Comments on Making a Mark: Which sketchbook?

My latest sketchbook which I've only had a very sh...

2007-10-14T08:28:00.000+01:00

My latest sketchbook which I've only had a very short while, is kind of neat. I had the link from one of the Yahoo Groups and ordered a Portable Sketchbook with Pockets.

What I like about this sketchbook is the fact it has pockets for storing fresh paper and finished artworks. It has a sturdy plastic cover to use as a support while drawing or painting. You slip a piece of watercolour or drawing paper into the corner tabs on the inside cover, to hold the paper in place while sketching. The book is ring bound, so the cover can be flipped to the outside (back) to hold on your knees or table. As I said, I've only just received mine and used it once, but already I'm planning to take it on our next overseas trip in November!

I ordered the Portable Sketchbook with pockets from Komtrak in New York. It was a little pricey with shipping but I don't regret it. Link here:

wwwdotkomtrakdotcom/main

Click the right side of the page to Portable Sketchbook with Pockets. You can order different paper for it or simply use your favourite paper to fill the storage pockets.

Moleskine and Handbook. I like the Handbooks best...

2007-10-14T03:20:00.000+01:00

Moleskine and Handbook. I like the Handbooks best. They are cheaper and have more paper. The Moleskines don't take watercolor too well. Here's a few pics from my Handbook Stoplight Sketches.

I use Zig pens.

...dave

not available to me but for you maybe? these are t...

2007-10-12T20:58:00.000+01:00

not available to me but for you maybe? these are the sketchbooks David Hockney used, I looked them up after seeing the label on the inside of the books, they're from "Green and Stone" (looks like he was using the house brand)

another brand new to me that I found in New York, a nice feature of their construction is that they will bend all the way back, the paper is rather soft and I think is made for watercolor Kunst and Papier

I'm still looking for my ideal sketchbook though, since I've heard good things about the Hand Book Artist Journals that drb mentions I think I'll give them a try.

Same as viv...pink pig, but now I am addicted to w...

2007-10-12T07:38:00.000+01:00

Same as viv...pink pig, but now I am addicted to watercolour moleskines, I have hundreds of old sketchbooks going back to when I was a nipper and the theme seems to be a nice hardback cover, lots of Daler black ones and for a while the marbley cover ones.

you know I'm addicted to sketchbooks!Looking at th...

2007-10-11T15:52:00.000+01:00

you know I'm addicted to sketchbooks!

Looking at those on my shelves that are full there are

heavy wire bound ones like the one you show, but mine are the square ones, about 11 inches square. I like these for the coast as they are just the right size and shape and I like the fact that I can fold them back on themselves and hold them easily. I use any medium in them so one page may be oil paint, the next charcoal and the next watercolour or pencil! or something collaged in. Mine are mostly by Pink Pig.

There are old A3 Lindhurst wire bound sketchbooks from college days. I never seem to buy these now but the paper was nice and allowed you to use absolutely anything in them.

then there are the Daler Rowney ebony hard back sketchbooks from A4 to A3. I'm currently using an A3 landscape and an A3 portrait format in these.

Then there are the odd cartridge pads I've been given, the normal wire bound ones. I tend to use these as one offs and not keep them as a sketch book.

Then there are large Canson A3 pads in pastel and cartridge papers - these have those heavy wire ringbindings and I find them a real pain as they bend and come undone with use and I'm forever having to re-thread the paper and tighten them :(

Then there is a lovely little hand made paper book - pretty pretty - and a hand made paper book bought in a London craft market. Both of these are horrible to draw or paint in! so rarely see the light of day.

Then there are some small 7x5 books with a sort of mock suede cover - bought cheaply in Asda and the paper is quite nice - but I don't normally work that small.

So currently in use are the 2xA3 hard back books, a 10 inch square hard back book, one of the little Asda ones and my moleskine.

I do like hard back books as they they are stronger and nice to use and to look through later.

You know I use handmade sketchbooks with 140lb HP ...

2007-10-11T12:33:00.000+01:00

You know I use handmade sketchbooks with 140lb HP Fabriano Artistico Extra White paper, but I was very impressed with some large Sennelier sketchbooks Albany Wiseman was using at les Bassacs. I haven't seen anything like them on line, so will check the shop in Paris next month. I need paper that will really stand up to watercolor. I like a smooth surface for when I"m just drawing, too. Albany's books were filled with both wc and drawings and the paper didn't buckle! I liked the large and small- to- medium- sized books he had. Unfortunately, I didn't note any of the product details at the time. Hope I can find the books in Paris!

Boy, I better get on the ball--I never even though...

2007-10-11T12:18:00.000+01:00

Boy, I better get on the ball--I never even thought much about sketchbook options. I usually get something simple and cheap: usually Canson wirebound; 9x12 and 4x6; 65lb. I usually use only graphite. Maybe that's why I'm not using them as much.

If you want to go down the DIY route you could try...

2007-10-11T11:58:00.000+01:00

If you want to go down the DIY route you could try Falkiners on Southampton Row in Holborn, London. They sell paper and bookbinding materials, including the metal screw posts you were talking about - www.falkiners.com

I use almost anything cheap and cheerful. :) I don...

2007-10-11T10:57:00.000+01:00

I use almost anything cheap and cheerful. :) I don't generally paint in them though, although I have painted with acrylic in the Moleskins and similar good-quality cartridge books with no problem. I have a small moleskin and an odd size pound-shop version that's not quite A4. Plus a myriad of odd other little books people have bought me and the little passport sketchbooks from Muji which are a new favourite. I have a gorgeous white cracked leatherbound Barbara Higgins A5 book for writing rather than drawing.

I also have something similar to the Daler Rowney which is the "main" sketchbook - on the whole it acts as a scrapbook for things I do in other portable sketchbooks and then cut out and paste into the hardcover one. I also have a Fat Pad for marker drawings, it's a heavy weight cartridge and spiral bound. It works very nicely and I do these for selling. For pastel sketches I usually just do them on pastel paper in the studio then cut and chop them to go in the hardcover.

It's probably no help but when I was in Tokyo I had a lovely mulberry paper A3-ish size sketchbook that was spiralbound and the pages were perforated so they easily pulled out. It wasn't many pages, maybe 25? I no longer have it unfortunately so can't check what the brand was, I bought it in a big department store over there. I wonder if it's worth having a look in some of the Japanese department stores around Picadilly?

I have learned to use the basic cheapest sketch bo...

2007-10-11T02:01:00.000+01:00

I have learned to use the basic cheapest sketch book from Barnes and Noble - it costs less than $10 (U.S.) and has a sewn binding.
But here is the key - I remove every third page - I do lots of collage and spray mounting in lots of layers and this is the only way the book does not pop.
Moleskins are what I travel with, but I often tear out the page and put it in the "big" journal at home.(and I am starting a blog with journaling hints if you want to see it:
http://www.creativejournaling.net/

thanks for your ideas!

My favorite are Hand Book Artist Journals. They're...

2007-10-10T15:01:00.000+01:00

My favorite are Hand Book Artist Journals. They're easy to find, online and in art stores. Here's a link to a picture of mine open to a sketch.

I use them for watercolor, pencil, and pen and ink sketching -- and journaling on the right hand side. They are hand-bound sketch books with cloth covers. The 5" x 8" size I use is easy to take hiking, which I do a lot. These also come in other sizes.

128 buff colored blank pages, ribbon book mark and elastic band to keep it closed, clear plastic sleeve on the inside back cover. The paper has some tooth to it and heavy enough it doesn't buckle, unless you use lots of water. I don't like how slick the paper is in the Moleskine books; this is much better.