How to Paint on a Moving Train

Do you struggle to find time to paint? Do you love art but you’re struggling to fit it into your busy schedule? Well then I suggest a solution to this dilemma…painting on the train!

I have a day job and twice a week I go to part-time grad school in the evenings. Even before starting night school, I felt like I had to find creative ways to fit in my painting time. I found that an easy way was to paint on the train! Here’s Lidibug’s Guide to Painting on the Train with links below to some of my favorite travel art supplies.

Step 1: Find a Seat

I ride the commuter rail and not the metro so that’s an important distinction. I have a seat and sometimes the luxury of a little table! If possible, I’ll sit at the table seat but I’ve set up my painting kit on top of my bag in my lap before. There’s all sorts of nifty supplies you can buy, like palettes that can clip onto your sketchbook to help when a table isn’t accessible. As long as you can sit down and not hold onto a railing while on the public transportation. All you need is to experiment with materials and supplies until you find what works for you. Which leads me to Step 2…

Painting a coffee cup on the train. Did you know watercolors work on most disposable coffee cups?

Step 2: Have Travel Supplies that you are Comfortable With

You shouldn’t need to run out and shop for supplies if you don’t need to…(or you totally can if you want an excuse to hoard art supplies) but it’s important to be comfortable with your travel supplies because there’s a limited amount of paint time on the commute. I always have travel folding brushes (I prefer the Silver squirrel hair brushes) that don’t take up space among my work things. Sometimes if I’m trying to paint something quick, I’ll even use a water brush so I don’t need to pack any water. When I want to paint something more detailed with my natural hair brushes, I’ll pack a tiny emptied lotion sample jar full of water as my water jug. Alcohol nips are also great little water refill jugs but if anyone sees you with it, you’ll have to explain that it really is just water (haha!)

Travel Silver Black Velvet brushes, wooden watercolor palettes, scrap of quick-dry cloth, and water in an emptied Clinique sample jar.

I have a few favorite palettes that have a simple, but effective layout. It doesn’t really matter which specific palette you use as long as it’s on the smaller size given the surface constraints.

I also pack a little scrap of quick-dry fabric to wipe off my brush as well as miniatures of my pencil, pen, and kneadable eraser.

Step 3: Pick a Subject Beforehand

To maximize the painting time, I have a folder of inspirational pictures on my phone that I would like to paint on the train. You can even browse for pictures while walking or waiting for the train to arrive. Sometimes I even do the sketch beforehand so when I get settled I can go straight into the fun color part. Whatever you do, it’s important to be ready with an image so you aren’t spending most of the ride looking for inspiration.

Step 4: Take Note of when the Train Stops

The biggest question I get when telling people I paint on the train is “how do you get such detail on a moving vehicle????” Well, with thoughtful planning and regular commuting it really is quite simple. After years of taking the train to and from work, I know when the train will halt for a moment at the next stop and which ones are more populated, allowing for more time to paint fine details. Watercolor is beautiful for its looseness compared to other painting media and while I like to paint tiny details on my art, the base is still loose. Those are the layers you can paint while the train is moving and when the train has stopped, you can switch over to details and defined lines, like the eyes of an animal or the straight lines of a house.

Step 5: Remind Yourself that No One is Judging

I’ve found that no one is really watching on a sleepy morning train and that helped enormously when I first started my painting journey. And if people are looking they are often in awe to see someone not on their phone, so I promise no one is ever judging!

Miniature train paintings on watercolor scraps!

I’ve even met really lovely people this way from the few who will actually talk to me when I paint. Most people assume I want to be left alone. When I was just starting I did want to focus but now, I am so happy to talk about art with anyone who wants to engage. In fact I usually paint on tiny scraps of watercolor paper to restrict the size of my paintings for speed and when someone shows interest, I usually give it away! People get excited that they can actually keep the tiny painting which is what keeps me doing what I do…art is meant to be shared and to brighten the world!

Often, people talk about art like it’s a gift or a talent, but like any other skill, you can only improve if you dedicate the time to developing yourself. So get out there and paint whenever and wherever you can — even if it’s on a moving train.

Train photos taken by Jen Rose (@jenniferrose on Instagram)