Karen McLain Studio: Plein Air Painting

Over the past several years, I have developed my painting gear that is specific to the specialty of painting wild horses from life. Considering that I will be walking an unknown distance, I want my gear as light as I can make it, and not take anything into the field that might cause extra curiosity or be a concern for the horses. (Plastic grocery bags that I typically use for trash is one of the items I leave home when I paint horses.) My gear is compact and sets up quickly. I also have my palette set and ready to go, which eliminates the need for carrying tubes of paint.

1. Carbon fiber tripod. (I have the same mounts attached to my camera and easel)
2. Brushes, (Rosemary and Co. are my favorite brushes), palette knife, small chip brush from the hardware store and a paint scraper.
3. Strada Easel
4. Sun block, spf gloves, pen, pencil, small sketch book, and extra SD card.
5. Panels and panel carrier. (PanelPak).
6. Odorless mineral spirits, a small mesh bag for trash, a water bottle carrier to hold my OMS, napkins folded in half in a mesh bag, plastic putty scraper to clean my palette. (I don't carry a roll of paper towels when painting wild horses).
7. Storm Jacket for my camera, (in the event of rain or dust storm), View Finder, extra tripod mount, lens cleaner, extra camera battery, and business cards.
8. Canon 70D with a 100-400mm lens.
9. Camelbak backpack that will hold up to 100 oz of water. (I have one that can hold an 12x16 panel).
(The only thing not pictured is a 13 gallon trash bag for picking up trash on the way back to the car).

My goal is to be as unobtrusive as I can while I paint. I want to watch the horses interacting with each other rather than focusing on me.