Art Box Essentials

In the past an art box would be a thing of beauty as well as a very practical piece of equipment. The most common ones would have been made of wood some of which were carved, inlaid or veneered with different materials like ivory and box wood. They had beautifully engineered, recessed compartments with many containing vintage glass, storage jars made to contain colored pigments. Often there would be secret drawers for more valuable items so that they could be hidden from prying eyes. Many highly decorative tin or metal boxes were also made for artists needing to carry their equipment from place to place. These wonderful craft boxes may sometimes become available at auctions or sales around the country. They unfortunately, often reach very high prices as they are much desired by collectors worldwide.

Artist's tool box

As a practising artist, my art box would contain all the implements appropriate to whatever I am going to do on a particular day. The box itself is a tool box that has a removable tray on the top tier and a deep underneath layer that can hold many important items. It is plastic and therefore waterproof which is important when you are outside in all weathers. It may also be used to sit on but this is probably not advisable on a continuous basis as it might well protest.

The handle is comfortable to hold and strong enough to be capable of carrying large weights. I use a strong wooden box at home. It is a solid wood construction and is too heavy to move about but it holds a multitude of artist materials. When I paint outdoors I simply select the items, brushes, paints, etcetera, that I need from the box and transfer them to my lightweight container for outside use.

Contents of art boxes

Some days I may go out into the countryside to do some drawing and my art box would contain many different pencils some with soft leads and others that are slightly harder to get differing tonal values on the drawing. Graphite pencils and compressed charcoal would also be part of that day’s kit as well as erasers, sharpeners a good craft knife and masking fluid.

Water color art box

Sometimes I will pack my box with all the painting tools that I need for a day painting water colors. My box of paints will be the most important part of the box on that day and a container of water for diluting colour and cleaning brushes.

Selection of Art brushes

Naturally the brushes themselves will play a big part in the work of the day and I will have a variety of natural and synthetic water color brushes. I always ensure that I have several pieces of cotton fabric to use as brush wipes. Moistened baby wipes are excellent for this purpose too.

Masking fluid

Some pencils and erasers and masking fluid will also be part of the water color kit. I will take a pack of post card sized water color paper and some larger sheets that I will have pre-stretched and taped to a board ready to create some beautiful paintings.

The paper I use will be 120gms sketching paper initially but I will also carry some handmade papers for particularly appealing subjects. It is a good idea if you carry a pad of watercolor paper with you as it is very convenient and offers a ready made easel if you buy the wire bound pads which can be propped open. They are remarkable cheap and only cost a few dollars.

Screen print box

Often a day of screen printing is hosted at a friend’s house and my art box will be packed with a range of different materials for this type of craft work. The bottom of the box is able to contain all the mixed colors in jelly jars as well as the dyes and medium to mix other colors. My squeegees will also take their place on the bottom level as well as some folded silk fabric in a plastic bag. My ready stretched, wood frames will travel separately as they will not fit into the art box. A roll of paper for trial prints will take its place amongst the other paraphernalia.

It is very important when researching to know what the intended purpose of your art box will be (used indoors or outdoors for example). Decide what you require in an art or memento box and consider everything you will need to use it for, before making your purchase. Above all, quality matters, so do try to ensure that you buy the very best one that you can afford for your craft.