Sketchcrawl Art Tote on Wheels

We are having another sketchcrawl tomorrow morning and I've been working on what I want to carry with me this time.

The Darsey Field Bag is great but limits what one can take with them.  Plus after a few hours, the weight of the bag on my shoulder and neck starts bothering me.  And besides, this time I wanted to carry a few of my completed sketchbooks plus more than one not finished.  The Darsey Field Bag would not have accommodated my needs.

One of the ladies in the group brought a laptop case on wheels last time.  I thought that was a fantastic idea and started looking in maybe getting one.

Problem for me...........I just felt it might be too much or too big for what I want to carry.  My husband has one I played with plus I have an under seat luggage piece on wheels that was even bigger.  Just didn't do it for me.

Scrounging around through all my bags and luggage, I came up with the perfect combination.

I had a plastic folding trolley with wheels purchased years ago I'd never used.  And I used to carry my art supplies on vacation in a diaper bag which is probably 15 to 20 years old.  It's just the right size for my needs at this point.  Later I can strap on a backpack should I find I need a larger bag.

I put these two together using the straps that came with the trolley plus a few velcro strips.  I strapped it so I didn't have to remove the straps each time I wanted something in the bag and all pockets easily accessible.

The first few pictures show from different angles how I've set this up:

Rather than trying to zip the top of the diaper bag, I attached a piece of velcro that I can use to pull the front handle of the bag towards the back.  Notice the board hanging at top?  The velcro strips there are long enough I can fold the board over front to get out of my way for any reason.

 The diaper bag of course has a side pocket for carrying a baby bottle.  Perfect spot for my insulated cup or water bottle.  There's a mesh pocket on the opposite side as well.

This picture shows the front flap of a pocket open where I will keep my paint palette and pens.

Here is the set-up with handle extended for walking and pulling behind me.

Now I bet you're wondering what that board hanging from the top is for.........right?  It's a table using my knees/legs to hold one end while the handle set mid way supports the far end.  The velcro can be easily adjusted higher or lower depending upon the height I'm sitting (in chair, on step, etc.)

This way I don't have to hold the sketchbook in my hand while trying to sketch.

So what do I do if I want to paint?  Inside the bag I will also carry this thick piece of cardboard I cut from the back of a watercolor block of paper.  The smaller clips are to hold the cardboard in place in the back of my sketchbook and then the larger clips to hold my palette in place.

And rather than worry about a cup of water, I will probably just stick with using a waterbrush.

I'm ready to go!!!  :-)


UPDATE:  Had a chance to try it out and it worked out great!!!  One of the gals took these photos.......