Pochade box delights

In the current issue of Exploration Quarterly (Vol. 2, No. 2), which is an all-digital edition (only $39 per year for four digital magazines), I dive into some lovely field-arts-perfect pochade boxes, from the traditional to the unusual. What is a pochade box? Developed in the early 1800s during the height of the en plein air painting movement, the boxes held everything a painter needed to venture into the field to make little pocket paintings—the idea being to capture light and the essence of scenes in the moment rather than by memory in a studio. Pochade is French for pocket. Technically a pochade box holds paint, brush/es, a water container, and some paper.

Here are several examples of recent pochade box finds:

A gorgeous Victorian set from Paris, complete with chromed water thermos and two cups, a removable paint palette (which I refinished with white epoxy paint), and little enameled box that probably held a sponge. There are clips for paper in the lid, and room under the palette for brushes.

And a tiny box in a leather carry pouch made to order by Blue Star Crafts in Mexico. Inside it features nine paint wells, an enamel mixing tray, a little glass spray bottle, a tiny paintbrush, and space in the lid to hold 2-3 watercolor sheets secured with magnets; the beautiful wooden box slides into a holster, which holds a glass water bottle and a rag for wiping your brush.