My Compact Sketching Kit

I've been busy making up a new ultra compact sketching kit ready for a summer cycle tour. Size and weight of kit is of paramount importance, you cant take everything you would like when you have to lug it about. Size and weight of kit is fairly important on a long hiking trip but critical on a cycle tour with big hills to get over on a loaded bike, although the bijou box is made from brass it is quite lightweight and I've not found a lightweight plastic quite one as compact as this although the W & N field box I also use  is only marginally larger. (In reality the beautiful tiny brass one is a bit of an indulgence)

This is the kit I've made up :

9 x 14 cm Moleskine watercolour sketchbook (maybe two will be required for a two week trip)

Bijou travel paint box.

2 travel brushes

Pentel mechanical pencil and spare leads

Travel tissues

All fits in a small bag as shown below. (Except the sketchbook)

2p shown for scale.

I will probably add the following to this list at some point

Water soluble graphite pencil

Razor blade

Small piece of eraser

Small piece of old towel

This will still fit in the little bag.

My bijou travel paint box was made by John Hurtley of 'The Little Brass Box Company'

and I requested an 8 well tray instead of the usual 12 so that I could fit in a travel brush and a part tube of Chinese white gouache. It all fits into the little brass water pot.

My colours are Winsor & Newton Artists quality watercolours.

Lemon Yellow and Naples Yellow

Cadmium Red and Alizarin Crimson

Cerulean Blue and French Ultramarine

Raw Sienna and Burnt Sienna

Warm and cool versions of Yellow, Red and Blue pus 2 extra useful mixing colours.

You can mix just about any colour for landscapes from these in my opinion.