Painting Outdoors!

One of the things I am pretty excited about this year is painting outdoors. I have a covered patio
in my backyard that is partially secluded with trees and flowers and I set up a small table and easel
to work with.  It can be time consuming to drag out all my acrylics and oils and supplies so this year
I have come up with a plan.
  I have always wanted to develop watercolor painting and pastel more and these are what I am using
this year to paint outside.
  The amount of things to bring with you to a park or outdoors to paint  are minimal and easy to
pack.  Watercolor in a box set (12.99 at Michael's for Prang 16 color box set), glass sealed jar of
water for mixing and diluting, pad of paper, pastels, pencils and some papertowels are all you need
to have a blast. Ink and gel pens are also great to outline your paintings after they dry.  You can throw
all this stuff in to a tote bag...don't forget your brushes!  Grab some snacks and your I pod and head
to your backyard, balcony or nearest park and start painting!  You don't need an easel and you can
set up at a picnic table and lay out all your things....Nothing beats listening to some tunes in the sun, listening to birds and watching the view as you work.  I think art is definitely affected when working
outdoors and you can also paint what you see around you.
Happy spring and summer!