Come To Jekyll Island For An Art Workshop!

5-Day Sketching Workshop

Work on location with Laure at Jekyll Island, see live demos on sketching birds, dolphins, beach treasures, native flora, fauna, the inescapable beach kitsch and more! You’ll receive a full color handout with step-by-step instructions on many of these subjects PLUS one-on-one feedback and help on your work.

The workshop will start each day at 9:30 a.m. and finish up in the late afternoon, leaving you with plenty of time to strike out on your own for a little exploring, relaxing, shopping or whatever your heart desires!

Jekyll Island

One of the four barrier islands along the coast of Georgia known as the Golden Isles, Jekyll Island has a long but quiet history. Guale and Muskogian Indian tribes once made their home on the island before it was discovered by Europeans in 1510. Eventually, the English gained occupation. The island was home to a number of plantations. 

In the late 1800’s, a plan was created to turn the island into a winter playground for the wealthy. Members joined the Jekyll Island  Club of one hundred patrons and began building “cottages.” These mansion-sized residences were the homes of the Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Morgan, and Pulitzer families. They played and vacationed on the island up until World War II. 

After the war, the island was eventually bought by the state and the Jekyll Island Resort Club was opened in 1985 as a luxury resort hotel.   

For more information on Jekyll Island, please click here. For more information on the club, please click here.

Our Visit

Each day will have us exploring the island with time in the historic district, visiting the beaches, spending time with some turtles, enjoying the Mosaic Museum and nearby areas. 

We will be capturing these  visits and more in our sketchbooks so we can enjoy them long after we leave the island. 

Activities Galore!

Whether you’re into kayaking, hiking, walking, birdwatching, or simply soaking up the warmth of the sun, there’s plenty to do on the island and in the nearby areas of St. Simons and Brunswick!

Want To Join The Fun?!

Please click here to learn all the details and to download the Registration Form! As always, I hope you can join me as it's going to be soooo much fun! Please let me know if I can answer any questions. 

Come Join The Fun On An Imaginary Trip To SW France!

I've always heard about the gorgeous light in Paris, but I never imagined that all of France (well, the parts I visited anyway) would have that same light! At times, it seemed pearlescent or iridescent...and so very clear.

It was a delight to walk around medieval towns and villages to sketch and paint (and take photos) because of that light. But I would be remiss if I didn't also mention the subject matter of said sketches and photos...delightful visits to so many small towns, parks, rivers, castles, gardens, and cities made this trip worthy of being made into an ImaginaryTrips.com' online class!

I hope you'll join me for the Imaginary Trip To Southwest France and Le Vieux Couvent! We'll explore the lovely convent and its gardens, where we stayed as well as some of the most intriguing small villages (Saint Cirq Lapopie and Beynec), larger cities (Sarlat) and some off the beaten path destinations (Castelfranc).

There is something for everyone! I will be sharing my sketchbook and the pages I created while in France and I'll also show how I create a more finished look to those pages once I'm home.

Class starts on April 18th and will feature four assignments. There is an interactive class as well as self-study class option available.

To join in and get registered today, please click here for more information!

____________________

I am going back to LVC in September this year and would love to have you join me for the 10-day travel and art workshop! It's not to be missed! The convent was originally built in the 1600's and has been lovingly refurbished into an art retreat complete with secret gardens, a koi pond and lovely courtyard. The classroom and art library are both huge and available 24/7.

This is a true immersion experience as we will get out to explore, sketch and paint the Dordogne and Lot Regions each day! We'll make use of the classroom to finish our pages in the evenings and during any inclement weather.

And I have to say, the people of LVC make this place truly magical! From the wonderful meals they create from local sources to the care they show in everything they do, this is one of those rare workshop opportunities that transcends the words, "travel art workshop!"

I hope you can join me for this awesome experience!

To learn more and get registered, please click here!

I hope to see you in France!

Ink Spots!

Well, not really ink spots!  But I'm always on the search for The Perfect Ink for my purposes.

I'm still looking.

