My friend Quinn was spayed this week. She’s bouncing back quickly, so the real challenge will be to make sure she avoids any other type of bouncing while she heals over the next two weeks. A rather tough ask for an energy-packed dog who loves to spring through our woods on patrol twice a day.

Snooze Study     © Elizabeth Fram

I’m trying to keep her from climbing the stairs to the studio during these first post-surgery days, so thank goodness for the portability of drawing materials and a laptop, both of which allow me to be productive despite being displaced.

© Elizabeth Fram     Drawn with Noodler’s Ink in Tiananmen & Tom Norton’s Walnut Drawing Ink

While we’re on the subject of portability… I love reading other artists’ supply lists and suggestions, especially their travel solutions for paring materials down as much as possible while on-the-go. Sketchers tend to haul their gear everywhere, meaning they usually want to get by with as little and as lightly as possible. I’ve picked up some great tips that are both inexpensive and incredibly space efficient from the following:

• Marc Taro Holmes;    best hint: 4 oz Nalgene bottles for carrying ink or water
• Shari Blaukopf;     best hint: 8″x8″ Fluid Watercolor blocks
• Suhita Shirodkar;     best hint: Noodler’s Ink

And a couple of my own:

• Nomadic pencil cases hold an amazing amount of gear considering their modest size. The model I have is no longer available, but this option is very close.
• Masters Whiskey Painters Standard Palette is tiny at only 2.5″ x 3″. Extra half pans allow you to expand to a dozen colors.

Of course one could get by with just a pencil and a small sketchbook, but where is the fun in that?