Above: The progression from a journal thumbnail to a finished painting (shown later in this post). In the journal pictured above (which happens to be a Rag and Bone 8 x 10.5 inch journal) you'll see a thumbnail sketch of a bird flying out of an odd pipe. (Top of the journal's right-hand page.) Years after sketching this thumbnail I enlarged it with the photocopier (black and white enlargement behind the journal), did some color studies and tests (left, loose sheet), and when partially finished I scanned the painting, printed it out and used an acetate overlay to add details to the bird (right loose sheet). Click on the image to view an enlargement.
Monday, July 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. the Minnesota Center for Book Arts Journal Collective will meet to share ways the members have used their journals as inspiration for other artworks.
Left: Expulsion, the finished painting I made from the thumbnail in the journal shown above. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
Join us this Monday for a lively discussion on the journal as an art workbook and tool for idea generation, experimentation, and process record keeping. The meeting is free and open to the journal-keeping public. Everyone is encouraged to bring two or three examples of journal pages that have inspired a finished artwork that stands outside the journal, and also the finished artwork. It should be a lively discussion celebrating creativity. Share your insights. Explore new ways to use your journal. Whether you have been keeping a journal for years, are just starting your journal, or are an artist looking for new tools, come and share some inspiration.
Members participating in the Altered Book Journal Round Robin will also be bringing their journals to swap. The journals will be on hand for you to check the progress in this group project.
Note: Rag & Bone Bindery makes excellent blank journals. I used their 8 x 10.5 inch blank books for my daily visual journals in 2000. They no longer make that size book, but do make a slightly smaller book. The paper is excellent for mixed media.
So are Rag & Bone Bindery journals in the running for journals you'll use when you can no longer make your own?
Posted by: Carol C. | July 19, 2009 at 09:05 AM
Rag & Bone journals would certainly be books I'd use again when I stop binding—even though the current size they make isn't my favorite size. I'd learn to live with that!
Posted by: Roz | July 19, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Thanks Roz for the kind words! We'll let you know if we make the larger size again! (Might be soon... *wink* )
Posted by: Jason Thompson | July 19, 2009 at 11:50 AM
I've found the Rag & Bone journals hard to use with wet media, esp. watercolors and gouache. I put some gesso on the pages but still don't like how it responds. It disappointed me because I was so looking forward to using the ones I bought. I do love the deckled edge and the whole look of them. I guess I'll just use them for dry media. Didn't you find the paper just soaked up the color and made pushing the color around hard to do? Could it be different paper now? I wish they's come out with a specific W/C journal.
Posted by: Suzanne Popalardo | July 19, 2009 at 04:57 PM
Jason, that's exciting news!
Posted by: Roz | July 19, 2009 at 06:13 PM
Suzanne, your comment caught me by surprise. I have never had any problem at all with wet media on the Rag and Bone Journals. In fact they are one of the few commercial journals that could stand up to what I like to do in a journal.
Gouache, no problem, watercolor, no problem. Pearl X using either Gum Arabic or arylic as a medium, no problem. Neocolor II's used heavily and washed with water, no problem. Acrylics and acrylic inks, gessos, no problem.
I don't use a lot of water when working on non-watercolor paper, but still, I use these mediums wet.
If you go to http://www.rozworks.com/misc.html you'll see the first 16 images are almost all from Rag & Bone journals. (There is one image in there that clearly isn't and some images that have multiple journals in them, but it's pretty clear.)
You'll even see pages where I painted with watercolor as watercolor, and not simply a background.
I do work very quickly, and I do control my water, so that might be part of the difference.
Since I don't often bind my own books with watercolor paper, I'm also accepting of the paper not acting like watercolor paper.
I've got so many friends who used them (until they stopped making them for awhile) for wet media of all kinds and were dying to know where to get the paper so they could keep making them on their own!
I think it must be different approaches. The site says they are using the same paper. I'll write to Jason and ask.
I'm sorry you're having difficulty. It just goes to show what I've always maintained, that individuals ultimately have to try things out!
Posted by: Roz | July 19, 2009 at 06:26 PM
Well Roz, I'll have to get one of those books out and experiment again. I know it's not watercolor paper so that was expected, but I've used wet media on other papers that weren't w/c and liked how it flowed. Could be I use too much water since I also got a little bleed-through. In any case, they certainly are nice journals and I'm going to give them another shot. If you've been happy using them it must be me expecting miracles or most likely, not doing it right! An expert I'm not!
As usual, thank you for your wealth of info, always so generously given. I got lost for a little while looking at your various journals again.
A while ago, I did try sending Rag & Bone a letter requesting watercolor paper journals, but for some reason it wouldn't send so I gave up. Maybe Jason will read this and think about it?
