One of the best things about having two homes is when we get to go home to Sweden during the summer. We live in Gothenberg, on the west coast, fairly far south where the summers are long and Golden Hour lasts for an unbelievably long time compared to Hawaiʻi.

Due to heavy winds, we were obliged to stay in the harbor of the little village Klädesholmen, famous for their pickled herring and granite cliffs. We sat there with friends one evening enjoying the golden light warming up everything.

For a plein air painter, the golden hour, whether in the morning at daybreak, or at twilight as the sun drops below the horizon, it is an elusive and magical time filled with exciting colors to discover.

When packing for our travels, whether backpacking or sailing it is always about what is the lightest setup I can get away with. This year I was taking my new QOR halfpan set with a Winsor Newton quill, an acryllic angled blender, a sumi brush and my HB lead in a lead holder, eraser, a small Arches cold press block, and a ziplock 1L baggie of folded precious Viva cloth paper towels.