September 10, 2024

Presenting at the Wooden Boat Festival

Festival-goers demo Pocket Palettes and learn about adventure sketching from Art Toolkit Founder Maria Coryell-Martin.

By The Art Toolkit Team

A group of people mingling at an outdoor event near a marina. One woman with curly hair, wearing a maroon t-shirt and a mask under her chin, smiles as she holds a notepad. In the background, others are engaged in conversation with boats visible in the distance.

We love annual events, and moving our retail space downtown to the heart of our little city has made local events that much sweeter. As we did last September, we biked over to lead an adventure sketching presentation at the Wooden Boat Festival, but this time, our commute was only four blocks from the action!

View of a calm bay with various boats anchored, framed by green foliage in the foreground. A small red kayak glides through the water, while a distant ferry is visible on the horizon.
Port Townsend bay as the ferry passes.

Art Toolkit Founder Maria Coryell-Martin, with the support of Outreach Coordinator Cole Morreale, invited festival-goers to prepare for sketching on your adventures, whether exploring Port Townsend or sailing around a far-flung island.

A bustling marina scene with several boats docked, including a large vessel adorned with flags and people on board. Smaller boats, like a red rowboat and a dark blue yacht, are tied up alongside. The background features mariners and a building with a yellow roof.
Wooden boats docked at Point Hudson.
A presenter holds up a drawing while addressing an audience seated in a tent. Another person looks on, and various art supplies are visible on the table.
Maria shares about her encounter with walruses in the Arctic.

As the largest wooden boat festival in North America, this event draws people and vessels from around the world to celebrate craftsmanship and adventure. We practiced gesture, contour, and thumbnail sketches to quickly capture a sense of place and to encourage creative flow and inquiry. We also were happy to provide Art Toolkit Explore Palettes and brushes to try out.

A person holds a watercolor palette with vibrant colors while sitting among a crowd at an outdoor event.
Folks sketched along with us and demoed paint-filled Pocket Palettes.
A person wearing a maroon shirt with the word "PRESENTER" on the back stands in front of an audience seated under a tent. The audience appears engaged and smiling, holding papers and looking toward the presenter.
Maria Coryell-Martin presents to a crowd of festival-goers.
A person holds a pencil poised over a sheet of paper, sketching intently, with a blurred crowd seated in the background.
Presentation attendees sketched along.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the presentation—it was lovely to meet so many new people! Learn about upcoming Art Toolkit events here.

A lively marina filled with various sailboats and yachts. People stroll along a pier, enjoying the waterfront atmosphere. Colorful flags flutter on the boats, and buildings line the background, indicating a festival or event.
Boats docked for the Wooden Boat Festival in downtown Port Townsend.
A woman with curly gray hair is sitting in the background, focused on an event. In the foreground, a person holds a palette with small paint containers and a ID tag.
We included the Explore Palette Plus in our demo kits!
Sailboats navigate through a wooden dock structure, framed by trees, with a calm water backdrop and hazy sky.
Tall masts and broad sails, as seen through the old ferry dock.

The Wooden Boat Festival is a ticketed event, and our presentation was just one of dozens of events taking place that day. To learn more about the festival, visit the Wooden Boat Festival website.
An artist sites on a rock, dipping a paintbrush in a Pocket Palette.

Art Toolkit Newsletter

Sign up to hear about our latest supplies, tips and techniques for field art, and special offers.

Join now and we’ll send you our free Tools for Observation mini-series. Follow along with Maria as she shares supplies, tips on contour and gesture sketching, and inspiration for composition!