I got a few cahiers moleskine books (3.5 x 5.5) at some point - I carry one with me all the time in little waist pouch. I sketch in it if my main sketchbook is unavailable or if I need to be more discreet. And then I tear pages and post them in my main sketchbok as continuity of my sketchbook notes is rather important for me. I liked the size and simplicity of the paper - nothing intimidating :) Easy to share with kids around :) But I use a lot of them and they are pricy... So I decided to try this: use their inconspicuous cover (with a little pocket), put some plain, cheap paper inside, bind as simply as possible and see if these will work in the same way.
I filled first book rather quickly and now I am thinking about gluing it as a whole in my main sketchbook - it's basically filled with one story - I drew in it while on the chair lift during recent skiing trip :)
So I need more experiments to see if my hand-made moleskines-alike books would work in the same way as pricy ones :)
I made a few more today for myself and my sketching companion :)
If you ask me why not use just simply separate pages - I tried - but the feeling of the book in my hand is so much better :)
Showing posts with label Sketchbook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sketchbook. Show all posts
Monday, April 16, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Three Experiments
I tried three things this month: watercolor book from Pen&Ink and Hero fountain pen (Hero M86 Calligraphy Pen) with Noodlers Lexington Gray Booletproof ink. The combination of all three is a major failure...
Pen& Ink paper is not taking watercolors well and all Lexington Gray is blotching ugly. Even the thinnest line in a few seconds becomes a lichen-covered stick. And no booletproof ink is waterproof or water resistant on this paper. It's not even smudge proof! So I am very disappointed with this sketchbook and will not use this paper again. Though ballpoint works great on it :)
Hero pen is something I need to learn how to use - but it's a lot of fun to experiment with! Variety of lines is amazing!
I do not have anything to say about Lexington ink as I am waiting for a better paper to try it on :) My previous experiments included watering down black inks to get some gray and they worked fine - but this might be more consistent in the long run.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Experiencing Stillman and Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
I heard about new sketchbook maker and all comments were quite good. The name kept popping up and eventually I did a google search, found Stillman and Birn web-site and then found them on facebook too. I wrote and e-mail to the manufacturer trying to see if any local shops carry these books and made a note to order one sooner or later online - but then received an e-mail that a wonderful gift is coming my way! It was Alpha Series sketchbook, hardbound, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 - it became my sketchbook #59 and I spent about 6 weeks with it in my bag. Long story short - it's a great sketchbook to work with - my main adjustment would be the size - it seems that I enjoy larger books lately :)
Cover withstood some vigorous activities, was subjected to kids running over it (by accident), heavy and not so heavy rain, kitchen table and sandbox adventures, sticker attack, not to mention normal wear and tear and now that I am about to deposit it on the shelve - it looks great - not a scratch.
Paper worked very well with dry - and water media - I worked with watercolors, acrylics, multiple inks and gouache and in all cases buckling was well within expected amount for this weight of the paper (100 lb). I used markers, all kinds of pens, some collage as well. Paper was reasonably responsive to lifting and multiple applications though in some cases uneven in the way pigment settled in: I would do a single brushstroke wash, try to lift something and see that part of the edge is still editable where another part is not. It adds some personality to the page and can be incorporated nicely - you just need to be ready sometimes.
My problems were surprising: waterproof inks (and permanent watercolors for that matter) were not exactly waterproof unless I waited for ink to settle for a long time. And during first 1-1.5 minutes even the most waterproof and smudge-proof ink was smudging badly. It happened with Uniball pens, Pentel Pocket Brush pen, dip pen with Noodlers ink, pitt pens and brush-pens - the only pen that was working without a glitch was the cheap ballpoint I love so much :) So - some smudging and some not-so-waterproof adjustment was needed - and for someone drawing quickly it took me some time - but I had a lot of fun in the process:
(these are obviously not all 124 pages I filled - lots of private notes and experiments took place there - but you still can see some results ;)
Cover withstood some vigorous activities, was subjected to kids running over it (by accident), heavy and not so heavy rain, kitchen table and sandbox adventures, sticker attack, not to mention normal wear and tear and now that I am about to deposit it on the shelve - it looks great - not a scratch.
Paper worked very well with dry - and water media - I worked with watercolors, acrylics, multiple inks and gouache and in all cases buckling was well within expected amount for this weight of the paper (100 lb). I used markers, all kinds of pens, some collage as well. Paper was reasonably responsive to lifting and multiple applications though in some cases uneven in the way pigment settled in: I would do a single brushstroke wash, try to lift something and see that part of the edge is still editable where another part is not. It adds some personality to the page and can be incorporated nicely - you just need to be ready sometimes.
My problems were surprising: waterproof inks (and permanent watercolors for that matter) were not exactly waterproof unless I waited for ink to settle for a long time. And during first 1-1.5 minutes even the most waterproof and smudge-proof ink was smudging badly. It happened with Uniball pens, Pentel Pocket Brush pen, dip pen with Noodlers ink, pitt pens and brush-pens - the only pen that was working without a glitch was the cheap ballpoint I love so much :) So - some smudging and some not-so-waterproof adjustment was needed - and for someone drawing quickly it took me some time - but I had a lot of fun in the process:
(these are obviously not all 124 pages I filled - lots of private notes and experiments took place there - but you still can see some results ;)
Thursday, August 18, 2011
A very special sketchbook from the Urban Sketchers symposium
One of the things that I was REALLY looking forward to at the symposium was being able to share it with my great sketching friend Alissa Duke (she is included in the book too and is an organiser of the wonderful sketching group that has been forming in Sydney) We got up at 4am on the day when registration opened so we could book the sessions we wanted together – how keen is that. Sadly Alissa was unable to make it so I thought I would try to collect some sketches from others to bring back for her. The result is this little book...
It is now filled with original works from a variety of artists of different styles and countries - Portugal, USA, Spain, Israel, Germany, Singapore, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Canada, Dominican Republic, UK, Denmark, Sweden etc (and of course Australia) It really gives you an idea of how exciting it was to be at the symposium. Of course it is not a substitute...but as Alissa couldn't make it, I think it is the best way I could bring something back for her. If you don't know about Urban Sketchers the blog is here.
Sadly, I was not able to fill up the book with other peoples sketches- 3 days is not long enough for that...so I filled up the book re-doing some of my sketches when I got home (some of them sketches at 5am when I was awake due to jet lag!)
Here are the pages in full if you would like to view it on flickr (click on image to view larger)
A HUGE THANKYOU to everyone that contributed!!! She LOVES it!! (and I do too - what a privilege to be able to carry something so special for a few weeks!)
Finally.... please go over to Alissa’s flickr and say hello and see all the fabulous sketches she has been doing in Sydney lately!
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