Posted by: Suzanne Popalardo | July 19, 2009 at 10:31 PM
Suzanne, I'm glad you're going to give them another go. It's not a matter of being expert, just finding a way to meld your handling of materials to the paper at hand. It might be that in doing that it isn't fun for your because it takes you away from your usual working method—in which case it would be better to just use dry media. But I'm glad, as I said you're going to give them another try. I only ever had one problem with anything bleeding through and that was a toner transfer (which I don't do very often because of the acetone, but wanted to do for some reason on a particular spread…).
When working with watercolor are you using a regular sable brush, a squirrel mop, or a Niji? Experiment with which one will let you control the water is the easiest manner for how you mix your paints. When I'm doing details I will hold the base of my brush near the ferrule (sp?) against a paper towel to suck out excess moisture but leave in pigment, which is at the front of the brush.
Depending on which watercolors you're using you might also want to switch to a brand that rewet really quickly and vibrantly so that you can pick up a lot of color without much water. I like Daniel Smith and M. Graham watercolors for these reasons.
Also, when you sit down to sketch, spray your pan watercolors with water (carry a small spray bottle—Holbein makes one that's about 3 inches long and only as fat as a large marker) so that they can soften up a bit when you are sketching and be ready to go when you are ready to paint. Again, you'll need to use less water.
And use the BIGGEST brush you can. I tend to work with a size 10 brush when I'm working in something 8 x 10 inches or less. A good brush which can come to a good point. The larger brush size helps you get the watercolor around much more quickly in fewer strokes.
If you keep working in an area of wet paper, any wet paper that isn't watercolor paper (and even some watercolor papers!) you're going to get some bleed through to the other side. So let your paper dry before you start adding the other layers. It will also prevent, or minimize, pilling when working on a non-watercolor paper.
Ha–work fast and then wait.
Good luck with your experiments!
Posted by: Roz | July 20, 2009 at 10:37 AM
Hi Roz,
I've been slapping paint around in one of my Rag & Bones. I do use M.Graham gouache (dried tube paint and sprayed with water from my mini-mister) and Schmincke pan colors, also sprayed before use. I use a size 6 sable most of the time. It seems to be the one I grab despite having a million to choose from so it must be my true love.
The funny thing is that the worse bleed-through I got was wetting my Caran D'Ache watersoluble crayon scribblings and I didn't think I added all that much water!
Despite using such good watercolors with rich color the best effect was from the gouache paint....it stayed deep and didn't lose color. I guess I use much too much water so I'll have to work on that, as you've suggested.
The bottom line is, I guess I like working on true watercolor paper for wet media, where the paint flows. I have a hard enough time getting things to look right without fighting the paper too! You have no idea the amount of books I've begun painting in only to find I hate the paper.
On your suggestion a while back I ordered a Kunst & Papier journal. I found I liked it so much that I ordered 2 more, because it never fails....I like something and the next I know it's gone. The paper is sturdy enough for mixed media and being a real w/c paper, I don't have to fight it. So, thanks for that recommendation!
I also ordered a couple of the Venezia sketchbooks and I've been gessoing and prepainting the pages of one of them and I'm happy with that book too. I have enough books to keep me busy into the next century. I know you're going to suggest binding my own, but honestly, I have so many pans in the fire I can't try to learn another craft in this lifetime anyway...not that I haven't bought books lately on how to bind! Besides blank journals, art supplies and all the paints ever manufactured, I love books and I think I'm single-handedly keeping Amazon going.
Again, thanks for the help you give and the patience you show!
Posted by: Suzanne Popalardo | July 21, 2009 at 03:16 PM
Suzanne, Thanks for the detailed reply. I am first of all as surprised as you were about the Neocolor II watersoluble crayons causing bleeding through the page. I wonder if you did multiple layers? Or maybe worked the page with a lot of brushwork to get the paint to dissolve? That would break down the surface and cause the paint to seep in, in a way that simply painting with watercolor wouldn't. I bet that's what happened. We need to video tape you working!
I'm so glad you like the Kunst & Papier watercolor sketchbooks. This must mean that the smell of the paper (which I noted) doesn't bother you at all!! And that's fabulous. (Recently I gave one of those books away and the recipient has noticed the smell but doesn't find it off-putting either.)
I love it when people find books that work for them!
I think you will really like the Venezia's.
I love it when people bind their own books, but I'm realistic about expecting people to, i.e., I don't. I'd much rather people fill books and sketch, if they have to make a choice, and you say you need to.
I would suggest, since you've decided not to bind in this lifetime that you stop spending money on books on binding (unless of course I write one!) and use that money to buy more books to fill, and more art supplies to fill them!
Posted by: Roz | July 21, 2009 at 04:43 PM