New “Sketchbook” From Ottawa

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Larry Marshall

When I was in Ottawa I visited a stationary/card store because, well, that’s what I do. It was a delightful store, though their pricing on fountain pens was really high ($68 for a Lamy Safari) but it costs nothing to look. There were several things I wanted to buy but I guess I was in a “do I REALLY need that” mood and I didn’t buy most of them. The one exception was this tiny notebook made by Clairfontaine. It contains really smooth, thin paper that’s not idea for drawing but gosh it’s cute. I had to have one.

I’ve only done a couple sketches in it but it’s fun to draw this small on occasion. I think I’ll get $4.00 worth of fun from it.

Platinum Khaki Black As A Sketching Medium

Posted on April 22, 2017 by Larry Marshall

Platinum has just released six new inks and you’ll probably be hearing about them over the next few months. They will catch the eye of sketchers because they are iron gall inks that are fountain pen-friendly. Iron gall inks have the virtue of being “waterproof” and those of us who like to slather our drawings with watercolor always pay attention when that word is thrown about.

I’ve found it odd that one could produce colored (besides brown or gray) iron gall inks because creation of iron gall inks is an old way of making ink, combines tannins with iron to create them. Nevertheless, lots of inks are coming on the market and labeled “iron gall”, whether they’re red, blue, or purple. Better living through chemistry, I guess.

In the case of these Platinum inks, however, the naming convention caught my attention as every one of them is named Platinum (some color)-Black. I didn’t know what that meant but was excited enough to buy a bottle from Wonder Pens, who got it to me quickly. This is a very pricey ink (roughly $30/bottle) so Wonder Pens’ low shipping costs was appreciated.

I’m not here to review this ink. Lots of people who collect or write with fountain pens will do that so a search should yield reviews. I find the ink great to sketch with, though, and have it in a couple pens right now. But I want to talk about the waterproof attribute, or lack there of. As it turns out, the “black” portion of these inks seems quite waterproof but the tint that generates their unique color does not appear to be…at all.

Notice the small sketches in the graphic below. The one on the right reflects the color of the ink after it has dried for a while (it darkens as it dries). On the left is what happens if you wipe a waterbrush over it. As you can see, the brown tint disperses, leaving behind a dark gray outline. This particular sketch was done on inexpensive paper. On good watercolor paper the results are even worse. So be warned, waterproof in the pen world doesn’t mean waterproof in the pen and wash world.

A Bright Idea From Bright Ideas

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Larry Marshall

Sometimes you just want to draw on colored paper. Maybe it comes from the days when we were kids and had piles of “construction paper” in all colors of the rainbow. Whatever its roots, sketchers like to shun the white and walk a bit on the wild side, if only once in a while.

A company called Bright Ideas has a solution and it’s called the Bright Ideas Journal. This is a 5×7 book with 408 pages. I suppose you could get away with very light applications of watercolor but the paper isn’t heavy enough for the serious watercolorist. As a substrate for pencil and/or ink drawings, however, this journal is pretty sweet.

It’s thick (about 1-inch) compared to most sketchbooks because of its 408 pages of paper in ten different colors but a big plus is that this book lays flat, very flat because of the open spine binding. Some may grumble because each page has the name of its section printed in the lower right corner. What purpose this could possibly serve is lost on me but I don’t find it objectionable for my ‘small sketches’ needs.

I haven’t had much chance to experiment with it but the paper takes ink very well, with no feathering, no bleedthrough and ghosting only if you hold up the sheet to the light. I think I’m going to have a lot of fun with this book and I thank the Bright Ideas folks for their bright idea. I ran down to the local park and did this quick test sketch so I’d have at least one ‘test’ that isn’t a bunch of scribbles.

Stillman & Birn Softcovers: An Exciting Announcement

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Larry Marshall

Via Giphy.com

I am so excited to be writing this post. As many know, Stillman & Birn, my favorite sketchbook company, released a line of softcover sketchbooks not very long ago. Sadly, what most also know is that there were manufacturing problems with those books and they had to recall all of them, at great expense, from around the world. I applauded them for this as it hit their bottom line hard, but they didn’t want we artists to bear the pain of the problem.

Excepting the manufacturing problem, these softcover books looked like a dream come true. Available in all of Stillman & Birn’s great papers, in a variety of sizes, and with cover colors that reflected the paper type. The covers had an almost suede-feel to them. They weighed only 55-65% of the weight of the equivalent hardcover and they were much thinner. A dream come true for someone like me who carries several sketchbooks and walks a couple hours a day to sketching locations.

Stillman & Birn sofcover prototypes

Well, they’re BACK!!! Or at least almost back. Stillman & Birn says they should be available ‘real soon’ and they sent me a couple of their prototype books to get my opinion about whether the problems are fixed.

To that I can say, they are fixed and then some. I’ve gone through both of my prototype books, one page at a time, and the problems we saw with the initial release are gone. But it’s better than that. These books lay flatter than their early softcovers and certainly better than the hardcovers. I didn’t have to bend them backwards as you do with the hardcovers to get them to lay flat. They just do, though I still recommend going through each page, folding it out flat before using the book. I do that with any sketchbook, regardless of brand.

As I said, the books they sent me are prototypes. They came with Delta and Gamma paper so I could check both the 150gsm and 270gsm binding. The covers are the same material as the production versions but these aren’t color-coded; they’re prototypes. Still, they are amazing books and I’m downright giddy that I have them to use. I was planning to get somewhere to do a sketch for this blog post but a snowstorm prevented that. Truth is, everyone knows how great Stillman & Birn paper is so I decided it was more important to get this announcement into the ether. So here it is, without a sketch. Here’s the money shot of the books laying flat. Ain’t they gorgeous? Coming soon to an art store near you.

Stillman & Birn softcovers, laying flat.

Cheap, Small Sketchbooks – Another Solution

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Larry Marshall

I go through a lot of small sketchbooks because I’m constantly scribbling in them. I have one where I watch TV, one in my office, one in my coat pocket and at least one in each of my sketching bags.

I’ve tried using Field Notes notebooks. I use the ‘mustache’ notebooks I wrote about at one point. These are wonderful because of their toned 4×6 paper that take fountain pen ink well. But for my sketching bags I like to have something that’s just a wee bit bigger, with a spiral binding so I can fold everything back and have just the sheet I’m working on in front of me. It still has to be cheap, fountain pen friendly, and of a practical size. For that I’ve been cutting 9×12 spiral-bound, 60# sketchbooks that I cut in half, creating 80-page 6×9 books that cost me less than $4. All of these solutions suffer when I try to add even light washes of watercolor.

What is a problem is that while I like the cheap Fabriano paper in those 6×9 books, they’re just large for the purpose, being too large and too heavy because I’m also carrying my regular S&B sketchbooks.

So, when I saw Canson’s XL Multi-Media book in a 7×10 size, I knew I’ve found my answer. Cut in half (I just run it through my bandsaw), it provides two 60-sheet 5×7 sketchbooks and the best part was that the paper is 98lb paper that takes watercolor washes quite well. No, I’m wrong. The best part is that these books only cost $3.50. I put one of my sketches on the front just to spiff it up a bit.