I was a stage manager before COVID and I loved using altoid tins for various supplies in my kit. Will be getting into sewing in the coming months and already have some such tins ready for organizing there. So, not an artist, though as a lover of organization, your little tin brought me a lot of joy.
Dear Molly, I loved this video. And your mini tin. Sliding the paper into the lid to work, is genius.I am just starting a week’s holiday in the Highlands and was frustrated because I’d only brought a small sketchbook.You have definitely inspired me!. I have a mini sketch pack using an old camera case.Now I am going down to the shore with some mini pieces of paper. I always enjoy your videos but this was really special. So encouraging , and wonderful scenery.Many thanks🌷
Oh what a lovely comment, thank you so much! Jealous of your Highlands holiday! I'm pleased this video inspired you, having limited art supplies can actually be really freeing!
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The mini sketches looked great when put together, like a patchwork memory of the Lakes. I also thought they’d make lovely ceramic tiles. Glad to see Winnie soon got better!
Thank you so much! I agree they definitely work best as a group! Yes the day after Winnie hurt her foot I spent the whole day in the cottage with her which lead to a speedy recovery, shame to spend our last day inside though but it couldn’t be helped!
Thank you, Molly. You've eased my hesitancy with trying something new by sharing your discomfort with the small format and the limited supplies. I want to throw down quick sketches when I'm out and about, and often thnk about what I'd bring but never do it. I'm inspired to gather some of my favourite supplies. If I put together a kit I'll be sure to share a photo of it with you.
Oh that's really good to hear, thank you! It's sad so many people don't allow themselves to enjoy being creative due to fears of failure, you can't make bad art or do anything wrong, that's the beauty of unique creations!
@@mollylemonart Molly, I did it! I went to the park and made a sketch. It's not pretty but I don't care because I'm so chuffed about making a sketch. I've done a few more and know that my skill will improve with practice. Thank you for the nudge.
A beautiful video with stunning scenery! Your mini sketching pack is such a good idea. Whenever I go on holiday I take equipment and materials but feel so daunted that I end up hardly doing any sketching 🤦♀. I really do need to make more of an effort so I think a mini pack with limited materials and on a small scale might be a better choice for me 🤞. Doing 50 sketches was impressive and such a lovely record of your holiday and they are beautiful 👏❤
Thank you! A mini sketching pack may help for sure, but also only sketch if you feel moved to otherwise I find it results in frustrating sketching sessions! Thanks for watching!
I’ve recently created a mini linoprinting pack that I take out with me inspired by your plein air woodcuts: a stamp pad, 2x2 inch Lino, my cutter with a couple of different blades and a little sketchbook to print in. I like what you said about them being small and easy to make so it doesn’t matter if they’re not all great.
Thank you for this. Love your mini paintings Gorgeous glimpses! Looks like Winnie recovered. The scenery AND the rainbow brought back good memories of walking in the Lake District decades ago! I have a mini sewing pack that goes everywhere with me.
Thank you! The Lake District is beautiful isn’t it! Yes we spent the Friday in the cottage so Winnie could rest, I used the day to design next years advent design on my iPad! Lovely you take your sewing kit with you! I did a lot of sewing during my fine art degree and took my sewing kit everywhere!
Ah, this was so beautiful and I thought your sketches were lovely! Made me want to do more sketching and shrink my kit even smaller. I have found little single serving jam or honey jars a great water container, sometimes you find them at hotels or in pre-packaged food gift baskets (at least in America). I also loved the idea of creating different color kits for each season.
Thank you! I'm pleased it inspired you! I do have a little glass jar like that in my studio but I'm not totally convinced it won't spill onto my purse... Maybe I'll take the risk next time and see!
Fantastic video Molly very inspiring, just being out in nature and sketching nature is a great skill. I find a sketch can capture colours better than a photograph and can be a stepping stone to a bigger project. I sometimes sketch in monochrome just using one colour to capture the values. Either water soluble graphite or neocolour 2 or watercolour. I am going to try the mini paper as I tend to sketch larger I think it can be more freeing as I will not be so precious about a piece of paper than a sketchbook. I am like you I spend most of my money on art and craft supplies.
Yes very true, photographs don't always capture the feeling of a place as well as a sketch! I really should try monochrome more, I think it'll help think about light and shade much more. Thanks for watching!
Inspiring as always Molly! I loved the little travel kit you put together - its tiny size was impressive, and yet you still created so much work from it. I thought they looked beautiful all together. I’m trying to sketch outside more and have a pencil case with watercolours and pencils, but haven’t particularly enjoyed using the small sketchbook I bought, so I’m going to copy your idea of cutting up some tiny pieces of paper instead!