What I want most often is an ink that dries waterproof (or at least water-resistent) in a relatively short time, so I can use watercolor over it...and that's tricky, in most fountain pens.  I've tested dozens and usually go back to Noodler's Lexington Grey, which seems to perform best for me, given my usual "requirements."

Often, we blame our fountain pens for not feeding well, but it may be the ink instead.  (And of course some pens write wetter and some dryer...meaning some make a finer more delicate line, and some really flow readily.   My original Namiki Falcon is like that, somewhat juicy.)

I'd love a dependable brown that doesn't clog my pens, but so far except in RARE cases, that's been tough to find.  (My Carbon Desk Pens, the TWSBIs, and my inexpensive Preppies seem most amenable to brown ink, and the brown that works best for me seems to be Noodler's Brown #41.)  But for the most part, Lexy Grey is my go-to ink.

GouletPen.com has a lovely sampler set of browns to try out!  (And come to think of it, there ARE some "ink spots," someone leaked!)

I used Noodler's Brown #41 in my Materia Medica, in a Carbon Desk Pen you can read about in this post.

I was really excited when I heard about DeAtramentis Document Inks, and some people are finding them PERFECT for their needs, not a bit of trouble; my dear friend Liz Steel loves them!  (The inks seem to work perfectly in many of the Lamy pens, which, unfortunately, I don't care for.)

And I just paid a professional to clean my vintage Sheaffer--I couldn't get it to work even with Goulet's pen cleaner, which is normally magic!  She recommended that I either change to water-soluble ink or flush it about once a week!

(My favorite Noodler's Creaper pen that I only write with is always filled with a water-soluble ink that hasn't failed me once in almost 3 years...it's De Atramentis, a dark green-black, and I love it!)

NOTE: There's a big difference in dye inks and pigmented inks.  The latter is much more likely to be water-resistant, but also more likely to clog since pigment particles do tend to clump.  That's why some cartridges, like the Pilot Namiki, some with a tiny ball-bearing inside that keeps the particles more evenly distributed.  Some of my converters have that option too... 

I recently bought another Noodler's Konrad pen, which holds more ink than the Creaper, and was amazed when it quit working after a few weeks.  I'm not, any more.  That's its feed and nib, on the left, in the first picture below.  The other is my normally dependable, foolproof Hero M-86 nib.

Yeah, that's the new Konrad's feed...almost totally clogged.

This is the Hero nib, likewise--but it had been in the pen considerably longer, so not as surprised.  BOTH took a nice bath in pen cleaner and got a good scrubbing with an old toothbrush, though...

Just for the heck of it I put the Hero under a magnivying glass...yuck.  I'd be reluctant to work too if I were clogged like that...

So will I continue to use my De Atramentis Document inks?  Of course.  But I'll be much more mindful of cleaning and flushing my pens and nibs, and use them in my juicier, more dependable pens, at least the inexpensive ones like the Preppy and Metropolitan, definitely not the vintage pens!  And they're great with dip pens.

Obviously this is not an issue only with the De Atramentis Document inks, either...many pigmented inks can be challenging to use.  I'm careful with Platinum Carbon Black and other similar inks as well.

And of course you do NOT want to use India Ink or one of the acrylics in a good fountain pen.  They dry hard!

It is more than possible to draw with water-soluble ink, and wet the lines for halftones...it's a lovely and often luminous effect, just not one I go for often!  I may have to branch out a bit...

Soooo...what works for you, in which pens?  Water soluble, water resistant?

Draw with Me?

Hi all!  I woke up with a bit of a wild hair this morning--well, I know my hair is ALWAYS a mess, not that.  I mean an idea!  What would you think of an occasional "Draw with Me" event, perhaps monthly, perhaps quarterly, perhaps when the mood hit?  (Or Paint with Me, sometimes?  Or just whatever medium you prefer?)


We'd have a basic subject matter each time--like this one I did for Self Portrait Sunday, where we work from life, using whatever medium we want.  We could do something around our house, not necessarily a still life (though it could be), but maybe a favorite reading corner, your desk, what's on the plate for dinner, a view from a window; a pet--cat, dog, alpaca, goldfish, sugar glider, whatever; nature drawings; a favorite tool; your family, past or present; a favorite pastime; something from your imagination...

It won't be a demo, per se, but more of a chance for all of us to draw together for an hour or two, or a morning, virtual but "live."  There will be a set starting and ending time, of course--it would be a realtime event.  That said, it may be day-long, and for those in far-different time zones, you can check in the next day.

We'd have a place to share our work when the event is over--a blog of our own, Flickr, Facebook...

It's not a "challenge," exactly--I won't say "draw an apple," for instance--as close as I'm thinking is the above, something around the house.

I won't be judging work and there won't be "winners"--except that we DO win, by creating!  I was surprised to open Facebook this morning to see the wildly talented James Gurney came up with a similar concept, his contest for drawings of cell phone towers!  Great minds...or something...

So what do you think?  I don't know about you, but I've been coming out of a dry spell, and I'm feeling inspired--and want to share it!

And of course--it's a FREE event.  Let's have fun with it...

The Current Sketch Kit!

So...attempting once again to organize and simplify!  I have just gotten 3 new/old vintage pens from Pier Gustafson (more on those soon!) and wanted something better to protect them than the old plastic pocket protector that I've been using for years--you know, the ones with the open top.  Things kept falling out, and it really wasn't quite big enough--not with the delicious new pens to play with.

Unfortunately, all the closed pen cases I found were too small, only holding 2 or at most 3 pens...and of course when I saw this small Smart Fit case from Jetpens, I decided to give it a try.  It's about 4" x 7", and zips shut for much more security.

The problem, of course, is that it really holds TOO much--and not quite enough at the same time!  Consolidating all my travel kit in one place is lovely, but...it's gotten kind of fat and heavy as I keep thinking "okay, I need that...and might use that...and I always wish I had one of those...and oh, look, that fits right there...and want to try that out..."

As it turned out, the pens work best on the right side, and I knew I wanted to keep one technical pen and one mechanical pencil, in addition to two of my vintage pens, and a dependable TWSBI Eco, and my old Frankenpen I discussed in this post, and this post and OOOPS, out of room on that side!  

So here's what made the cut for now...plus the tiny kids' watercolor kit from Wet Paint I filled with my own choice of artist colors and a wee telescoping brush from an old Winsor & Newton kit in that small front pocket...that's the new/old blue Waterman from Pier Gustafson and my old red Eversharp from the 1950s.

The mesh side has room for a sharpener and a small magnifying glass, plus two waterbrushes, two "real" brushes of a nice size, cut off to travel, and one wee tiny one for the occasional serious detail (cat whiskers anyone?), 3 colored pencils (2 black or grey and one white), an antique folding pen given to me by a friend (that's the aqua dealie), and yes, another pen, the ever-dependable fine-nib Carbon Desk Pen I cut off so the cap would post.  You can read about that process here.

This is how they come from Wet Paint and others, still with the kid colors in it at that point...and a totally useless brush!

Oh, yeah, that tiny watercolor kit?  That's what I used for all the sketches but ONE to fill this journal when we went to Charleston, SC!  (If you're not on Facebook, my account is public so you may be able to see anyway...) I CAN travel light...it's just not easy.

So at 7.7 ounces this setup is not exactly super light, and full, it's about 1-1/2" deep, so not really skinny, either...but oh well!  Like a Boy Scout, I'm prepared!

Repurposed Prang Box, 10 years later

If you've been with me for a while, you may remember this repurposed Prang watercolor box, from the 1950s--when the boxes were still metal rather than plastic!  I took out the kids' paints and replaced them with larger pans of professional colors I actually like...

The photo is from 2008, so I've been using this little jewel for 10 years...I have carried it from Missouri to California to Nevada, and love using it...it makes me feel like a kid again!  That's the one in our banner here, too.

These are the colors I added then, or close to it...there's an orange in there, too, in place of one of the yellows!

Actually, I have a couple of them...one with Old Faithful, the Yellowstone geyser on it, as well as this somewhat newer one...I found them on eBay, and a quick check showed you can still find them there.

The pan of kids' colors pops right out...

I stuck empty full pans in with rubber cement, so they're easy to pull out and replace if I want...and then filled with my own choice of colors.

