Are you looking for expanded ways to enjoy your picnic outings? You may wish to consider an artists picnic as a way of enjoying our out of doors. There are a wide variety of possibilities, whether your picnic is with your children and grandchildren, a twosome with your significant other or as a solo escape from the stresses and humdrum of the "daily grind." A number of years ago I spent many hours out in nature preparing for a class I was scheduled to teach. There was something about being away from the clamor of civilization that aided me in reaching a place of clarity, where the lesson plan and subject matter came easily.

Of course, each artists picnic has its own considerations and requirements, but that shouldn't be the reason not to go, as the rewards can far surpass whatever efforts were expended for the outing. Let us go over some of the things other than food and refreshments that you would want to think of prior to leaving home:

1. Will there be children in your Artists Picnic? If there are, you may wish to include some physical, non-artistic activities to supplant your well-laid plans for the future Van Gogh's.
2. It is wise to take into consideration the conditions of the environment during the preparatory stages so that you can minimize the surprises you will face once you have arrived. The extremes of weather make it difficult to be in a creative mood except on how to get to where it is more comfortable. A good umbrella or pop-up gazebo is a must for a hot picnic area with no shade. The gazeboes of today set up a lot quicker than those of even a few years ago.
3. When thinking of what picnic supplies to bring consider the picnic location and how well it supports your venture. Are there picnic tables, and do they support your project? If there is uncertainty you may wish to bring along a portable picnic table. Most of them seat four, weigh about 20 pounds, fold up to the size of a suitcase and are relatively inexpensive. They also have an opening for an umbrella and may make a better work surface than a wooden picnic table that is full of splinters. If you are stuck with the wooden table you may wish to bring fold-up stadium seats to handle the splinters issue, as well as provide back support.
4. How you transport your art materials will depend a lot on your medium of expression and the needs of your project. You may already have your own carrier for your art supplies, but if you need extra carrying capacity you may wish to adapt an ice chest on wheels or backpack tote, which are great for the extra papers, beads and artist's needs.
5. Bring along your clean-up supplies and dispose of properly. A few extra garbage bags will handle most clean-ups.

And there you have it. The idea is to avoid any stress, have fun and remember the KISS principle, which is an acronym for, "Keep It Simple, Sweetheart."