I had been wanting a small watercolor pocket sketch box for awhile and recently put one together using an old Altoids tin, 6 bottle caps and watercolor tube paints. The flat lid of the older style Altoids tin (expiration 2006) is perfect for a mixing surface and the box fits great in a small coin purse along with 3 travel watercolor brushes. The colors included in the tin are cadmium red, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, ultramarine blue, pthalo green and burnt sienna.
Today, I decided to take my new sketch box along on a hike in the Long Ridge open space preserve in the Palo Alto/Woodside Hills. The sketch above is my first attempt at plein air watercolor painting and was completed on-site using the Altoids tin palette and a few color pencils.
While I wish my tin could fit a couple more colors, the coin purse is small enough for carrying around everyday and I will definitely be making more use of it in the future!
