I don’t really define myself as a minimalist. I mean, I don’t make a list of all the items I own or decide that an arbitrary number like 57 is the “natural limit” of things. Nor do I pretend things I share with others aren’t mine. I’m pretty much a moderatist, in between the ascetic desires of minimalists and the “as much as possible” approach of maximalists.
But there’s one area I try to go for light, small, minimal, and that’s in the realm of everyday carry, or EDC. I want the stuff in my day backpack or bike bag to be as minimal as possible, whether a pocket knife, first aid kit, or notebook. It’s another argument as to whether I succeed at that, as I probably carry “a lot of stuff” compared to others. What can I say: After living more out of the house than in for several years, I would rather be prepared for many eventualities than not. My “office” for the day may be a coffee shop or park.
Anyway, after trudging around with full-sized sketchbooks and a case full of pens for many years, I’ve come to appreciate a more minimal art kit. First I shrunk the sketchbook size from letter/A4 to digest/A5, then to pocket/A6. Then I tried to limit the number of art-making tools I had, the idea to do more with less but still preserve a little bit of variety. This minimalism manifested itself in the leather notebook cover that David at Treetop Goods made me a few years back. I still like this setup, but lately, I’ve been desiring a sketchbook that’s a little bit bigger for day-to-day needs. Not big-big, but bigger than 3 1/2″ x 5 1/2″.
So I’ve been using a square (5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″) sketchbook from Hand Book Co, a brand of Speedball. While I think that the sketchbooks offered by Leuchtturm have an edge in paper quality and construction,1 Hand Books are still decent, and most importantly, in the size I want. Having a couple extra inches of width gives me some more breathing room, yet it’s still smaller than the A5 sketchbooks I used to use.
Now the issue is I lack an appropriate notebook cover.2 Instead, I’ve been using a fabric notebook strap by Papelote that can hold five pens/pencils. So I have to be strategic in what tools I carry. Right now, those five tools are:
- A drafting pencil with a retractible lead sleeve/pipe, like my Platinum Pro-Use 171 or Uni Shift Lock. Having that retractible pipe is crucial, as I don’t want to catch the pipe on something in my bag, which could damage the pencil.
- A pen. Lately this has been the “white label” MUJI Fountain pen that is essentially a Platinum Preppy in Fine (0.3mm) width. I find o.3 the ideal width for “the one pen”. Sometimes I’ll switch it out with a tech pen like a Rotring Tikky. I like using the MUJI/Platinum as I can use the great Platinum Carbon Ink Cartridge.
- A brush pen. Lately it’s been the Kuretake Fountain Pen Ink Brush Pen with synthetic bristles, as the synth tip provides more control than the natural version, and it also uses Platinum cartridges, so I one spare cartridge can be used for two different pens.
- An eraser pen. I don’t know why I didn’t get one of these until this year, but it’s a lot easier than trying to find an eraser in a busy bag.
- A water brush. This is used to activate color, if I am bringing color (see below.) If I’m not, I may have a colored brush pen or perhaps another black ink pen of some sort.
As for color, while I do have a travel set of watercolors, the kit I bring most often is a set of Caran d’Ache Neocolor II pastel crayons. These are water-soluble, so with the addition of a water brush one can get watercolor-like effects. It’s usually enough for my daily needs and is small enough I don’t have to decide whether to bring it or not. That’s what I want in a minimalistic everyday carry.
There are days when I need to bring more art supplies. But this everyday carry kit is always in the bag, no matter what bag it is and where I’m going. Because there’s always an opportunity to draw, and the easier I make it, the more I’ll draw.
Urban Adventure League 