Fabriano Studio paper sketchbook

After I finished the Pentalic sketchbook, I crudely fashioned another book by utilizing the above block of Fabriano Studio watercolour paper, which has been hanging around my studio for at least 10 years.

The block contained 100, 9.5" x 13" sheets of acid free, cold pressed, 25% cotton paper. I tore out 12 sheets of this paper and folded it in half to make a book that is approximately 6.5" x 9.25" in size. I made three signatures of four pages each, which were hand sewn, glued, and fashioned together with a cover made from Arches 300 lb watercolour paper.

So far I am enjoying this paper, although I have found it buckles if excess water is used. Colours dry bright and it is possible to use glazes. I have only done a few sketches but if I like the paper enough, I'll make a larger sketchbook, and then give you step by step instructions on how I did it.

This sketch is number two of my little geranium. It is blooming nicely now. I had difficulty choosing a red paint as this flower seems to be almost florescent. I need to dig into my stash of watercolour paint to see if I can find a colour to match it. Soon it will have two blossoms to challenge me.

I took my sketchbook along last week when we went fishing with our grandson. Although there wasn't much time in between attending to his rod and reel, and baiting his hooks, I managed a sketch of an area near the dock. This was completed with a Copic Multiliner pen, watercolour pencils and a water brush.

This sketch was made last evening at the Living Prairie Museum which is near where I live. I looked around and decided to draw a milkweed plant because of the shadows on the leaves. The sun was low in the sky and shone directly on the plant. The shadows kept changing as I was drawing so it was a good study, and a beautiful evening to be outdoors drawing and painting.

Pentalic Aqua Journal - Part II

 Here are two of my finals sketches in the Pentalic watercolour sketchbook. The above is of swamp milkweed that is already forming its seed pods.

I can't say I like the paper in this book any better than I did at the beginning. However I learned how to deal with its limitations. Now I'm on to another sketchbook that I made for myself out of paper that was lingering in my sketchbook cupboard. I'll let you know more about this as soon as I have made my first sketches.

Below is a preliminary sketch I completed of a little geranium that is trying hard to grow. It is getting a blossom now so I have high hopes for this flower that got crowded out of a big pot by other plants. I transplanted it into a smaller pot that I will keep indoors over the winter.

These drawings were made with a Copic Multiliner pen and coloured with watercolour pencil.

Pentalic Aqua Journal

It took me forever to decided on a journal to use for this summer's sketches. I guess this comes from having too much stuff. Finally I settled on a Pentalic Aqua Journal that had recently been added to my sketchbook stash.

The Aqua Journal is milled from 300 gm, 100 percent cotton rag paper which is neutral pH and acid free. An elastic brush holder is positioned at the top of the book but was not able to fit my #8 travel brush into it so I use it for a pen holder. This 6” x 8” journal is also fitted with a ribbon marker, elastic band closure, and storage pocket in the back of the book. It has 48 pages, counting front and back.        

The paper is a fairly textured cold pressed. The pages lie flat making it easy to work across both left and right pages to do wider sketches. However, I found the binding somewhat disappointing as some of the signatures in my book have already started to come apart.
 
My first sketch was of crocuses which were blooming in our flowerbed. Right away I ran into problems. Because the paper's texture I found it difficult to draw with my Copic Multiliner pens. I tried nibs of different sizes, but for me it was still problematic. And I found that unless I gave my pen lines time to dry, they smeared if I went over them with a wet brush.

Also, I didn't like the way my watercolour pencils responded to the surface, and the colour readily lifts off the paper. This means there will be no glazing of colours. I must paint boldly with no over painting.

I enjoyed drawing these pussy willows with a Sharpie Fine Point marker though. I don't know why they call this pen a "fine point" because the nib is actually quite fat. The regular size Sharpie marker is called "Ultra Fine Point."

 Next came a sketch of a poppy plant. This time I tried watercolour paint instead of the pencils. The lifting problem remained the same as it did with the watercolour pencils.

This geranium was drawn and painted with watercolour pencils only. So far, I like this method of working the best.

This summer's sketching will be challenging, but I will adapt to the book's limitations and fill it with drawings. The lifting of colour could prove useful as corrections, and highlights will be easy to obtain. I might even learn to paint quickly and confidently without any overworking.

Still working in this sketchbook. This watercolour pencil drawing was made on June 22nd. Everything in the garden was so 'green."

Watercolour sketch of nemesia done on June 25th. Plant was lovely at that time. Now (July 18th) it is looking somewhat ratty. I love this flower but don't have much luck with it. So far, I am not liking the sketchbook any better but it is almost full. I made another sketchpad for myself to try next but that is another story for another day.

Note
Using this Aqua Journal reminds me of a lesson I learned on my first art trip to France. I took along a sketchbook that I was not familiar with. It took me almost the whole trip to figure out how to paint in it. What a waste of precious time! Now I do my experimenting at home, and take familiar materials with me when I travel.