NEW YEAR NEW SKETCHBOOKS

Its always a very exciting to be starting a new sketchbook after finishing or getting fed up with an old one. It can also be very scary for many as the first crisp, clean and perfect white page stares back at you as you touch, feel and contemplate what your first marks are going to be.  

There are a million and one different sketchbooks out there and a million and one YouTube videos, websites and blogs comparing papers, prices, uses and brands.  At the end of the day, it will come down to what you like personally and what medium you intend to use on it. 

Over the years I have collected quite a few different ones which all have different uses.  I have come to know what I don't like and what I do like and also which ones I will use with which medium.

Really smooth paper is important for pencil sketching and blending. I have finally found paper that is perfect for this, and at the most surprising of places.

Target in Australia has a brand called Hunter Studio Artistry and you find it in the stationary section. Cheap as chips too!  I use these as just doodle books where I can just make scribbles and practise drawing and shading with pencils. It is for playing and making a mess without worrying about the end result of the artwork. 

As for watercolour journaling and other wet media, I love to use 100% cotton paper.  This can be expensive, so I have been making my own sketchbooks with large sheets of watercolour paper. It ends up being more economical than buying ready make books.  

These two books I have pictured below are going to be my 2021 books. Both are 100% cotton paper. The left one is a very cheap indian cotton paper I found at a local discount shop and performs really well. The other book is made from Khadi Papers which is another excellent Indian paper.

You can find heaps of info on how to make your own books. I have used methods found on the "Sea Lemon" YouTube channel which I will link below.

You can find these papers and similar ones online at Jackson's Art Supply in the UK, I will link them down below here as well.

Sea Lemon

Jacksons Art Supply UK

Im really excited to start in these books and hope you find the same kind of joy that I do when anticipating all the beautiful colours and pictures you can fill them with. 

See you in the next post

Happy painting :)

WELCOME TO THE NEW!

It seems very fitting and timely to be starting this blog at the end of what seems to be one of the most difficult, challenging and foreboding depressing years I have ever experienced in my 47 years on this planet.  If anything, it has reminded me of the importance of being grounded, focused and at peace with myself, my surroundings, people around me as well as the need to get back to basics and the simplicity of really living well in the now.

As art will be the main focus of this new blog, I want to share and experience creativity as a way of therapy, healing and meditation in daily life, and play with materials new and old because everyone loves art supplies right?  Art in its many forms and incarnations has been a very big part of my life from a very young age and it continues to be now and will always be into the future.

I have always loved painting, drawing and making things, and as a child would spend hours upon hours in my room buried in paper and coloured pencils and pens drawing and imagining. Throughout high school I found photography and animation and as an adult immersed myself in the world of architecture which became my profession through university and later on a small private practice. Several other hobbies added to my collection of passions include quilting, playing the piano and gardening.  Out of all these things, I am most drawn to watercolour painting and sketching, in particular, urban sketching, plein air painting and nature journaling. 

My intention with this blog is to share my art journey through watercolours and sketching. As a complete amateur, I want to improve my skills and hone techniques through exploration of colour, materials and practice.  

Lets paint, learn and grow together and find a little calm on the way.  

I will see you in the next post

Be well

Happy painting :)