Tips for Traveling Artists

Veteran plein-air painters on the San Miguel trip offered the following tips for long-distance group expeditions.

· Pack paint tubes properly. On previous trips, everyone in our group had suffered the consequences of exploding or leaking paint tubes during flights. Some pack paints in their carry-on luggage; others think paints do better when checked. One member of our group packs her tubes in plastic bags inside shoe boxes.

Airlines are concerned about flammability, and there is widespread confusion on this regarding artists' paints. Vegetable oil-based paints have no solvents in them and are not hazardous, while alykd oil paints contain solvents and are hazardous. Consider traveling with Material Safety Data Sheets, available from paint manufacturers, listing their products' flash points. Purchase solvents (turpentine and paint thinner) at your destination. The Web site for Gamblin paints, http://www.gamblincolors.com/ , has a page listing volatility, MSDS ratings and general travel advice for traveling artists, which can be printed and given to security officials.

· Know your equipment. A new easel on our trip collapsed twice, spilling paint, wasting valuable time and putting the artist in a cranky mood. Take what you are comfortable with and what you know works. Of course, you can buy paints in San Miguel or Florence or Nice, but they are not the paints you are accustomed to using. That's important.

· Consider a backpack with wheels. Easels, artists' boxes, brushes, paints, canvases, camera, water bottle and solvent are heavy.

· A wide-brimmed hat and umbrella are musts.

· Get in shape. You need to be physically strong to be a plein-air painter, especially in hilly, rocky, windswept, jungly, off-the-beaten-path terrains that appeal to alfresco artists.

· Consider group dynamics. Make sure participants have approximately the same skill level; a beginner and a professional have different needs. Rather than relying on group goodwill, assign chores and share responsibilities: One can book the flights, another can find lodging, a third can keep the kitty for group expenses, and a fourth can negotiate for taxis and local transportation.

· Travel light. Airlines are stricter these days in enforcing weight limits on luggage, so consider limiting the size of your paper or canvas, and the number of tubes of paint. One member of our group spent $140 each way to check an oversize portfolio containing handmade paper for her watercolors.

-- Susan Harb