Guerrilla Painter 6x8 ThumBox

One neat Christmas gift this year is my 6x8 ThumBox from Guerrilla Painter. Since I paint so many small paintings, especially in winter when the cold shortens my sessions outdoors, I thought it was time to acquire a box specifically built for the task. Many of you know that I use the 9x12 Guerrilla Box. Although I can use it for small paintings, I really don't need such a large palette -- or the bulk. With the 5x7 adapter, however, the ThumBox is perfect for my 5x7 oils, and it fits easily in my small backpack.

Backpack with ThumBox inside and tripod strapped to outside

Here's the box, ready to go!

Even though the temperature yesterday soared to 45°F (or 7°C), I wanted to take the box out on a practice run. I slipped a pair of "Hot Hands" into my boots -- despite the unseasonable warmth, I still would be standing in a foot of snow -- and headed out with Saba, who likes to tunnel for field mice while I paint.

Just like the 9x12, the ThumBox was a cinch to set up. I was painting within a minute of settling on a spot.

Palette (after finishing painting)

The ThumBox's palette gave me plenty of room to mix in. It slides to the left, just like on the bigger box, revealing a compartment that holds not only my paint tubes but also my turps container. I even had space left for tucking in used paper towels. (I'd forgotten to bring a garbage bag.) The optional palette extension (on the right) has pre-drilled holes for brushes. For the painting below, I only used two brushes, but I still had room for three more. All in all, I had just as comfortable an experience as with my bigger box. The real plus is that the box is so small I feel I could hike some distance with it. But first I think I'll wait for the snow to melt off the trails!

Here's yesterday's painting. As with my previous one, I used no underpainting. I dove right in with opaque paint. I could have used just the #8 flat, but some of the wispiest-looking blackberry canes required the #4 flat.

'Eastport View with Blackberry Patch'
5x7, oil, en plein air

Merry Christmas!