Iris Impressions

It is not a secret that I love art journals and can never have enough. So in this series I am reviewing all the art journals that I have used over the years. Some are firm favourites that I buy again and again, some have their quirks and some are straight up don’t-buys. Keep reading to find out more about:

Seawhite of Brighton Sketchbooks & Journals

Seawhite of Brighton is a brand that encapsulates a range of art supplies. They are most well known for being super affordable and creating paper that stands up to wet media. In this review I’m focusing on the ‘Starter Stapled Sketchbooks’, although as far as I know the paper used across the range of sketchbooks is the same, it’s just the binding & format that differs.

Look & Feel

It looks cheap & cheerful. Very simple, kind of like a school notebook but unruled. The cover comes in several different colour options.

Binding

As the name suggests, the binding is created with staples. Two staples hold one signature of paper together. Using staples for binding feels cheap, and yet I can’t fault it. While working in this journal I’ve never wished for different binding or found it was lacking in some way. There is some bleeding due to the binding, but it’s not much different from journals that are bound differently or more expensively (I have yet to find a journal that doesn’t bleed through the spine).

Paper Quality

The website describes the paper as ‘140gsm all-media cartridge paper, extra wet strength’. It’s the extra wet strength that is important. The paper definitely stands up better than other paper with a similar weight. I’d usually recommend going to at least 200gsm for heavy or wet mixed media use, but this journal can take it up to a point. The paper quality is surprising for the price point and the weight, but it does have a tipping point.

Availability

This is a UK made journal and is widely available in the UK and as far as I know they are also well stocked in mainland Europe.

Price

The first time I saw the price on this journal my eyed about popped out of their sockets, it was £1.25 (about $1.90) for the A5 size. What??? It makes this journal incredibly affordable, a no brainer.

The Verdict

The price is the biggest deciding factor in my love for this journal. It’s so ridiculously cheap, it makes me much more forgiving than I would be of a more expensive journal. I can get loads of these, experimenting with sizes, without feeling guilty. I’m always pleasantly surprised at the decent quality. Having said that, the paper does pill if you keep going at it and there is a fair amount of buckling (which I personally don’t mind because I just flatten the pages afterwards). Due to its size it’s a great journal to take with you and because it has a low number of pages (40) it’s satisfying to be able to fill up a journal quickly!

Overall it is not ‘the best’ journal for me, but because of price in relation to quality it’s one I buy again and again, definitely a staple (har har, see what I did there?).

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have reviewed.

If you’ve used Seawhite of Brighton journals yourself and would like to share your opinion please do leave a comment below!

It is not a secret that I love art journals and can never have enough. So in this series I am reviewing all the art journals that I have used over the years. Some are firm favourites that I buy again and again, some have their quirks and some are straight up don’t-buys. Keep reading to find out more about:

The Dylusions Journal by Ranger

This is the journal developed by Dyan Reaveley from Dylusions and is said to be specifically suitable for using the Dylusions spray inks with. I bought the large size a while back to do some Life Book lessons in, and more recently bought the smaller one as it fits nicely in my handbag and was also on the supply list for Art Journal Summer School.

Look & Feel

This is a very pretty art journal. A lot of thought has obviously gone into the design. I love the brown cover and the way it has an elastic strap to keep it closed. It also has an envelope inside to keep small bits in.

Binding

The cover is separate from the ‘notebook’ that is actually glued inside. This means that you can open the journal flat rather than having to bend the spine. In the big version of the art journal I’ve had some issues with the binding with the area of paper near the spine getting quite weak (& tearing) when the paper is wet. There is bleeding through to other pages if you use wet media near the spine.

Paper Quality

The large version comes with two types of paper (the signatures alternate between the different paper types): manila cardstock and matte white heavy cardstock. The smaller journal has the white cardstock throughout. The paper is nice and smooth. When turning the pages you get a feeling they are quite thin. I like to work with a lot of wet & heavy media and I don’t feel the paper is quite a match for that. Especially in the bigger journal the pages are prone to tearing near the spine if you use wet media. The paper is also prone to pilling if you don’t use a layer of gesso or acrylics beforehand.

