December 2020 Sketchbox - WOW!

 Guys - I was excited about this Sketchbox because I knew it was water-soluble products and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT!  

Here is my swatch card and my thoughts on each product in the box:  

1. Sketchbox Signature Watercolor Pencils

These were beautiful!!!  I really loved the color palette this month - the earthy and muted tones were beautiful and screaming for a landscape. These pencils colored beautifully and dissolved into a fabulous lighter version of their scribbled color.  I really enjoyed using them - they are as good or better than my mid-range watercolor pencils. I loved using them!  

2.  Marabu Art Crayons - Terracotta and Caramel

These were a huge surprise - and I LOVED them!  I didn't expect to like them, they didn't seem like something I would enjoy but they were lovely!  They added a great texture to both of my pieces, especially for woodgrain and terrain.  They dissolved really nicely but with pressure the texture was awesome too.  I might pick up a set of these in the future I liked them so much!  

3. TCW Watercolor Sparx Powder

I have worked with Ken Oliver's watercolor powders before and I love them - but this powder was super quality and vibrant.  I loved that it had several colors in the bottle - that added so much dimension!  I can't wait to have more fun with this powder in future projects.  This was easily the star of the box for me!

4.  Holbein Artist Gouache - White

This is a fabulous white gouache. I love all of the Holbein gouaches and this was a perfect highlight on the toned paper. I have complained for two boxes about not having a perfect white highlight medium - so I was so glad to see this in the box.  Great addition to the box!  

5. Custom Hahnemuhle Toned Watercolor Pad

I thought at first that this paper was going to be too thin to hold up - but it was surprisingly great!  I have never bought toned watercolor paper and was super excited to try it - and I totally understand why people like it.  After my first landscape picture I knew I wanted to do a dancer because I wanted to try a person with the toned paper and I really loved how that turned out too!  

6.  Marabu Fluid Arts Brush - 3pc Set

These are water brushes - and they were decent brushes!  I'm not a huge fan of water brushes.  I'd always rather have a regular brush than a water brush, especially because we always seem to get water brushes in these boxes.  I'd argue that most people have water and a container available, so I'd always rather have a regular brush. 

7.  Derwent Line Maker - 0.8 Black

This is a great fineliner but THIS IS NOT A WATERPROOF PEN!  It was the one thing in the box that was a disappointment because I wish the box had clearly indicated that this pen was not waterproof.  The card simply says - "try layering it over your watercolors!"  which to me did not indicate that it wasn't waterproof.  I just about ruined my dancer picture because of this - though I pivoted and I think my idea was a good one!  This is a great marker but I would have really liked a waterproof addition to the box for line work.  

So these projects turned out really nice!  I had a lot of fun trying different techniques on both pictures.  

Tree Landscape

Ballet in the time of Covid

Did any of you get this sketchbox?  What did you think about the products! Leave me a comment with your thoughts!  

Watercolor Paper Roundup and Review

 This week on an Instagram post about progress, I talked about what a major difference your watercolor paper can make! There are a LOT of factors to consider when choosing paper, and so I’m going to talk about some of my favorite papers here and why I like them!  

I first want to lay out some criteria that I use when looking at paper.  

• Cold Press vs. Hot Press

Cold press is generally my type of paper UNLESS I’m doing an illustration.  If I’m doing an illustration I will use hot press paper OR mixed media paper.  Otherwise, if you are planning to do bleeding and wet on wet techniques of any kind, cold press is the way to go.  

• Cotton vs Cellulose

The #1 thing I look for in watercolor paper is that it is 100% cotton.  This definitely makes the paper more expensive, but there are some more affordable options out there to achieve this.  The 100% cotton paper keeps wet longer and tends to lift less.  

• Affordability

Obviously, price matters.  While I LOVE some papers, they are not always affordable and I try to get them on sale when I can.  I’ll discuss this as a pro/con with each of my options

• Accessibility

Being able to get the paper or sketchbooks is of course important.  I can only talk about accessibility from my point of view, in the Eastern US.  

•  Binding

I really *really* like papers that come in a sketchbook.  I tend to find myself working out of sketchbooks most often, at least when I first try something.  It’s a bonus if the sketchbook allows me to remove the pages!  

Ok, so what are my go-to brands of paper?  

1.  Bee Creative Watercolor Paper

Pros: 

 

• 100% Cotton and Cold Press
• Comes both in a sketchbook and as loose pages
• This is the MOST affordable high quality paper I can get
• Bee ALSO has a wonderful mixed media paper that doubles as really good hot press watercolor paper! 

Cons: 

• This paper has become increasingly hard to find!  I grab it whenever I can get it, but I’ll be sad if this company just disappears because their paper has been my ABSOLUTE favorite for awhile!  

2.  Arches Cold Press Watercolor Paper

Pros: 

• 100% Cotton and Cold press - amazing quality
• Arches is the absolute gold standard of watercolor paper, and it shows.
• I can easily get Arches just about everywhere I shop for art supplies

Cons: 

• It’s expensive.  I can sometimes find it on sale locally, and when I do I grab it up!  But the quality definitely comes at a price
• They do NOT offer a sketchbook binding option.  For me, I would love an option like this because I tend to do better with using and storing a sketchbook than a large pad of paper.  

3.  Arteza Expert Watercolor Paper

Pros: 

• 100% Cotton and Cold Press Paper - with pretty great quality
• Arteza is very accessible
• Decently affordable paper - more expensive than their other watercolor papers but still a bargain for the quality.  

Cons: 

• There are several brands of “Arteza Expert” paper listed, and only a tiny section of it is 100% cotton, so be careful when buying.  (I think they do also have greeting cards and postcards that are 100%)
• The do NOT offer a 100% cotton sketchbook!  I wish they did because I would definitely buy it if one was offered!  

Honorable Mention: Paul Rubens Hot Press Sketchbook

I love this for illustrations with line work!  Cold press paper will ruin your fineliners and other black pens pretty fast, so I try to work on smoother paper when I’m doing an illustration.  This and my Bee Creative mixed media paper are my favorites for these purposes!  They are both high quality and affordable!  

I’d also like to mention that I’ve not tried paper or sketchbooks from either Etchr or Stillman & Bern.  Both of those are companies that I’ve seen great things about and would like to try in the future!  Etchr is a pricier option mainly because you have to buy the books in bundles.  Stillman & Bern isn’t local to me anywhere during the pandemic, but I could order from them in the future!  

** I also want to note that NONE of these companies are paying me anything!  I’m just a person who loves buying and trying art supplies!  I bought all of these with my own money and my opinion isn’t influenced by anything other than my personal experiences with the supplies!** 

What are your favorite brands of paper?  What is most important to you when you are purchasing watercolor paper?  Let me know in the comments!!!  

December Bullet Journal Layout

I know this is a few days late, but I'm finally getting around to posting my December layout for my bullet journal!  

Bullet journaling is a new hobby for me this year - though I have always had a planner that I detail and decorate!  I finally decided this year to take the plunge to a completely blank planner and to use it as a bullet journal. 

This is the planner I chose, and I love it for many reasons: 

1. The calendars were perfect for me

2. The pages are relatively thick - not quite thick enough for paint but really good

3. The layouts were pretty perfect for a beginner journal.  I wanted more pages month to month, instead of a big block of pages at the end, but for a starter journal this was great.  

In truth, next year I'm going with something else because I have more confidence now, but this was a wonderful starter for anyone that likes to bullet journal!  

Each month, my usual journal setup is to watercolor a strip for the calendar, and then follow up with a monthly goals and inspiration page and mood tracker.  This month's theme is pretty predictable, but I think it turned out super cute!

I made the watercolor strip with my Paul Rubens watercolors and Strathmore Black Mixed Media paper.  On the bigger layout, I use some go-to products each month.  One is my Kuretake Clean Color Dot pens - I'm OBSESSED with these pens!  They make beautiful dots and come in vibrant colors!  They are also great for coloring the mood tracker.  I also love my Zebra MildLiners - they are the perfect, affordable brush pens in beautiful, muted colors.  I also love my stickers from Scribble Sticker Co, Plannologie, and Happy Blue Tree - all businesses on Etsy.  All three shops offer amazing quality and affordable products!  

If you have any questions about my bullet journaling journey, please feel free to leave it in the comments!