Trying Travel Watercolours
for Nature Journaling

A gentle exploration of travel watercolours for nature journaling - how they compare to coloured pencils, what I loved, and when they might suit you...

I usually work in coloured pencils in my nature journal - they’re familiar, forgiving, and easy to carry, and they’ve always felt like a kind and welcoming place to start. But a small travel watercolour set found its way into my hands as a Christmas gift, and I’ve been enjoying quietly exploring what it feels like to bring a touch of paint into my winter nature journaling...

Travel watercolour kit for nature journaling (my own box)

What I’ve discovered isn’t a replacement for pencils, but a different way of noticing - one that feels especially suited to fleeting light, soft winter colour, and moments when you want to capture an impression rather than a detail. I’ve really enjoyed the chance to experiment, and I’ve loved that this gift nudged me gently into trying something new.

Why Coloured Pencils are Still my Go-To for Nature Journaling

I still normally recommend coloured pencils for nature journaling, especially for beginners - and this is why:

They’re familiar and unintimidating

Easy to carry and ready to use with no preparation

No spills, no water, no mess

Easy to build up colour slowly and thoughtfully

Coloured pencils are a beautiful choice, especially when you’re just beginning. But there’s no single 'right' medium for nature journaling - only what suits you, in that particular moment and season.

What I Loved about Travel Watercolours for Nature Journaling

Tiny travel watercolour kit - it really is tiny!

I was very excited to try out my new travel watercolours gift after Christmas and I loved them.

The tiny travel kit removes many of the usual barriers to using watercolour in a nature journal - especially when space is at a premium. The palette is tiny and self-contained, making it easy to tuck away, whether you’re journaling at a corner of the kitchen table, on the sofa, or heading out for a walk.

I really found it easy to start nature journaling with my watercolours without a lot of paraphernalia to get out before you can even get started - just one little palette and a water-brush!

When the pans run dry, they can be refilled from tubes, which makes it feel practical rather than precious.

The water-filled brushes were a revelation - no separate jar needed, just a gentle squeeze to activate the flow. There’s even a small towelling band to wipe the brush clean, which is surprisingly useful for keeping colours clear. Having more than one brush also helped prevent colour contamination.

Buzzard in my nature journal, painted with my new travel watercolour kit

What I especially loved was the softness. Watercolour felt perfect for winter skies, subtle shadows, and the pale tones of bare branches and twigs. Adding a soft wash beneath a twig instantly gave it a sense of depth that would be harder to achieve with pencil alone.

Using watercolours for winter skies in my nature journal

The watercolours are perfectly suited to capturing the softness winter skies in my nature journal

Painting a shadow under the twig with watercolours

Watercolours were perfect for adding soft shadow under this twig

It was also beautifully suited to birds - especially feathers - where suggestion feels more important than precision.

Achieving the softness of birds' feathers with a tiny watercolour set

What Felt Different (and Slightly Tricky)

Watercolour asks for a different kind of mindset. It suits those who can accept - or even welcome - imperfection. You have to allow the paint to do what it wants sometimes, which creates a looseness that actually works very well for quick nature journal sketches.

There’s less control than with pencils, but that trade-off brings translucency and light. You do need water, of course, though filling the water brush beforehand is usually enough.

Pages may also need a little time to dry, especially if you’re working with washes - and heavier washes can cause a little page buckling, which can be easily flattened later under a book.

If you’re drawing in ink first, it’s important to use waterproof pens. I tend to use Uni Pin fineliners or my Platinum Preppy fountain pen with Platinum Carbon Ink, both of which hold up well once dry.

Above all, watercolour encourages slowing down - noticing light, shape, and atmosphere rather than detail.

When Watercolour Might Be Lovely to Try in Your Nature Journal

A small travel watercolour kit feels like a gentle, low-pressure way to explore painting in a nature journal. There’s no need for 'proper' technique - just colour, water, and curiosity.

I've especially loved it for my winter pages - soft skies, feathers, twigs, and seasonal mood. It also pairs beautifully with coloured pencil or pen - you don’t have to choose one or the other.

Adding watercolour to an ink drawing in my nature journal

If you already enjoy watercolour and want to go further, you might eventually enjoy a larger kit. But for simplicity, ease, and limited space or time, this little travel set has been an absolute joy - and one I’ll happily keep using.

And if watercolours don’t excite you? Stick with coloured pencils. They’re still my number one recommendation for beginner nature journaling, and I still return to them again and again.

Tools Are Secondary - Noticing Comes First

Nature journaling is about noticing, remembering, and feeling connected with the natural world, not about what tools you use. For me, this little watercolour set has become another quiet way to sit with the natural world - not better or worse than pencils, just different. And sometimes, different is exactly what a season calls for.

Have you seen my 'Getting Started with Nature Journaling' guide here?

Explore more nature journaling in my Nature Journaling Hub here…

And get prompts to help and inspire you with my Weekly Nature Journal Prompts here…

If you'd like to see more of my watercolour illustrations, you can explore my recent January nature journal here - or for my more detailed and time-consuming watercolour illustrations (not completed with the tiny travel kit), you can see those here...

Explore my art here...

Nature Journaling Course

Downloadable PDF nature journaling course - 120+ pages, 20 exercises

If you'd like to explore nature journaling more, please consider joining me for my 'Imperfect Nature Journaling' online course - I've called it this to remind us to nature journal for the process of connecting with nature to feel good and not to put pressure on ourselves to create pretty pages which can quickly ruin the fun and the benefits...

It's a series of 20 lessons (in downloadable PDF format) which are great exercises that you can do in your own nature journal to help you try out different ideas and techniques.

This will help you get the most out of your nature journaling sessions and understand what style of nature journaling is the best for you personally.

If this sounds like something you might like, you can find out more about the course here...

Shall we stay in touch..?

Each month, I share stories from my own nature journal, new art from my studio, and simple seasonal inspiration to help you feel more connected with the turning year - if you'd like to stay updated, please sign up with your email address below...