I like to paint and sketch outside, when the weather is suitable for it. At winter time (because of our cold Northern climate) I use referencematerial that I collect during the year, usually just by taking photographs.

In the picture above is my basic supplies that I take with me if I’m going to work outdoors. I like to use pencils, blendable soft pastels and oilpastels. The Derwent blendable soft pastels I use on the background, usually I water them after applying them on the paper. My sketching places are not far from the river, so I just use my fingers and river water to spread the color. On top of that (when the background has dried up) I layer Royal Talens van Gogh oilpastels, Pentel oilpastels and Caran D’Ache Neopastels. I don’t really use the Pentel pastels and soft pastels inside the house because Pentels have a really strong odor and the soft pastels are really dusty medium.

Alongside the colors I take paper towels, cotton swabs, couple of different erasers, cut up plastic card (for example old credit card) for sgraffito technique and paper stumps. I like to use sketchbooks outside, so I usually take light ones that have different paper textures. I have also made sketchbooks myself, which contain several types of paper, so I can choose on the site which one is going to work the best.

A large and durable backpack is a must, just because I often walk several kilometers to the site. I also take along my rain gear, piece of a thin camping mattress and other essentials. Sometimes I bring along my bridge camera Canon Powershot SX 70 HS. It’s heavy and quite bulky and it takes up a lot of room inside the backpack, but it has so much better programs and colors than my Nokia G50 phone. I use it to photograph my subjects. Often I don’t make a finished art piece on site, so I’ll need some kind of memory backup.

Here are some examples of good reference photos (that works for me at least). These are taken only for a closer examination of the subject’s color, shape, details etc.: