Plein Air Checklist

I'm gearing up for another Plein Air painting season, now that the weather is warming up.

I've added a couple of events to my iCloud Events Calendar: the Lunenburg Paint Sea on Site and the Annapolis Royal Paint the Town.

I feel like I need a checklist to make sure I don't forget anything important, so here it is:

ESSENTIALS
- Backpack or bag
- Paint (Oils, Watercolors)
- Mediums (Water and container, Oil/Thinner mix)
- Bottle for waste water
- Brushes (Oil knives plus 1 or 2 brushes, Watercolor brush case)
- Support (Pre-primed panels, Watercolor paper)
- Palette (Watercolor palette, Disposable palette for oils)
- Paper towels, rags, or wet wipes, Scrap paper
- Drinking water and Snacks
- Trash bag
- Method of transporting wet paintings (box with spacers, or enough free space in vehicle)
- Small camera

OPTIONAL ITEMS
- Easel or Painting board
- Chair
- DSLR and tripod, extra battery, etc.
- Pens, Pencils, Erasers, Watercolor pencils
- Varnish or wax finish
- Sketchbook
- Hangers and glue, hanging wire, bumper pads, etc.
- Flashlight and spare batteries for after dark
- Personal items (sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, umbrella, rain jacket, etc.)
- Business items (business cards, postcards, etc.)

And another checklist of TIPS for once I'm set up and ready to paint:

- Take time to look first (The painting usually takes longer when I don't take enough time to properly look first)
- Value sketch (I need to work on getting the contrast right)
- Squint (To better determine the contrasts)
- Idea sketches (Try different compositions or color ideas, etc. in a small sketch first)
- Be mindful of contrasting elements (mostly light with a little dark, warm with a little cool, saturated vs dull, thick vs thin, hard edges vs soft, transparent vs opaque, large shapes vs small, etc.)
- Label the canvas with the title, my name, etc.  (Before it is covered in wet paint)
- Take a picture of each painting when it is finished (Before it gets dropped, or smudged, or sold)
- Relax and Enjoy (Most important part)