I’m going back to my travelers notebook theme this year, using the smaller passport size for daily sketches, birding notes, and an exercise log. The larger, A5 journal has one booklet of sketch paper, one of multimedia, and one general notebook for art notes. My pencil is the Tutto 3 mechanical pencil with three different lead sizes and types, a .3, .5, and .7. So far, I’m loving this system, and I hope to stick with it for a year.
I went all out and splurged on the 24 set of Derwent Graphitint pencils and the painting set of 12. I love the moody colors. I watched a Mind of Watercolor video and agree with Steve that the painting set mislabeled Russet—it’s actually Sage. More splurging: a three-pack of Molotov water brushes, a Croquis sketch pad, and three Fabriano watercolor sketchbooks.
Several years ago the traveler’s notebook trend began, but I wasn’t paying attention. I am now, however, and have not one but two: the standard size (above) and an A5 (below). I prefer the A5 as it’s just that much wider and the notebooks stay open while I’m sketching. Yes, I did buy a bigger purse to carry my art supplies on a daily basis.
I carry this in my purse every day, and deciding what tools to bring with is a small challenge. I’ve been happy with some primary color Neocolor II crayons, a waterbrush, some primary colored pencils, and a variety of pens and graphite. Probably too much.
A traveler’s notebook is a cover with elastic bands in the fold that hold a variety of notebooks, planners, folders, etc. Once you fill up a book, swap it out for another. The standard size has a nice sketchbook, but the A5 doesn’t have as many to choose from, so I’ve decided to make my own out of sketch, multimedia, and watercolor papers.
Even though I’m carrying a notebook for writing, I’m mostly using this as a place to sketch. Having a limited, primary color palette is great fun. I seem to be more creative with limitations.
I’ve asked myself, why not just carry a sketchbook? The answer is, I like the cover, the bands, the variety of inserts I can create. I also like a smaller sketchbook that fills up quickly.
What’s next? A super cool pencil case from Japan, still on its way here.
Over the past week or so, I’ve sketched a variety of critters and landscapes, one sprayed with fixative and painted with an orange wash over it to see what would happen:
I’ve been sketching (almost) daily for over three weeks, so of course, with my quest to discover and buy as many art supplies as possible, it was time to see what other type of sketching mediums are out there. I’ve discovered there’s more than graphite when it comes to sketching pencils. There are these curious pencils, hovering between a colored pencil and charcoal, used to get deepest darks.
I spotted a Conte Pierre Noire at an art store and bought a 2B and an HB, and they were so different from graphite that it’s hard to compare them. They’re inky black, they feel kind of resistant or chalky while using, and they smudge and blend nicely but don’t erase to the white of the paper. I’m guessing there’s charcoal in them but also maybe some wax or oil.
What I do know is that I truly love how they feel and how the end product looks. They create a nice, black, matte color. Using this pencil seemed strangely similar to painting for me. I’m not quite certain why, but I’ll mull it over for awhile.
This cute finch looked too severe until I used a kneaded eraser and pulled off some of the dark around its eye.
For this butterfly picture, I decided to use a smudging stick and blended the background flowers. I was pleased with how the directional marks resembled a marker.
This duck was my first attempt using the Conte Pierre Noire. The paper was textured, and I loved how the pencil worked on the surface. The color goes down effortlessly, and it’s easy to vary the value even with one pencil.
