I have had a lot of requests for the details of my mini travel art kit recently, so I decided to jot down the recipe that works for me to make it easier to share:

A zippered mesh bag

This holds the art kit all together! This tough mesh is essential to me because any residual moisture in the paint pan or brush will dry out after use without having to unpack the kit. But I also find it extremely useful to be able to see everything in the pouch so I don’t have to search around in the depths and corners of a bag. I especially like the ones with an extra side pocket to separate smaller items, but even a single pocket pouch works well. An artist friend in the Phillipines brought these back for me, but I found a similar bag in the stationary section at Muji, and I am sure they are available elsewhere.

A watercolor set

I am a big fan of Sennelier watercolors for their pigment and creamyness, and my go-to set for the last few years has been this 12 half-pan metal travel kit. It unfolds, providing two mixing trays on the side, with a row of paint pans in the middle.