Loved this video Molly - and your sketches. Your limited palette really worked in pulling the whole project together. Gorgeous! I have a couple of mini sketch kits too, although bigger paper than yours. Just like you say, I can take either of them anywhere and they fit inside coat pockets, hip pockets, small shoulder bags etc. I can also use them standing up without the need for resting anything on the ground. Sketching outside is one of my all time favourite things to do, but I loved your mixed media set up. Will be giving that some thought 😏. (By the way, I use a small 60ml nalgene bottle for my paint water. I've attached an elastic band so I can hang it from my palette. Works fine for me). I hope your projects are working out as you'd hoped and that Winnie has made a full recovery. All the best to you and thanks for sharing😊
Thank you for watching Amy! I'm pleased to hear you also enjoy using a travel sketching kit! Thank you for the tip about the water bottle, that looks like a great option!
maybe you tried to get a little too 'mini' with your sketch pack...? you could use that tin for watercolor pans only, and fit a wider selection of colors in it, and then add another small pouch for pencils, neocolors , and brushes....? i bet you could still fit both the tin and another pouch into that wonderful leather bag you carry! also, i can easily imagine that you'll make some beautiful wood engravings inspired by your sketches! my favorites among your sketches are the ones that feature trees. amazing scenery...
Hi Alice! Mmm yes so many options, thank you! I think I just wanted to see how small I could get it to begin with! I think the thing I'd change the most is my paper size, I think it'd be more enjoyable if it was even just 2cm bigger!
Me and Maple enjoyed watching this a lot ❤🐕 I love that you made the paper the right size to slot into the tin, that's ingenious! I've been looking for a tin for my neocolors for a while but haven't been successful yet!
Oh I'm pleased to hear that! I thought the paper slotting into the lid was clever until I realised I couldn't easily paint under the lip which meant I've got white edges to my sketches, oh well 😅
What a lovely video and idea! I'm totally going to make my own travel sketching kit. Also, just because you can't or don't want to sell the sketches you made on this trip doesn't mean you can't use these as research sketches to convert to bigger or more sellable works and prints!
Molly every single one of these paintings is GORGEOUS! I'm so impressed as well with just how small you managed to get the sketching pack 😅😂 Also the idea to cut the paper so it'd fit in the lid of the tin is absolute GENIUS! Literally mind blown haha My partner and I actually went to Wastwater earlier this year with some friends (including some friends of friends we hadn't met before), it was beautiful as you know, and despite being very new to art in general as well as new to sketching outside, I did manage to do a couple of sketches while we were there (you inspired me to give it a go!) which was a bit scary when doing a very clearly very amateur watercolour in front of people you barely know 😅 But those who commented were very complimentary so that was nice!
Hi Beth! Thank you so much! I was on a mission to get it as small as possible for sure! Oh nice you also visited Wast Water this year! It's so wonderful there isn't it! Good to hear you fitted some sketching in during your stay!
I really like this idea. I have a tiny sketchbook for my bag too, only I just put a tin of Art Graf because I can’t imagine limiting my colour options to just a few pencils/paints so I go greyscale. Might try your idea!
Lovely to see your travels Molly - what breathtaking scenery! Hope Winnie is okay now. If Neocolor 2 can be used with water, could you take more of those and get away without watercolour?
Thank you so much! Winnie is better now, her foot was a bit sensitive for a week or so after the holiday, poor thing! I like doing a wash of colour with watercolours and then adding detail on top but yes I could just use the Neocolours to be fair, I haven’t made the most of their water soluble qualities yet!
I sent a couple of pictures of my travel kit on Instagram. Thanks for this video because it inspires me to keep going with a similar project I lost momentum on! Also, random question but what size is your purse? I love it and was looking at her work but see she makes big and small sizes. Best of luck for a successful holiday season!
Oh thank you! I will go in search now (my instagram messages tend to pass me by a lot of the time!) My bag is 19x15cm roughly, I see Alice doesn't have any of her bags on her Etsy so maybe best to message her or one of her stockists. Thanks so much for watching, I'll go and find you on Insta now!
Gorgeous holiday project. The sketches do look amazing alongside each other. Thanks for sharing. Love your tin. An artists EDC.
Thank you so much Donna!
Molly I've just suscribed lovely little sketches ❤😊
Thank you Deborah!
Wonderful miniatures and scenery! Hope you used water from the lakes in your paintings!
Thank you! I did for many of them 🥰
I was a stage manager before COVID and I loved using altoid tins for various supplies in my kit. Will be getting into sewing in the coming months and already have some such tins ready for organizing there. So, not an artist, though as a lover of organization, your little tin brought me a lot of joy.
Little tins with things in are very satisfying aren't they! I'm pleased you enjoyed the video 🥰
Dear Molly,
I loved this video. And your mini tin. Sliding the paper into the lid to work, is genius.I am just starting a week’s holiday in the Highlands and was frustrated because I’d only brought a small sketchbook.You have definitely inspired me!. I have a mini sketch pack using an old camera case.Now I am going down to the shore with some mini pieces of paper. I always enjoy your videos but this was really special. So encouraging , and wonderful scenery.Many thanks🌷
Oh what a lovely comment, thank you so much! Jealous of your Highlands holiday! I'm pleased this video inspired you, having limited art supplies can actually be really freeing!