Availability

This journal is fairly unique in that it has good availability both in the US and the UK. Hurrah!

Price

The price is reasonable but not cheap. I feel like you’re paying over the odds to get a nice design and the Ranger/Dylusions brand name, but the overall quality could be better. The smaller journal feels worth it to me, but the bigger journal is expensive. If you’re in the UK and looking for an A4 journal I’d spend the extra £8 to get a Roberson’s Sketchbook instead.

The Verdict

The elastic band is prone to snapping. This has happened to my big journal and I’ve heard a lot of people mention the same thing. It’s not a big deal, but it does feel like a design flaw seeing as it seems to happen to a high percentage of journals. If you’re a very heavy mixed/wet media user then this might not be the journal for you due to the paper not really holding up to it. For more light mixed media use this is a good journal, and the paper does make the Dylusions inks look nice and bright. I’d rate the big journal slightly lower (more like a 6.5/10) and I won’t be getting another one of those. I will most likely get the small journal again.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have reviewed. This post contains affiliate links to art courses that I recommend.

If you’ve used the journals yourself and would like to share your opinion please do leave a comment below!

It is not a secret that I love art journals and can never have enough. So in this series I am reviewing all the art journals that I have used over the years. Some are firm favourites that I buy again and again, some have their quirks and some are straight up don’t-buys. Keep reading to find out more about:

Roberson Watercolour Sketch Books

This is currently my go-to art journal when I want to work big (A4 or A3). You may have heard of this journal via Tamara Laporte from Willowing.org who also recommends this as one of her favourite art journals.

Look & Feel

This feels like a serious art journal and is quite heavy. It’s quite no-frills with no indication anywhere on it what brand it is or what it is made of! For a few years I didn’t even know the name of this elusive journal. The colour of the covers and spine indicates what type and weight the paper is. This journal comes in A5 (landscape), A4 & A3 (portrait).

Binding

It has a robust thick cardboard cover with a linen strip on the spine. The binding is really solid: I am a heavy mixed media user in my journals and it stays together really nicely. When you open it the pages don’t quite lie flat and once you get to the final pages there can be a bit of a ‘drop’ between the left and the right page. There is some bleeding through the binding from one page to the other corresponding page in the same signature if you use very wet media.

Paper Quality

This journal comes in different paper types and weights. I really like hot pressed (smooth) watercolour paper so I have used the 300gsm (black cover with green spine) and 190gsm (green cover with black spine). The thicker paper is excellent for heavy mixed media use, but it is very rigid. The thinner paper also stands up extremely well to mixed media and lends itself a bit more to leafing through the book. The 190gsm version has more pages than the 300gsm (54 vs 34) so by the time the journal is full the one with more pages will probably ‘fan out’ quite a bit wider.

I have been told that these journals are made from Saunders Waterford paper. This paper is quite smooth (not as smooth as some other HP watercolour paper I’ve used) and extremely robust. It takes all sorts of media very well, there is some curling while working wet but it can be straightened/pressed when dry. It also stands up to more abrasive application of paint: brayering, scrubbing etc. The paper stays put and doesn’t rub off.

Availability

Update 21-Feb-21: Unfortunately this journal has been discontinued and is no longer available. However, the paper (Saunders Waterford) is widely available and could be used to make your own journal.

So far I have only heard of this this journal being sold in the UK and it’s a bit hit & miss with regards to where you will find it locally. Smaller (fine) art shops are more likely to stock it than bigger stores. In London you can buy it at Cornelissen (Bloomsbury) and Shepherds (Victoria), they also sell them online. You can do a Google search for ‘Roberson Watercolour Book‘ to find more options to buy.

Price

In terms of absolute cost this is an extremely expensive art journal. Prices range from approx £22 ($34) for the A5 book to nearly £50 ($78) for the A3. However, they are definitely worth that money due to the good binding and absolutely superb paper quality.

The Verdict

I love this art journal. It is probably one of my favourites ever. The fact that I have filled one and have bought the same one again should be a testament to that. For me the only places it is not ideal is in terms of format (I’d love an A5 portrait orientation one – unfortunately the A5 only comes in landscape) and price. If you can/want to afford this journal you will not be disappointed.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned.