I've been getting back into using watercolours lately. The 'colour' theme for April at Creative Every Day has made me think about using new, stronger colours and, as much as I love Promarkers, I don't really like using the stronger colours in their range as I just find they swamp the illustration a bit. Plus, I really can't afford to buy any more of them! So I've had these watercolours out. But I haven't had a lot of success with them in the sketchbook I'm using at the moment. They go fluffy. They lose all their lovely translucent wateriness. Also, I want to use the dip pen at the moment and this sketchbook most definitely won't have any of that dip pen business. So I dug out a Seawhites sketchbook that is only about 2/3 full. I was using it for a project and for an illustration class I did so I never finished it.
So I was really just trying out how the watercolours would turn out on
this Seawhites sketchbook (I already knew that it is very happy to have
the pen and ink on it). I started drawing the nearest colourful thing to
me, this Chapstick tin.
I've been thinking about converting this tin into a little tin for watercolours as I have a couple of pans with no home and some tubes of Sennelier colous which I would much prefer to have in a tin. Apparently you can just squeeze them into an empty pan and let them dry overnight. Now I just need to get some cheap empty pans.
The verdict is that the Seawhites sketchbook is really good for dip pen and watercolours. Also, it is really cheap compared to a lot of sketchbooks. I definitely recommend it. I think I paid £5.99 for it at Cass Arts - I wish Cass would open a store in Bristol! The only minor thing is that it doesn't flatten down in the way that Moleskines and some other sketchbooks do. I mean, it does flatten but it isn't quite so flexible. It says in it's blurb though that it is 'sized for extra wet-strength' and it really is because I like using a lot of water! I will try it with some ink washes next.
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