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The mini sketches looked great when put together, like a patchwork memory of the Lakes. I also thought they’d make lovely ceramic tiles. Glad to see Winnie soon got better!
Thank you so much! I agree they definitely work best as a group! Yes the day after Winnie hurt her foot I spent the whole day in the cottage with her which lead to a speedy recovery, shame to spend our last day inside though but it couldn’t be helped!
Your sketches were lovely - would look great as wall art. Great ideas for a mini sketch kit. 🙏💜
Thank you so much! I have thought about framing up a selection to keep 🥰
Thank you, Molly. You've eased my hesitancy with trying something new by sharing your discomfort with the small format and the limited supplies. I want to throw down quick sketches when I'm out and about, and often thnk about what I'd bring but never do it. I'm inspired to gather some of my favourite supplies. If I put together a kit I'll be sure to share a photo of it with you.
Oh that's really good to hear, thank you! It's sad so many people don't allow themselves to enjoy being creative due to fears of failure, you can't make bad art or do anything wrong, that's the beauty of unique creations!
@@mollylemonart Molly, I did it! I went to the park and made a sketch. It's not pretty but I don't care because I'm so chuffed about making a sketch. I've done a few more and know that my skill will improve with practice. Thank you for the nudge.
Such lovely scenery! Thanks for sharing. I’m glad that Winnie is feeling better. 🐶
Thank you for watching 🥰
A beautiful video with stunning scenery! Your mini sketching pack is such a good idea. Whenever I go on holiday I take equipment and materials but feel so daunted that I end up hardly doing any sketching 🤦♀. I really do need to make more of an effort so I think a mini pack with limited materials and on a small scale might be a better choice for me 🤞. Doing 50 sketches was impressive and such a lovely record of your holiday and they are beautiful 👏❤
Thank you! A mini sketching pack may help for sure, but also only sketch if you feel moved to otherwise I find it results in frustrating sketching sessions! Thanks for watching!
What a great idea, I'm going to try it! Thank you. I love what you have created.
Thank you Jane! Have fun creating your mini kit! I loved putting mine together!
I’ve recently created a mini linoprinting pack that I take out with me inspired by your plein air woodcuts: a stamp pad, 2x2 inch Lino, my cutter with a couple of different blades and a little sketchbook to print in. I like what you said about them being small and easy to make so it doesn’t matter if they’re not all great.
Oh sweet! I'm glad the plein air videos inspired you!
really love this video Molly! the scenery is magical and your sketches are so gorgeous! I feel so inspired and I think I'll make a mini sketch kit!
I'm very pleased to hear that! 🥰
Thank you for this. Love your mini paintings Gorgeous glimpses! Looks like Winnie recovered. The scenery AND the rainbow brought back good memories of walking in the Lake District decades ago! I have a mini sewing pack that goes everywhere with me.
Thank you! The Lake District is beautiful isn’t it! Yes we spent the Friday in the cottage so Winnie could rest, I used the day to design next years advent design on my iPad! Lovely you take your sewing kit with you! I did a lot of sewing during my fine art degree and took my sewing kit everywhere!
Thank you for sharing your vacation and your painting project with us! Learned a few things!
I’m pleased to hear that, thanks for watching!
Ah, this was so beautiful and I thought your sketches were lovely! Made me want to do more sketching and shrink my kit even smaller. I have found little single serving jam or honey jars a great water container, sometimes you find them at hotels or in pre-packaged food gift baskets (at least in America). I also loved the idea of creating different color kits for each season.
Thank you! I'm pleased it inspired you! I do have a little glass jar like that in my studio but I'm not totally convinced it won't spill onto my purse... Maybe I'll take the risk next time and see!
Fantastic video Molly very inspiring, just being out in nature and sketching nature is a great skill. I find a sketch can capture colours better than a photograph and can be a stepping stone to a bigger project. I sometimes sketch in monochrome just using one colour to capture the values. Either water soluble graphite or neocolour 2 or watercolour. I am going to try the mini paper as I tend to sketch larger I think it can be more freeing as I will not be so precious about a piece of paper than a sketchbook. I am like you I spend most of my money on art and craft supplies.
Yes very true, photographs don't always capture the feeling of a place as well as a sketch! I really should try monochrome more, I think it'll help think about light and shade much more. Thanks for watching!
Inspiring as always Molly! I loved the little travel kit you put together - its tiny size was impressive, and yet you still created so much work from it. I thought they looked beautiful all together. I’m trying to sketch outside more and have a pencil case with watercolours and pencils, but haven’t particularly enjoyed using the small sketchbook I bought, so I’m going to copy your idea of cutting up some tiny pieces of paper instead!
