Comfort Food
I was about 10% of the sketchbook I started earlier this month when I decided I needed more exercise using the mini watercolor palette I used for outdoor painting. The most obvious solution was to use the same sketchbook I put in my bag to use alongside this palette, but that book was not suitable for full wet-in-wet. My current home sketchbook is composed of 110 gsm black paper, intended to wean myself off watercolors and a bit more towards pencils and acrylic markers... at this point I accepted that I was just looking for an excuse to have a watercolor doodlebook again.
So I got one of these mini sketchpads lying around, slightly smaller than my travel sketchbook, about A7 in size. I told myself it was still a good exercise to get used with the travel sketchbook without actually using that sketchbook... I said I didn't see myself doing miniature paintings but honestly I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed this mini pad. It is only 12 sheets and I've done three. Very quick to wash. and the small size makes it easier to do cleaner lineworks. Initially, I bought the pad to test the paper because the full size was really expensive. This is a size I can afford. It really is a lovely paper, but stepping up is a luxury right now and apparently I'm content as is. I would just replace this when it runs out, keep it on my nightstand. No, I'm not going even smaller. I wish it has a sturdier cover and a band to keep it close, but easy enough to make with fabric scraps.
This addition makes me a bit conscious of the number of books I have going at the same time, but I also like being able to flit around as my mood dictates. They're all different sizes too, so technically they warrant different use cases anyway. We'll see if my feelings change at the end of the current travel sketchbook, but I think I want one with heavier paper next time.
At home, where I could paint without being so conscious about it, I could explore the palette to my heart's content. When it's time to top up the paint, I might get different set of colors, but they're perfectly functional out of the box. It reacts to water very well, bleeding beautifully at the slightest touch. So reactive in fact, that I've begun to track my water usage more closely. Sometimes I spritz way too close and get pools instead of fine mist.
When I started painting more regularly, I didn't set my sight on improving. However, the mere act of picking a brush almost every day did give me better control on my lines. I could now do linework with a brush, and no longer afraid of small areas. Will take that as a win. It's difficult enough to find a reason to wake up in the morning these days, we'll take all the wins.