Plein air watercolor painting of Dutch Island Lighthouse
A sunny, hot, humid day is perfect for kayaking on the bay. Today I convinced both of my boys (husband and son) to join me on this little adventure. This is one of my favorite local kayaks. We packed our mask and fins for snorkeling and picnic lunch, as well as the all important boat horn for the occasional power boat that doesn’t see us. Dutch Island is owned by the RI DEM and you should check out the restrictions on camp fires, etc before heading over.
Plein Air Painting in Watercolors
Packing Checklist:
Sunscreen, lifejacket, boat horn & flare, dry bags for phone & Arches block, swimming towel and picnic lunch.
I bought my Wildnerness Systems kayak used and I absolutely love it. From the high visibility orange color to the long narrow design, it is perfect for me. It cuts through the water with minimal effort and has lot of dry wells. If you have an open kayak design make sure you have a dry bag for your painting supplies. I usually put mine in a recycled plastic bag (like those Amazon bubble plastic envelopes) so that the Arches block doesn’t get dented mushed into the hold with sunblock and snorkeling gear. I have my cell phone in a dry bag around my neck for easy access to take pictures.
My Watercolor Plein Air Painting Kit for Kayaking
I have different watercolor plein air kits depending on my activity. For kayaking, I like to bring a 7×10 inch, or 8×10 inches Arches cold press block. This fits easily in my hold and in a gallon heavy duty ziplock bag. I also have a small water bottle for rinsing my brushes and my Winsor and Newton Artist Watercolor palette (as opposed to Cotman student paints). At this point, most of the original pans have been replaced with paint squeezed from my Daniel smith tubes. I also have DaVinci sable travel brushes, today I was using a size 6. This is my basic travel kit as the block is big enough to capture a detailed sketch but small enough to pack easily in my backpack or kayak hold.
How to get there...
The beach at the bottom of Graduate School of Oceanography campus is a free local favorite (no lifeguard). There is waterfront parking right on the water, perfect for launching kayaks. Watch the tides and weather. Make sure to bring a boat horn/flare as this is a shipping channel through west passage, so there are large powerboats. An easier route is from Fort Getty, Jamestown to Dutch Island.
