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3 tips to make watercolour portable

Are you someone who wants to paint, but it’s a pain in the butt getting all the materials out JUST to have to put them away again after an hour?





If so, I 100% get it. I still don’t have a dedicated studio space (see here a walking tour of my ‘studio’) and it can be such a drag lugging all my art supplies out and onto the kitchen table just to put them away again after half an hour. It’s almost enough to put you off painting, am I right?!


Well, I have a trio of tips for you!


1. Get an art trolley

I am serious, I have one! All my paints, brushes and paper live in this trolley, I wheel it out when the kids are in bed, and wheel it away at the end of the night. It’s nothing fancy, it’s literally just a trolley from Kmart. It’s a touch flimsy, but I couldn’t get my hands on the Ikea kind (which does actually look better than what I have). I’ll link mine below, and the Ikea one too. Also, try Gumtree.


2. Use a watercolour sketch book


I’ve only just gotten one for myself and seriously WHY DIDN’T I DO THIS EARLIER? All my watercolour practice pieces and experiments are in one place, easy to find and zero mess. Before this, I had sheets and sheets and SHEETS of watercolour paper just filling our whole house. Especially for practising, this just makes so much sense. And, if you accidentally create a masterpiece you wanna frame? Just tear it out!


3. Get twist-together circle palettes*

Great for beginners, plus they pack up small! Also, they last a gazillion years. Plus you can use the lids for colour mixing. If you prefer tube watercolour paints, get yourself a folding palette, squirt the paint in the little sections, let it dry and you’re set - just add water when you’re ready to paint!


BONUS TIP, Grab some water brushes

These often aren’t as good as ‘normal’ watercolour brushes, but honestly a) who cares if you’re just getting started and b) this means no more water jars, so you really can take your paints on the run!


Do you have any tips for making watercolour portable and accessible? Pretty please share in the comments to tell me, anything that makes my life easier is a win, and I know other folks will appreciate it too!


*see here for my free guide to see which ones I use!


I also now have a YOUTUBE CHANNEL, full of free tutorials (new tutorials released once a week) if you wanna paint at home, no strings attached - I promise.



If you liked what I had to say, sign up here for more updates!


ALSO, I have a bunch of freebies (think, downloadable colouring pages, free guides etc) available HERE - great for you AND your kids!


Tess xo









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