top of page

1. "The Best Watercolour Notebooks for Travel Journaling: Top 5 Picks

Writer's picture: Bridget MarchBridget March

My top 5 watercolour travel journals
My top 5 watercolour travel journals

For many years, a Moleskine large watercolour notebook was my constant companion. It's 300gsm paper with its 35% cotton content is the perfect size for watercolour sketching and it's capacious pocket inside the back cover holds loads of cuttings and postcards with ease. It is slip and lightweight and the smooth hardback cover slides in and out of pockets nicely. It opens up completely flat when I feel like doing a panoramic landscape or a long low fishing boat. The only downside with Moleskine is that they are so popular with artists all over the world that they are sometimes difficult to get hold of. So, if you are travelling for more than 3-4 weeks, you would be wise to pack two or more.


Number two is the Moleskine is the Japanese album which opens up to one enormously long zig zag surface. I love using these from time to time because your creativity is never limited to the size of the page and it is great for composing a continuous story of your travels where one experience blends into the next. The paper is very interesting. It is d escribed as a 120gsm sketch paper but it is, in fact a very sophisticated surface that has a bright white core and is surfaced with Chinese white fine clay rather like an expensive glossy magazine. It is coated on both sides which means that you can sketch on both sides of this enormously long sheet. Take your creative watercolour sketching to an adventurous level with this unique book. This book also has a large pocket inside the back cover to store all your cuttings and cards. Be warned ............ it can be harder to get hold of than the watercolour sketchbook!


Because the my two, favourite Moleskines can be had to source, I have been obliged to try other brands of watercolour sketch book and, I have to say, there are some good alternatives out there.

I have really enjoyed using the Hand-Book watercolour sketch book. This one has 200gsm watercolour paper but it performs very well indeed and it also opens up flat to offer a double page spread. I enjoyed using it so much that I bought a second one when I had filled the first. This brand seems to be more available in SE Asia than Moleskine. The hard back is covered with linen and has a generous acetate pocket on the inside back cover for cuttings. The book is held closed with a wider elasticated band than the Moleskine. Very nice for journaling.


Number 4 on my list is the Hahnemuhle Watercolour book. This is a lovely journal with slightly different page proportions from the golden section 13 x 21cm. of the previous three at 20 x 14.5cm. I don't fine the standard A5 page quite a pleasing as the 13 x 21cm - but you may not agree. The paper is 100% cotton 200gsm cold pressed watercolour paper that performs perfectly. What else would you expect from the Germans! There is no pocket on the inside back cover.


Number 5 is my current sketch book - the Sennelier Watercolour book. The 300gsm paper is 100% cellulose and is crisper and firmer than cotton papers. It seems to give watercolour paints more brilliance which was unexpected. The hard, linen covered cover opens up to reveal a spiral bound watercolour pad which means that it cannot offer a double spread for a panoramic sketch. There is no pocket on the inside back cover. It was more expensive than any of the others but, I repeat - the bright white paper offers something different and pleasing if you like sharp, brilliant colours.


There is one, great advantage to using Moleskines that took me a few years to appreciate and that is that they give you automatic membership to the Moleskine worldwide community. Other journalers and artists have approached me simply because they see I am using Moleskine and it has opened up conversations and even one or two friendships ! I have also approached other Moleskine users to ask what they are sketching and we inevitably end up leafing through each others journals. The other brands are very good but they don't quite have the 'cool' factor of Moleskine.




0 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comentários


bottom of page