Moments in Bucharest

Bucharest, filmed with my little cheap action camera. Happy summer!

Watercolor Sketchbooks

Even though the watercolor is a wide spread subject across the Internet among artists, you've probably been fooled once by choosing the wrong sketchbook that’s supposed to work with watercolor. Too often people fall into a trap here so it's no surprise. But why is that?!

To simply answer the question: it’s all about paper. If this doesn’t make sense to you at all, keep reading…

You find it everywhere, in any art store that you come in, at least one paper offer that seems to be the perfect deal for your next watercolor project. There is a watercolor label on every shelf with products you see around. Spiral binding pad sheets, nice looking sketchbooks that holds intricate printed motifs on their covers, fancy logos and attractive prices, and all that seems to hypnotize you and get you to the point where you’ll spend money for just too little satisfaction in return. Unfortunately, you end up buying yet another one wrong product. And thus, your project will disappoint you because it's to a far distance from what you've been initially thought it’ll be. No matter if the paper isn’t holding well water or if the colors aren’t vibrant enough on the surface, it soon become clear that almost every aspect of your painting process is more of a fight against your senses.

So, why is this happening?

To simply put, the real deal in watercolor technique, one that set you free from troubles, is a paper made of 100% cotton fibers (aka rag paper). But this simply means that such a paper is not cheap. The process involved in creating a paper like this is just above the normal standard, so added costs are necessary for making it.

That’s being said, as you may already guess, getting cheap route and thinking that someone will make an offer for a nicer stitch binding sketchbook product, made with 100% cotton fiber sized paper in it, is just a dream! If such thing exists, it’s most probable due to a limited edition directly derived from a special demand, like a private need or a group effort. It won’t be easy to find a deal like this from your typical local art store materials. I’ve already seen a lot of products made from cellulose paper that people think they’re too pricey. And these were just spiral binding blocks with some generic cheap cardboard cover and nothing more. So to wait for another expensive product to happen it seems a bit odd and therefore I don’t think the quality will increase anytime soon on such products.

So, what’s the fuss with all these wood pulp made paper, aren’t these supposed to be good enough? Why bother for more? It says watercolor, it says acid free, it shows great thickness and promise to last forever. Can you expect for more than that? Is using wood pulp fiber paper wrong if it's used with watercolor?

Well, there are some watercolor approaches that do not require plenty of tricks to be done, but a more traditional orientation on this technique require a fair amount of knowledge. There is much to control at this level in order to comprehend the entire spectrum of a watercolor technique . In the opposite direction is to think, I need to put a light glaze to an outline ink drawing... In this type of scenario, it wouldn't be really necessary to seek for more than what a wood pulp paper has to offer. For that, it may be best for you to land on a cheaper paper rather than spending extra cash with a rag paper.

The rule here is knowing your tool, learn how to use it, when to use it. You can rescue more errors on a cotton paper, it holds glazing and water very well, the colors blends nicely on its surface and it’s durable against multiple erasing attempts. In contrast with that, wood pulp fiber will play a less forgiving paper role in all of these key aspects, and that's why it is necessary to be a more experimented artist to master it. A cellulose paper works best if you do your paint with alla prima state of your mind in front of your eyes all the time. There’s no room for big mistakes with this paper because will break more rapidly compared to cotton fiber.

So, is this paper so scary, so bad when using it, that you'll need to avoid it for the rest of your life? Definitely no if you ask me. To say you only need cotton paper to deliver beautiful artworks is simply not true. You already know that focus on a technique is the key for developing your skills, but again, thinking of watercolor is also true to say that paper is the first thing you should pick wisely. Using a bad sheet of paper, you simply throw out the potential of your color to behave like it really should. You simply stop them expressing their greatness. That’s why you always need to keep a distance from something that is just too low in quality. It’s a waste of time, a waste of energy and a shortcut to failure if you begin with poor materials right from the start.

So, to sum up, you should always buy a good paper if you are serious with watercolor technique. If you aren't experienced enough, practice more on cotton paper and than try also the cellulose pulp, too understand the differences. Learn what's to expect. There are brands that sell poor paper, decent paper and amazing paper. Get samples when you can. Choose wisely, because even the cotton paper can be strangely made and therefore can lead to frustration. Some companies are well respected for a reason, but other brands are rising just to grab some money.

In the end of this article it’s time for what I think it is a great tip. If you need a good sketchbook filled with just the paper you like, buy a pack of sheets from that paper brand and make your own justice in a world were a good watercolor sketchbook is hard to find. This is my friend, the most economical method of doing it. To craft your own sketchbook from raw materials is to explore new possibilities. You learn more, you get confident with your tools, and it’s a moment so uplifting in the end. These days, you have no excuse to look for more, you get plenty of information on how to do it properly for yourself, just search the Internet and start the ride. I encourage you to do it!

I made my own books as you can see in the pictures I posted in the article. I hope you find this useful, I hope to back for more. That's for today!

Cheers!