Watercolor Journal
Keeping an art journal or watercolor journal is a great way to quickly sketch out ideas or create speedpaintings/doodles. I didn't keep a journal until 2013 when I realized that sometimes you have too many ideas and not enough time to execute all of them on paper. That's where a journal comes in! A journal is also portable so you can travel with it and take it on vacations or kill time at a local coffee shop.
The journal I currently use is a Moleskine watercolor journal in size A4. It's a 'watercolor album' vs. their 'watercolor notebooks' series and the paper is 25% cotton. I've used this book over the past year and it has served me quite well.
The paper is a cream color and supports watercolor but it tends to buckle with heavy washes which is a drawback for me. I like to beat my journals with heavy washes especially if I'm trying new techniques and using a wet-on-wet technique. I don't like the buckling and this paper is absorbent in the sense that it picks up your brushstrokes and dries very quickly. Unfortunately, I'm in search for a new brand of journal due to these minor drawbacks.
My friend recently try to motivate me to paint something other than flowers or fruits and challenged me to pain an animal. I chose the peacock for their known plumage and bright colors in an attempt to lift my mood.
Speed paint of a peacock. I call this one "Attraction" and it spans across both pages in my journal
I would love to hear from my readers in my journal to find the 'perfect art journal'.
Do you keep an art journal or a writing journal? What brands do you favor? Do you also use a Moleskine? Let me know your thoughts in an email or comment below!