The Paint Puck CollapsiBowl: A Surprisingly Useful Addition to My Kit
I wasn’t sure this collapsible water bowl would earn its place in my sketching bag. After plenty of use, its clever design and surprising stability have won me over.
MATERIALS & GEAR
8/13/20262 min read
I didn’t actually buy my Paint Puck CollapsiBowl. I won it in an Instagram giveaway run by Jackson’s Art and Paint Puck and was extremely surprised when my name was chosen.. Once it arrived, though, I did wonder whether I would actually use it. It looked quite large for something I would need to carry in my sketching bag and, at first glance, seemed like a rather elaborate collapsible water bowl.
It is essentially a silicone water bowl, but there is rather more to it than that. Inside, at the bottom of the bowl, are soft, rounded bobbles that help loosen paint from the bristles as you rinse your brush. Around the rim are slots of various sizes for resting brushes while you work, while the shallow tray around the base includes small wells that can be used for mixing paint. I haven’t used the mixing wells myself, as I suspect I would find them rather messy, but they may be useful for other artists.
One of the reasons I wasn’t sure about it initially was its size and weight. Although it collapses into a flat disc and can be opened to three different depths, it is still quite broad when collapsed and mine weighs 271 g. It was the weight I was least sure about initially, but as it turns out, this is one of the things that makes it work so well. The wide base and that slight extra weight stop it from tipping over, unlike many other collapsible water pots, which are narrower at the base and tip quite easily. I’m therefore quite happy to put it on the ground beside my feet while I sketch.
The bobbles inside the bowl are genuinely useful rather than just a novelty. Gently moving the brush over them helps release paint from the bristles, particularly when I have been using stronger colours.
Because it is made from sturdy silicone, it doesn’t feel flimsy and is easy to rinse clean after use — although, as you can see from mine, I don’t always do so immediately! I thought about washing it thoroughly before taking the photographs, but decided the paint stains tell the story rather better. There is also a small hole for attaching a carabiner, which means I can hang it from the outside of my sketching bag while it dries rather than putting a damp bowl back inside my bag.
All in all, the CollapsiBowl has been a very pleasant surprise. What initially looked a little too large and heavy for my travelling sketch kit has proved stable, practical and genuinely useful. It has certainly earned its place in my bag and will definitely be staying there.