Well.  That was then, this is now.  10 years, many miles, and a whole lot of sketches later!

The mixing area has gotten rusty and I may sand and repaint it...or not.  Some colors have been replaced.  I added a few half pans for more versatility...Manganese Blue Hue, Indigo, Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet, and Quinacridone Gold...

As you can see, it's been well used and well loved, and will continue to be so.  (And yes, I cleaned it up some for its photo op.  Really I did!)  At 4.9 ounces, it's my heaviest travel kit, but sometimes you just have to deal with it!  Worth it, to feel like a kid and give yourself permission for whimsy...

On a beach in California...

Lighten Up!

I find that over and over I try to simplify my gear and lighten my load--and since I want to be prepared for almost any sketching contingency, it's not that easy! 

Recently I've been exploring the fun little Pocket Palettes from Expeditionary Arts--and Maria Coryell-Martin keeps refining and offering new types, formats, and kits!  Check out her "toolkit" page at the link...

Here you see the original palette on the left and a newer model with a brushed steel case (I think she's offering a traditional black one now too, but I didn't see it on the page.)

I know it's silly, but I'll keep carrying the original shiny one because sometimes a girl just needs a mirror...or a signaling device...or...and the little bag it comes in protects the finish!

The very first ones had small pans, like those on the right in the filled palette, but many of us like to work with a larger brush, so Maria added the square pans.  Perfect! 

which green?

I have tweeked the limited palette that I recently put together, replacing the raw umber with burnt sienna — I can always mix a near-match to the raw umber with ultramarine. Then I wondered whether to keep the one single-pigment green as perylene green, or replace it with phthalo green BS?

So I mixed it with my other colors. If what I’m after is “bright”, the phthalo is a better choice; for subtle, realistic color, the perylene works better. . . . . Still undecided. What do you think?

The other choices in this limited palette are quinacridone rose, quinacridone gold, Hansa yellow medium, phthalo blue GS, ultramarine, burnt sienna, Payne’s gray, and a dab of white gouache. Plus a  Loew-Cornell #8 round and a 3/4 flat for my brushes. The flat’s handle has been shortened to fit the box and pointed for scratching effects.

Texas wildflowers

The first explosion of native wildflowers has begun, the first I found up close being the blanket flowers growing on a street corner in Somerville, Texas. Yesterday I stopped to get a closer look at the bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, and tickseed blooming near highway 36 and FM 1948. Washington county will soon be covered in glorious color — this year, the peak bloom time is expected on Easter weekend, though they will continue through next month. And summer varieties will soon follow . . .

Lately I find myself not sketching every day, but just adding bits here and there to my journal when the mood strikes, whether text or drawings. But I just can’t let the first wildflowers of the season get by without trying once again to capture their likeness.

Mini-peeks into my sketchbook! #1

I was recently asked to do a short article for Watercolor Artist magazine for a new column they've begun, Open Book (our friend Liz Steel was in this month's issue!)  They asked for 3-4 images to pick from, but will only use one in the magazine...and as usual I overproduced!  I came up with 9 images, but controlled myself and only sent, um, 5...or 6...

So I have leftovers to share with you!

This one was from a fall trip to Bennett Spring state park...I was wanting to explore wet in wet but with touches of gouache against that dark background to pop out and suggest a bit of depth.

I painted the dark, shadowed background hill, the warmer stream bank and the water first, and quicky laid in splashes of orange for the colorful tree and its reflection.  When those washes were dry, I painted the taller, darker oak tree, using a kind of quick, loose scrubbing motion to suggest foliage.

The dark trunks and limbs were added next, with a round brush and a small rigger brush, and allowed to dry.

Then I used my old friend spatter in watercolor and gouache, plus touches of pale green gouach on the bankside bushes.  An opaque gel pen made linear sparkles in the water...

Fast, fun, and I was satisfied with the effect, for the most part.

I'll add more of these as I get time...

A NEW Sketchbook Cover For My Paris Sketchbook - Laure Ferlita

One of the cool things about planning out a trip to Paris so far in advance is that I have plenty of time to start playing with my sketchbook NOW rather than just before time to go. The image above shows my layout plans for my new sketchbook cover with the finished item at the top right.

