Why did I buy a journal covered in mushrooms? In my head I am a minimalist but the things I buy tend to be maximalist. I also like mushrooms and this is a nice design by Merlin Sheldrake. The real reason I bought the journal was that I opened it and felt the paper. The paper is smooth with a little bit of texture and is a dream to write on. I have been using it to write my Artists Way morning pages which consist of three pages of anything, without fail, every day. The more I use the journal the more I like it. I always used to write in softback notebooks as I found them easier to write in. This has a lay flat binding which is holding up well.  I can't say if it is any good with fountain pens. My writing slopes backwards and most fountain pens can't cope with that. Instead I use Oxford Helix ballpoint pens. The journal has 160 lined pages, an elastic band to keep the journal shut, inside back cover pocket and 120gsm acid free paper. The journal was £9.99 in Waterstones. Mushr...

This is a review of Choosing Keeping's black watercolour paper, Aquarello Nero. It costs £20 for twenty sheets of 270g, 100% cotton, acid free Dutch paper. The size of the pad is 17 by 24cm.  "Aquarello Nero" watercolour pad, black paper – Choosing Keeping There is no information on Choosing Keeping's web site to say whether the paper is hot pressed, cold pressed or rough, so I had to wait and see. Once the paper arrived I was pleased to see that it was hot pressed, with a nice, smooth surface that makes it suitable for drawing as well as for watercolours. I did one sketch with a Faber-Castell medium Pitt pastel pencil which worked really well on this paper. I often find pastel pencils scratchy, but in this case it was really smooth to draw with. For the second sketch I used Nassau metallic pencils which have an oily or waxy texture and I liked how these worked on this paper, although the contrast was a bit low. I decided to do a watercolour using pearlescent watercol...

I have to say that I love these pencils. For a start, they look good. I like the contrast between the dark green body and gold lettering. More importantly, they are really smooth to draw with. A lot of pencils are gritty, but since using these I have not had a single instance where I have come across a harder bit of graphite that scratches the paper. The graphite cores don't break either. Evidently the graphite core is bonded with the wood surround which makes them very break resistant.  They don't produce dust when you draw with them so the drawing remains clean. They also erase well with a putty rubber and are easy to sharpen. They are great for fine detail and also blend well which makes them my go to pencils. When I use other pencils, then use these, the difference is marked. I just love them. Compared to the Conte a Paris they run lighter. In the comparison above the Faber-Castell 9000 are on the left and the Conte a Paris are on the right. This is the only disadvantage of...

Years ago I found a sample pack of Arches watercolour paper and loved it. I forgot about Arches paper until I was in a shop called Blank Canvas in Ossett near Wakefield.  I saw some Arches watercolour pads and blocks and obviously, I had to buy some. I bought a pad, a block and an expensive A1 sheet of 600g/m2   hot pressed paper.  The Arches hot pressed paper has become one of my favourite papers to draw on. It is 100% cotton, cylinder mould made paper with great archival qualities. It is gelatine sized to the core which makes it a very tough paper. This means that it erases well without causing any damage to the paper. It also means that it is not vegan. It is a lovely natural cream colour, which I like a lot, but if you prefer white paper, this may not be for you. There is a very slight texture that the pencil picks out when drawing, but I quite like this aspect of the paper. The texture becomes part of the drawing. I also find it to be quite a forgiving paper in ...