Hi Janet, oh good idea, sketchbooks are nice to use but I guess there's less pressure when using single bits of paper!
Loved this video Molly - and your sketches. Your limited palette really worked in pulling the whole project together. Gorgeous! I have a couple of mini sketch kits too, although bigger paper than yours. Just like you say, I can take either of them anywhere and they fit inside coat pockets, hip pockets, small shoulder bags etc. I can also use them standing up without the need for resting anything on the ground. Sketching outside is one of my all time favourite things to do, but I loved your mixed media set up. Will be giving that some thought 😏. (By the way, I use a small 60ml nalgene bottle for my paint water. I've attached an elastic band so I can hang it from my palette. Works fine for me). I hope your projects are working out as you'd hoped and that Winnie has made a full recovery. All the best to you and thanks for sharing😊
Thank you for watching Amy! I'm pleased to hear you also enjoy using a travel sketching kit! Thank you for the tip about the water bottle, that looks like a great option!
maybe you tried to get a little too 'mini' with your sketch pack...? you could use that tin for watercolor pans only, and fit a wider selection of colors in it, and then add another small pouch for pencils, neocolors , and brushes....? i bet you could still fit both the tin and another pouch into that wonderful leather bag you carry! also, i can easily imagine that you'll make some beautiful wood engravings inspired by your sketches! my favorites among your sketches are the ones that feature trees. amazing scenery...
Hi Alice! Mmm yes so many options, thank you! I think I just wanted to see how small I could get it to begin with! I think the thing I'd change the most is my paper size, I think it'd be more enjoyable if it was even just 2cm bigger!
Me and Maple enjoyed watching this a lot ❤🐕 I love that you made the paper the right size to slot into the tin, that's ingenious! I've been looking for a tin for my neocolors for a while but haven't been successful yet!
Oh I'm pleased to hear that! I thought the paper slotting into the lid was clever until I realised I couldn't easily paint under the lip which meant I've got white edges to my sketches, oh well 😅
What a lovely video and idea! I'm totally going to make my own travel sketching kit. Also, just because you can't or don't want to sell the sketches you made on this trip doesn't mean you can't use these as research sketches to convert to bigger or more sellable works and prints!
Thank you! I hope you have fun making your travel sketching kit! And very true, I’m hoping to have time to revisit the sketches in November!
Beautiful scenery and love your mini paintings!
Thank you! Yes the scenery was inspiring for sure!
Molly every single one of these paintings is GORGEOUS! I'm so impressed as well with just how small you managed to get the sketching pack 😅😂 Also the idea to cut the paper so it'd fit in the lid of the tin is absolute GENIUS! Literally mind blown haha
My partner and I actually went to Wastwater earlier this year with some friends (including some friends of friends we hadn't met before), it was beautiful as you know, and despite being very new to art in general as well as new to sketching outside, I did manage to do a couple of sketches while we were there (you inspired me to give it a go!) which was a bit scary when doing a very clearly very amateur watercolour in front of people you barely know 😅 But those who commented were very complimentary so that was nice!
Hi Beth! Thank you so much! I was on a mission to get it as small as possible for sure! Oh nice you also visited Wast Water this year! It's so wonderful there isn't it! Good to hear you fitted some sketching in during your stay!
I really like this idea. I have a tiny sketchbook for my bag too, only I just put a tin of Art Graf because I can’t imagine limiting my colour options to just a few pencils/paints so I go greyscale. Might try your idea!
Oh nice, I think I should try greyscale more often, I rely so much on colour!
Lovely to see your travels Molly - what breathtaking scenery! Hope Winnie is okay now. If Neocolor 2 can be used with water, could you take more of those and get away without watercolour?
Thank you so much! Winnie is better now, her foot was a bit sensitive for a week or so after the holiday, poor thing! I like doing a wash of colour with watercolours and then adding detail on top but yes I could just use the Neocolours to be fair, I haven’t made the most of their water soluble qualities yet!
I sent a couple of pictures of my travel kit on Instagram. Thanks for this video because it inspires me to keep going with a similar project I lost momentum on! Also, random question but what size is your purse? I love it and was looking at her work but see she makes big and small sizes. Best of luck for a successful holiday season!
Oh thank you! I will go in search now (my instagram messages tend to pass me by a lot of the time!) My bag is 19x15cm roughly, I see Alice doesn't have any of her bags on her Etsy so maybe best to message her or one of her stockists. Thanks so much for watching, I'll go and find you on Insta now!
Umm I think your little sketch’s are brilliant. Maybe you are being a bit harsh about your art. 🧡
Thank you Meg! I think artists are often very hard on themselves, it’s rarely ‘good enough’ 😅🙈