Handbook Watercolor Journal, 8.25"x5.25" Large Portrait, 95lb/200gsm Cold Press Paper, Travelogue, Natural European Linen Cover

I ordered the 200gsm large portrait.Perfect size for color swatching your materials. Managed to swatch all my colored pencils, pens, acrylic paint pens, wax pastels, water-based markers, alcohol based markers and still have half the book left.Grain is a little rough for colored pencils, but then 200 gsm isn’t made for them, anyways. Wax pastels went on beautifully, but obv transferred.Sharpies were visible on the opposite side, but didn’t bleed through.Alcohol markers (last pictured) obviously showed through with only a little bleeding, but was easy to work around for my purposes.I think it works best with my water-based markers, which only slightly show through.Acrylic paint pens worked well, but had to be very wet or it tore up the paper.Size was really the selling point for me: small enough to fit on any stack space and be grab and go. Large enough that I can see a decent amount of colors at one time. Was previously using a much larger book that I found myself avoiding using, which lead to just winging colors, which defeated the purpose of having swatches.If I had to do it again, I’d probably order the 300gsm just to be maximally compatible with alcohol markers, but otherwise, very pleased :).

I brought this watercolor sketchbook because my favorite artist Polina Bright uses them and I must say they are worth the money! The colors appear very vibrant on the watercolor paper. The pages are thick and they don’t bleed through! They are perfect for travel size as well! The only downside is that the paper dries very fast, so when using this paper make sure u do a WET on WET application.

The media could not be loaded. I really like this sketchbook! It takes heavy watercoloring really well!! I’m used to using the canson xl watercolor paper, I wanted to try something new and decided to purchase this one. The pages warp a little bit , but that is expected with watercolors ! The paper is pretty good with how well it takes heavy water ! I’m also able to use both sides of the paper which I like ! Definitely would buy again :)!

Update: I still love this sketchbook. I both pre wet or not pre wet my pages and it holds up fine. I use the lighter weight of the two options. I work in other watercolor books (spiral, glued, and bound) and I still favor this book brand specifically. I do not know why. I think I favor the lack of bleeding and that it can take all the digging I put it through with so many layered mediums. I have finished two full sketchbooks of these, the larger square and the 8x5 and I like them both. I plan to continue to purchase these in the future.I do a lot of multimedia in sketchbooks, and this is one where I felt comfortable with the size, weight, and smoothness of the paper that I finished the whole sketchbook. I bought this in 2014 and am reviewing now because I was going through old sketchbooks, this is one of the few where I enjoyed working in it because it laid flat and I could easily do two-panel pieces or just a single page. The pages are warped in areas where I was not patient with my watercolors. I got mad at myself for having so many unfinished sketchbooks, but this is one that I am okay buying more of since I know I can do anything in it. Attached images show the use of ink, watercolor, gouache, acrylic, acrylic ink, ink, marker and pencil. I use it at home so I can't say anything other than it survives my backpack.

I like this notebook

Sketching and watercolor travel journal

Bought for a traveling watercolor painter. Great size for messenger bag. Paper quality and thickness is good.

Love it excellent book to work with watercolors and tracking, training strokes etc

Wonderful watercolour book that’s small enough to carry with you in any bag for any occasion. The paper quality is very nice and works well with the paint.

This is a really beautiful art journal. It's a bit pricey, but definitely a gorgeous journal for art work. The pages are heavy - great for watercolour with a bit of tooth. Absolutely lovely!

Love love love this sketchbook. The weight of the paper is perfect - a lot better than most watercolour books on the market. Will buy every time! The linen cover is also a wonderful touch.

It’s perfect for watercolours. Been looking for cold press sketchbook.

Good quality paper. Good for watercolour sketching. A great size for landscapes and easy to put in your pocket when out and about