Strathmore 300 Series Visual Bristol Journal, 9"x12" Vellum, Wire Bound, 24 Sheets

I worked at the art supply store at my art college years ago, in the 90s. My school collaborated with a local paper company to put out a variety of school-brand sketchbooks. One of them was a spiral bound book, 11" x 14", with a heavy cover and back. And the paper was 100% cotton watercolor paper, 140 cold press. There were around 25 pages in them. They were the best sketchbooks, and an incredible buy. (I can't remember what they cost, but if I found them affordable as a student, they were not expensive.) I wish I had somehow been able to stockpile them and store them in an art supply bunker, but those sketchbooks are now a thing of the past.The next best thing to building a time machine, and going back to buy one of my alma mater watercolor sketchbooks, is buying one of these. Strathmore 460-19 500 Series Visual Mixed Media Journal, Vellum, 9"x12", White, 34 Sheets.These are my requirements for a good sketchbook: spiral binding, so I can fold the pages all the way back without them getting weird, and tear the pages out easily if need be. The paper needs to be 100% cotton so it will stand up to multiple eraser scrubbings and multiple water applications without pilling. It needs to be of a decent weight so it doesn’t tear under the erasing and water. It should have a generous amount of pages. It has to tolerate a variety of mixed media. And- it needs to be affordable.I work wet on wet a lot. I use water soluble graphite to draw the basic design, and have to do a lot of erasing because my drafting skills aren't the greatest. Then I go in with water-soluble chalk pastels, gouache, ink, more graphite, and sometimes acrylic paint and water soluble colored pencils. I spray the paper with water for wet on wet, and will spray the work in progress and sometimes rinse off as much of the image as I can, and then go back in and work on it some more. When its finished, I will spray the work with either Workable Fixatif or Crystal Clear to seal in the media. Or I will put on a layer or two of polymer medium. I like to keep the work in the book. I do put glassine between the pages. But the paper gets loaded with media, and layers, and plastic- and with the exception of a little tearing at the top or bottom of the page, the books stay intact.I don't know how the paper is sized, or have any other information on them. I just know they are amazing, and I'm happy they exist.Strathmore, if you are listening: I'd really love an 11" x 14" size of one of these.I highly recommend this sketchbook. Treat yourself to one. Under $20. 100% cotton paper. The paper makes a big difference, and won't quit on you, or pill, or tear. I have tormented the pages of these sketchbooks, and they keep their integrity. I'm really glad I found them.

I love this sketchbook. I had a bigger one in the past of this same brand and it was a great book as well. I didn't pay attention to size when I ordered this one so when I got it in the mail I was a little mad at myself lol It's 5×8 and I've never used anything this small. But it turned out to be a happy accident because I am totally in love with how the size lends itself to artists on the go.Usually I'm wrangling children and animals while trying to water sketch something to ink later and before, I always had to gravitate around a little art station at the table. With this book and a water brush (the kind you fill the handle with water) and an absorbent wrist band on my non dominant hand I can be on my feet walking around and still painting. Just have to stop in for a quick dip in my water cup when I want to use any clashing colors.It fits in my purse with a pencil case of pens and some brushes and would likely fit in most purses unless it's smaller than 5×8 lol The cover is hard and sturdy, does a great job at protecting the work inside. Some books seem to neglect the back cover and let it be flimsy but not with this one.And lastly but most importantly, the paper is good quality. It's not Arches but that isn't what I'm looking for in a sketchbook so I have no issue with this one. It takes a good amount of water to get it to fail, more than I expected for the price. It doesn't pill when blending which again shocked me considering the low price.When it comes to cons about this book, there aren't many. The pages do get a little warped if you dont press it with something heavy for a few days. I put mine under hand weights and it flattens out just fine. Overall I like this product and will continue to buy more as I need them.

The Strathmore sketchbook is a fairly portable size, making it a good choice for travel. Its spiral binding makes it quite comfortable to use, as you can fold it back without worrying about dirtying or damaging the adjacent pages.The paper is not completely white but has a slight beige tint, which is subtle and not overpowering. With a weight of 300gsm, it can withstand quite a bit of water. Although it isn’t made from cotton, it performs very very well. However, the back of the pages is less porous than the front, so sometimes water may slide off. I’ve found that using the back for gouache painting works well.Overall, it’s an affordable and comfortable sketchbook with decent quality paper.

Perfeito para aquarela: papel resistente a água, absorve bem a tinta, excelente mesmo.

Muy buena calidad, dibujar en este cuaderno con mis plumones es excelente. Gracias

Adorei! Porém não permite grandes aguadas.

Even though the paper is only 90 lbs but it is still better than 140 lb paper that is not 100% cotton for watercolour washes. I will buy this again.

This journal is awesome! I was concerned about the cover of the journal. But once I received it I noticed that it is just a paper cover that I removed.