I knew early on that I would be making a sketchbook to take to Paris as I wanted to play around with a variety of page configurations and I LOVE square format sketchbooks. I also wanted control over my paper choice. Using Moulin du Roy 140 lb. CP paper, I have already torn down four signatures of four pages each. The pages all have different folds and some of are different size though the overall size of the sketchbook pages is 5.75 x 5.5 inches. The cover is 6.25 x 6 inches...not quite square, but close enough!

Flexibility
The reason I make the sketchbook cover SEPARATE from the signatures is because I can easily take the pages or signatures in and out of the book. If I don't want to carry the entire sketchbook, I can remove a section. If—heaven forbid—I were to lose my sketchbook, there's a good chance I would not lose everything.

The other reason I like this layout is because it allows me to pull individual pages in and out to work on rather than try and rustle with a whole book. Once the signatures are bound, this won't be possible, but until they are it makes working much easier. The elastic loops securely hold the pages in place. Also, because I've been adding a lot of "extra" items (maps, stickers, stamps, ephemera, etc.) If the sketchbook gets too bulky to handle easily, I can slip a section out of the book.

Once my pages are complete (after I return from Paris), it may be that I didn't use all the pages/signatures I expected to. I can use these books in a different sketchbook. I have the option of binding the completed signatures into a more permanent cover (which is my plan) or I can continue to use the sketchbook cover you see in the images.

I used this system way back in 2014 on my trip to Acadia National Park and it worked tremendously well. You can see the leather cover I made for that trip here and read about it as well.

Leather vs. Material
When I started to plan out my journal cover, I was going to use leather and even made a leather cover. However, there are some advantages of using material over leather:

• Pockets - It's pretty easy to sew a pocket onto a piece of material. Leather is a bit more challenging. The pocket allows me to carry a few pieces of ephemera, tracing paper, etc. and it's an excellent place to tuck items away until I can add glue them to the page. I only added one, but it would be fairly simple to add one to the front of the cover if you so chose. 
• Pen Loop - You can buy a clip that has a pen loop to use with a leather cover, but they're metal and they add weight to the sketchbook. With the fabric, I incorporated a piece of elastic into the seam. The weight is negligible and it is more secure.
• Speaking of Weight - Leather weighs substantially more than material and if I'm going to lug this sketchbook all over Paris along with my other art supplies and a cell phone and umbrella and so on, I want to stay as light as I possible can. By saving an ounce or two here and another over there, I'm saving my neck and shoulders a lot of stress and strain. 

How Did I Do It?
If you have basic sewing skills and a sewing machine, it's not hard to create a cover to your specifications. I read a lot of posts and watched a lot of videos on how to make a DIY fauxdori sketchbook cover, DIY Traveler's Notebook, and other combinations. There are a host of posts out there. Some of them do not require sewing.

Because I wanted a bit more structure to my sketchbook cover, I combined two ideas to make mine. You can see them here and here. I wanted a spine, but I wanted the soft flexibility of the DIY Traveler's Notebook cover.

The size, the number of signatures and so on are completely customizable so you can create a sketchbook that is uniquely your!

Are YOU Coming To Paris?!
Would you like to?! You know you want to! I am so looking forward to going to Paris. It's been a pleasure to start working on this project already. My sense of anticipation has already started to build as I learn and read and sketch. By the time I return home, I hope to have a sketchbook worthy of my experiences while I'm in the City of Light. I would LOVE to help you create a sketchbook that captures your love or travel and art into a sketchbook you'll cherish for years.

A small group of artists will be joining me and we'll be exploring Paris off the beaten path as well as some of the iconic sites. I will be providing spontaneous demos each day based on where we are and what we see. I will also be available to guide you and answer questions as you capture your memories and create a sketchbook like no other! I hope you'll come and join the fun! Come and check out all the details here and here.

The Best Pencils...

