The Best Journals and Sketchbooks for Watercolor Painting
I have been watercolor painting on and off in sketchbooks for over 30 years. There was a very long break when my kids were little and I was working full time though! Regardless, I have tried out a lot of watercolor sketchbooks that are on the market and I have my favorites!
These days I very much prefer to work in books that I hand make myself for a lot of different reasons.
I absolutely adore the feel of a Willa Journal and I haven’t gotten bored with them since I began making them 5 years ago (has is been longer? I have lost count . . .)
I want to choose the paper that is in the journal because the paper is such an important part of the watercolor painting experience. And when I make my own watercolor journals, I am the decider!
If making your own watercolor journals is not an option, there are some good commercially made journals these days. When I mean “good,” I mean that the paper is 100% cotton and the paint responds well to it. One company that I was recently turned onto when they reached out to me is Etchr Lab and the Etchr TPS Signature Series is a wonderful option for a pleasurable painting experience in a commercially made book. Not only does the paper have a deckle edge that I love, it is 100% cotton high quality watercolor paper. Just make sure to choose the right finish for you if you purchase (I like cold pressed paper).
Now there is one thing I should mention. The single most frequent question that I get asked about my watercolor for relaxation painting and my leaf and floral watercolor painting in my handmade Willa Journals is this: what is that paper that you are using? For that information, you’re just going to have to take the course!
Take a look at this YouTube video which is very much a walk down memory lane as I go through so many watercolor sketchbooks that I have tried out over the years with varying degrees of satisfaction!
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