surface) that you choose to work on, and the brushes. For example, a fine-quality sable brush, although expensive, will always prove a good investment. It will respond sensitively to different handling techniques and, if well looked after, will last a very long time.

Easels and other equipment

Generally, I prefer to stand and paint, particularly for watercolour, so I either use my wooden sketching easel, which I have had for the past 40 years (a Winsor & Newton Perfect Easel), or my box easel. (It isn't essential to stand, of course. Some artists prefer to sit on the ground or on a stool, working at a board propped up on their knees, or they might find a low wall, a tree stump or something else to sit on.) The box easel is sturdy, will hold all the equipment I need, and enables me to tackle paintings up to 51 × 61cm (20 × 24in). It is fine if I can work near the car, but not ideal if I have to walk any distance, as it is surprisingly heavy.

In fact, more often now I prefer to take the lightweight sketching easel with me, rather than the box easel. It is perfect for watercolours because I can fix the board at an angle of about 30-40°; it also works well, used in combination with a pochade box, for painting in oils. Then, I use the easel stays, which attach to the legs of the easel, to hold the box in place - see the photograph. I have several pochade boxes of different sizes, starting with a small (15 × 20cm/ 6 × 8in) pocket-sized box. A pochade box is essentially a small wooden box with compartments for paints, brushes and other materials, including several boards, which fit into the lid.

The lightweight sketching easel fitted with the easel 'stays' that will hold a pochade box.

The Stand of Trees, Little Barrington Location photograph.

The Stand of Trees, Little Barrington Watercolour on Two Rivers tinted paper 28.5 × 38.5cm (11¼ × 15¼in) Sometimes the subject matter has very limited appeal. Yet with some imagination and prudent selection and emphasis, it can still provide the basis for a successful painting.

First impressions

Having arrived at a location, arguably the most important decision you will have to make is the choice of subject matter. Ideally, you need to find a subject that excites you, is a bit of a challenge, and works well in terms of composition and tonal values. You may need to spend a little time looking around and getting a feel for the location and what it has to offer, but in my view it is best not to spend too long on this. Rarely will you come across a subject that is perfect as it stands. Often, the real creativity lies in extracting the most potential from a subject that is not ideal in itself but is the best available. The subject will have some elements you can build on, but equally you will need to put your skill and inventiveness...