Deep Pockets

I have been reading a biography about the Canadian painter JW Morrice. He worked around the turn of the twentieth century and spent most of his working life in Paris returning to Canada only every second year. He was wealthy by birth and it was interesting reading to discover the twists and turns of his career.

 One small point that had to do with logistics of painting on site was about carrying paint around. Lets face it even when we want to travel lite the equipment needed to make paintings on site is heavy and bulky.

JW Morrice used a large pocketed suit jacket to carry his paint. He was shown a technique used by the artists of the day in Paris that involved squeezing out small amounts of oil paint into cigar boxes and then closing the lid.  The sealed box could then be carried until a site to paint was discovered. 

Today, the painter David Hockney is said to use a apple ipad for some drawing and painting. He tells us that he has had large pockets sewn into his jacket liner to carry his ipad. Everything old is new again.