I've been meaning to share this article with you for some time, and I'm finally taking care of some "to-do" list items!  http://wonderstreet.com/blog/choosing-the-best-pencil


As always, "the best pencil" is a very personal thing, of course, and depends as much on what you're doing at the time as it does the person using it.  I recently rediscovered one of my mentor Ann Zwinger's favorite pencils, a Berol Turquoise HB--I treasure the two I had hoarded, and was afraid to use them much, but picked one up at the cabin recently and loved it, all over again.

(Unfortunately, we discovered when we went to buy more that Turquoise is now made by Prismacolor, and though they're okay--they're not the same.) 

These days, when I'm sketching in my journal, it's most often a Pentel Forte HB or B mechanical pencil, with that nice soft white vinyl eraser.  Convenient, versatile, no need to sharpen, and with enough range of value to satisfy me.

And sometimes, I love the pick up a dark-colored Prismacolor and add watercolor wash...an old favorite technique.

What's your favorite pencil?  What do you pick up most often?

sketching at concerts

This week I went to two classical music concerts in libraries and sketched at each . Both concerts were beautiful and I am in awe of the skill of the musicians and performers . They were:

• Bottled Snail Productions "Twilight Songs Under the Dome" at the magnificent and historic Supreme Court Library. I did seven sketches in an 75 minutes. I moved around the back and side of the room between musical pieces.
• Saverio String Quartet at the historic Melbourne Athenaeum Library. I did one sketch in 45 minutes, sitting in the front row. 

Saverio string quartet at Melbourne Athenaeum Library

I am most pleased with the above sketch of Saverio , at the second concert I attended. Perhaps I had warmed up my sketching the night before. I think I may have been a bit self conscious at the first (Bottled Snail) concert, as it was held in my workplace and a few people know that I was sketching,

Habeas Chorus of Bottled Snail at Supreme Court Library. They were warming up just before the concert began

I have sketched irregularly at classic (and other) music concerts over  the past few years. It is something that I enjoy, but don’t feel in my comfort zone. I often draw people in groups, audiences or events, but for some reason I am not entirely happy with the results of musicians.

Sketching while listening to music enhances my appreciation and relaxation.  However, it all depends on the music. Sometimes  I will put my pencil down, close my eyes and soak it all in.

I have been reflecting about why I don’t have the same level of comfort as in other situations. I don’t have the answers but I think I know why I don’t have the answers,

One thing I have learnt – each situation is different – indoors, outdoors, size of audience, amount of lighting, number of musicians and how many musical pieces and the length of the pieces.  Sometimes I can choose where I get a seat but not always. There are often unknowns.


Choosing pen and ink to sketch the highlight of the black and white of the choir , the outline of the audience members. Adding colour to the Chief Justice's portrait and the gasolier lamp.

I know that I need to make an early decision on what to draw with. I need to decide whether to choose my Lamy Safari ink pen or one or a few choice watercolour pencils. I then put everything else away. I don’t want to be disturbing and distracting other audience members by fiddling around, looking for colours.
Although listening to a concert is an audible experience, there is often so much visual.
One of the decisions I think that I need to make is about what to focus on and put down on paper. Are they sketchy or detailed ? Often this depends on my mood.
Do I want to capture

• The feeling of the music
• Musicians – faces, feet, hands, their movement
• Instruments
• Audience
• Surroundings – the building, stage

I will try to think of them as a suite of options open to me.
At the moment I think that I try to capture it all. Some concerts are only 45 minutes, some much longer and will have a few different sets of musicians playing .

 

Add caption

I knew that I had seven minutes to sketch Kylie, the accompanist. 

another quick sketch

Does anyone have any hints and tips for sketching at concerts? What is your approach?

Sketchbook Review: Field Artist 4" Square Watercolor Journal

Click to enlarge

Every once in a while, I spot a new art toy that I just know is going to recharge my flagging art energies and it happened when I saw the Field Artist 4" Square Watercolor Art Journal!

I just knew I was going to love it because:

• It's small. At only four inches, it fits in the palm of my hand when closed. 
• It's square. I've been having a love affair with squares for many long years and I am almost always captivated by something squared, especially if it is not usually found in that shape!
• It's a watercolor journal and that always makes me happy. 

