On September 2, 2026, I’m heading out alongside my family for a one-month artist residency in Italy (eeeeek!). Because we're going to be using a lot of public transit and I want to keep my art "mobile," everything I need to live, work, and paint for thirty days has to fit into just one checked suitcase and one backpack.
This has required some serious editing and thinking, especially with a 4-year-old in tow (he'll have his own backpack and suitcase, but we all know at least a quarter of my backpack will be dedicated to his needs... haha).
When my space is this limited, I can’t bring "just in case" tools. I decided that each art supply had to be a "yes" to three essential questions: (1) Is it a tool that I consistently use? (2) Is it a tool that will help me work toward building a cohesive body of work while in Italy? (3) Will it get through TSA?
The truth is that I really wanted to bring a full gouache set because, honestly, I LOVE gouache. It's such a beautiful medium. However, I don't use it regularly, it's not a medium that I excel at, and it isn't something I would traditionally use in a body of work. As much as I wanted it to join me in Tuscany, it was a hard "no."
So what made the cut? Well, here you go...
You can find all the art supplies I'm taking to Italy linked here:
- Winsor & Newton 9" x 12" Watercolor Pad
- Moleskin 5" x 8.25" Moleskin Mixed Media Travel Journal
- PaintOn 7" x 10" Kraft Mixed Media Pad
- Blick Masking Tape: 1" and .5"
- Faber-Castell Pencil Sharpener
- Faber-Castell Collapsable Water Cup
- Conte a Paris Sketching Set
- Staedtler 10H Drawing Pencil
- TomBow Eraser
- Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment 0.3 Pen
- Princeton Velvetouch Brushes
- Princeton Square wash Brushes
- Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen-White Ink
- Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolors - Studio Set of 45 Half Pans
There are several works of art that I'm going to see in Italy that I've dreamed about seeing since I was a child, like the statue of David—which I'm actually going to see on my BIRTHDAY—ahhh! And if I'm honest with myself, as much as I long to travel, I wasn't sure how much I would ever be able to do. But all this is happening next month alongside my family... and it feels so surreal in many ways.
One very unexpected artistic bucket list item came to be over the summer. I was talking to my cousin about heading to Italy (they have been to many of the places we will be going!), and I mentioned Siena. He quickly told me how cool Siena was because it's where the color Burnt Sienna comes from—which is literally one of my two favorite colors to paint with. I use this color all the time, and to say that I'm excited to see the place that created this amazing color is an understatement.
Here's a little info from Wikipedia: It takes its name from the city-state of Siena, where it was produced during the Renaissance.[3] Along with ochre and umber, it was one of the first pigments to be used by humans, and is found in many cave paintings. Since the Renaissance, it has been one of the brown pigments most widely used by artists.
I'm really hoping that they sell Burnt Sienna paint that has been made right there in Tuscany... because I'm going to somehow need to find room to stuff it into my backpack for the trip home (haha).
As you can tell, I'm ready & excited. I'll be sharing all the things I paint and our family adventures on facebook & instagram, so be sure to follow along!
All My Best,
Amanda
