Late in the summer en-plein-air season I discovered this view of the church at Koolkerke near Bruges. I had just designed a new traveling pochade box, exclusively for watercolors, so I was happy to try it out in this new-to-me location. Two birds. One stone.

The box worked out well enough, though I always can’t help but tweak a few things. My interest was in having a sturdy but lightweight box that could exactly fit a standard watercolor block within its lid. Check. Piano hinges gave me a good easel angle. For the inside of the palette base I attached adhesive magnetic discs so my metallic watercolor pan and pots would stay put and not fall over. Underneath I attached a bracket that would take a 1/4″ 20 thread standard camera tripod mount. Check. Everything fit into my bike bag. Check, check, check. The only problem was the lateness of the season: it was very cold!

Still, I was able to manage a session or two, enough to lay in this watercolor as a study for an oil next summer. I really love the afternoon light playing on the buildings in the far middle ground. Luckily the farmer’s fields in the foreground gave me something to work with compositionally. As a study I’m happy and have my fingers crossed for next summer.