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October 8th, 2026

Discovering the Art of Field Sketching

Learn how science illustrator Kristin Link uses lightweight tools to capture nature on location in her new book.

By The Art Toolkit Team

A hand holding a sketchbook open to two pages filled with detailed botanical illustrations and notes about various plants, including a flowering plant, a pitcher plant, and others. A pencil case with pens and markers is placed nearby on a rocky surface.

This spring, science illustrator Kristin Link reached out to our team to share about the publication of her first book, Discover the Art of Field Sketching. We are so excited to have it in our online shop, after a warm reception in our Retail Shop in downtown Port Townsend. Read on to hear a bit about her book and see photos of her palettes in use on location.

A woman sits on a rock in a natural setting, writing in a notebook. She has shoulder-length hair and is wearing a black sweater with sunglasses on her head. Autumn foliage in the background provides a vibrant contrast to the landscape.
Sketching on location with minimal supplies and a Grey with Blue Trim (discontinued color) Pocket Art Toolkit.
A person sketching in a notebook with a pink pen, while a pencil case and some crumpled tissues lie nearby. The scene captures a landscape drawing in progress.
Kristin sketches with a mechanical pencil and her Pocket Art Toolkit. Photo by Jeremy Pataky.

For the Nature Lover

Discover the Art of Field Sketching is Kristin Link’s full-color, hardcover illustrated field guide that includes step-by-step pencil, ink, and watercolor drawings and vibrant photographs on glossy pages. This beautiful resource invites readers to develop observational habits and expand nature-sketching skills with structure, featuring examples of Kristin’s work and stunning pictures of the natural landscape.

A book titled "Discover the Art of Field Sketching" featuring illustrations of nature and mountains on the cover. Next to the book is a small card with information about the author, Kristin Link.
Now available on our Books page, with a custom bookmark while supplies last!
A person wearing a purple puffy jacket is sketching in a notebook, holding a paintbrush in one hand. A small watercolor palette is beside them, showing various paint colors. The open sketchbook displays a landscape scene with mountains, trees, and water.
Kristin sketches with her Demi Palette. Photo by Jeremy Pataky.

Chapters introduce achievable projects that progress in difficulty, ranging in subjects from “Drawing and shading a skull” to “Landscape gesture sketch of sunset and lake.” This comprehensive, all-in-one guide is the perfect gift for a nature lover or adventurer, and an excellent companion to our expeditionary art supplies.

Art Toolkit Palettes Appearances

What an honor to see so many photos of Kristin sketching on location and using her Demi and Pocket Palettes throughout her book! Here’s a list of just some pages where her Art Toolkit palettes are featured in use on location in Discover the Art of Field Sketching: 32, 93, 118–119, 121, 123, 269.

A person sitting on the ground with their legs crossed, holding an open sketchbook displaying a watercolor landscape of mountains and a glacier. A small paint palette with various colors is placed next to them.
A hand holding a pen sketches a rock on a sketchbook page, while a watercolor palette with vibrant colors sits nearby. The rock has a textured surface with shades of brown and orange.
A hand holds a watercolor palette with various paint colors against a backdrop of a serene landscape featuring a lake and rolling hills covered in green and red vegetation. Cloudy skies loom above.

Thank you Kristin for creating such an incredible resource for artists, nature lovers, scientists, and anyone seeking inspiration for sketching and observing the world around them.

Learn more about Kristin on her website. Photos courtesy of and by Kristin Link, unless otherwise noted in the caption.

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