Upon receiving the art journal from Amazon (no affiliate links), I immediately pulled out my stamps and embossing powder and decorated the front cover. The journal does have an elastic band to keep it closed that cannot be seen in the image. 

While I adore the effect, I don't recommend doing this as the embossing is not holding up well. My journals are well traveled. They go everywhere I do and that means they typically tumble around in whatever bag I am carrying. The cover itself is a "PU leather-like fabric" and is holding up just fine. It's the embossing I added that is not. 

My first piece of art is on the inside of the cover. The paper used as the endpaper is not the same as the journal pages. It's much lighter in weight so I opted to use markers to create my design. The paper didn't hold up well even under marker so I caution you about using any kind of wet media on it.  

The endpaper on the inside right sports the sketchbook branding and is oriented so that the logo only reads correctly when the book is opened top to bottom with the fold of the journal above the logo. You can also see the yellow ribbon page marker in the image below. 

I'm thinking I'm going to be gluing an additional piece of watercolor paper over the branding page and using the space as a place to put my "if lost, please return" info:

Eventually, I worked my way to my first page. Since the book is small and I knew I wanted it to record "everyday adventures" that seemed to fit as the title page as well as the theme. I think we often have far many more adventures than we realize. It takes paying attention to notice them though. 

Those adventures can be as simple as having to take a detour due to construction and seeing something new or it may be notice a pretty bloom on your way to the mail box (even if it's a weed!). 

By elevating the ordinary by paying attention, we can make it extraordinary!

The page has ink from a Faber-Castell Artist PITT Pen as well as watercolors on it. There was no bleed through from the pen or paint. The pen performed very well on the paper with no skipping or bulking. 

There is a slight textural difference between the two sides of the pages and they don't always match up. Sometimes you have two different textures across a spread. There doesn't seem to be a pattern to where the difference will show and where it will not. It's slight enough that it can be ignored even if it is visible. 

I found the time to capture a family of wrens that have been visiting our backyard in the evenings. The babies had just fledged and were a little clumsy the first time we spotted them. Four days later and the only way to tell the parents from the babies was the fact that the babies were still following mom and dad around with their mouths open waiting to be fed!

There is a stamp in the upper corner that did not bleed through to the other side even when I painted over the stamped area. Again, pen and watercolor were used in the piece.

One last little surprise was the long accordion-fold, panorama page that is attached in the very back of the book in place of a pocket. It is four panels wide, but the fourth panel is partially glued to the back cover giving you only three panels to be painted on the back. I have to admit a pocket at less than four inches in width probably wouldn't have been very useful! 

The paper is marketed under the Chinese brand, Image. I was not able to find further information on the maker or the paper. 

So here are my pros on this adorable little journal:

• It's small and very portable. 
• The size is perfect for capturing a quick sketch. 
• The paper is acid-free and dries flat without having to be weighted or dried with a blow dryer. 
• The paper has hard sizing which makes it very forgiving when you want to pick up paint to get back to the white of the paper. 
• It lies flat making it easy to work across the spread. 

My cons:

• The sketchbook is very small and it takes some adjusting to getting used to working in it. It's hard to rest the heel of your hand on the page and draw at the same time! It is not difficult to adjust to the size challenges, but I'm thinking folks with big hands would really be challenged. 
• The paper is not archival. Chances are good it is made from wood pulp instead of cotton or linen and they have removed the acids. However, this is not a deal breaker for me as I'm using this to play in rather than creating works I expect to wind up in a museum!
• The paper has a hard sizing which makes it way too easy to lift color unexpectedly and it seems to take a bit longer to dry than other papers. While I put this down as a con because speed is important to working on location, it's not a huge problem. It just means I need to alter my approach a bit to fit with the paper of the journal.  
• The fact that the paper textures do not match up across the pages. It's a minor thing to fix and because it wasn't, it speaks to rather shoddy workmanship or a lack of pride in their journals, especially given the last point... 
• For the size, I find it a bit pricey at $12.95 (I guess we're paying for that extra dose of cuteness!).

So far, I've been very pleased with the journal and I've thoroughly enjoyed using it! I look forward to finding more little everyday adventures to record on its pages!

What new art toys have you found lately?