“Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one’s sensations.” – Paul Cézanne
I’m writing this article for watercolor artists who have stumbled upon this site while searching for the best sketchbooks or art journals for practice or for painting outdoors. Before I dive into my list and discuss the pros and cons of my recommended watercolor journals, I’d like to share why I find them such a joy to have around as an avid sketcher and watercolor painter. But first, allow me to share this work by Robert Alejandro, the artist behind Papemelroti, that inspired me to bring my art journal with me everywhere I go:
Journals are for everyone, but I think most specially if you like watercolors a lot and likes to study how to sketch with it. So here are my top reasons why you should have one, whether you’re a beginner or a professional artist:
Why Watercolor Journals Are a Must-Have for Artists
- Instant Creativity Capture: With a watercolor journal, you can sketch whenever inspiration strikes. It’s like having a camera ready for a photographer. Even if you don’t complete the painting, you can capture how light hits your subject and how shadows shift with changing light and movement when you paint on-site.
- Developing a Daily Sketching Habit: Having a sketchbook that fits easily in your bag or pocket makes it simple to sketch daily. I learned to draw through practice, and trust me, I couldn’t draw anything to save my life before I got into watercolor art.
- Combining Writing and Sketching: I find as much fulfillment in writing as I do in sketching daily. Even writing a simple task list and doodling in my journal feels like an accomplishment. Plus, I tend to remember things better when I write or sketch them in my journal.
- Convenience for Outdoor Sketching: Journals are more accessible than loose sheets when sketching outdoors, providing a ready-made canvas that’s easy to manage in any environment.
- Perforated Pages for Flexibility: Some journals come with perforated sheets, allowing you to easily remove any page. This is perfect for framing a particular sketch or giving it away as a gift.
Journaling is a great way to get ideas out of your head and onto paper. It’s amazing how one idea always seems to lead to another and another. It’s a place where you can experiment with styles, with ideas, objectives and goals. – Charles Leon on The Joy of Journaling
For the watercolor journals, these are some of the ones I’ve tried and that came highly recommended for painting style by my friends who share the same love for watercolors. I will also include a link to shops where you can get them from the Philippines, otherwise, if you’re from another country, your local art stores should have them as well.
When it comes to art using any medium, Canson is a well-known brand for their acid-free papers designed to last a while. For watercolor beginners, I think the most affordable and most forgiving sketchbook to use when starting out with watercolors is Canson XL Watercolour. According to their website, it comes in spiral pads and books and mistakes can be easily corrected with sponge.
I have only personally tried the spiral notebooks in various sizes and I find the papers to be thick (300 GSM) and washes can be easily lifted off the paper when I make a mistake using a clean wet brush. What I love about this journal is that each page is microperforated below the spiral so you can easily remove a page. When I use this journal, I find that a maximum of 3 washes work best and the brush not too wet for detailing. With this paper, I tend to use my synthetic brushes for detailing and reserving my sable brush for the first wash, the wettest phase when painting with watercolor. Here’s a reel I posted on my Instagram account about one journal I was able to finish. Enjoy!
Baohong Journal
I interviewed fellow watercolorists to find out which journals they prefer for practicing, and out of the seven who responded to my survey yesterday, four mentioned the Baohong Journal as their top choice. One watercolorist specifically highlighted the hot-pressed paper for its smooth texture, ideal for detailed and realistic floral art, while the other three preferred the cold-pressed version for its versatility.
Beyond my survey group, I’ve noticed that professional watercolorists also favor Baohong papers for their artwork. This includes my painting mentor, Master Lito Ballaran, who has taught me and my classmates how to paint landscapes outdoors in San Pablo, Laguna. You can read more about our outdoor painting class in the blog post below:
Personally, I prefer using Baohong papers for practice because they are much cheaper than Arches. I enjoy painting on both papers because they can handle a lot of water but for commissioned work, I usually paint on Arches for final pieces. Since Baohong is made of 100% cotton, it’s perfect for multiple layers of paint. The paper is also forgiving as long as it’s wet, but once it dries, lifting off the paint becomes challenging in my experience.
Because it’s cotton paper, Baohong absorbs a lot of water, which means it takes some time for a painting to dry especially if multiple layers of washes were added. I usually leave my Baohong Journal page open overnight after finishing a piece to ensure it dries completely and to avoid smudging my work before closing my journal for storage.
For this post, I’m featuring one watercolorist who enjoys painting using a Baohong Journal:
Tokyo Finds journals are the most affordable ones in the Philippines today and they come in different sizes. One of my mentors in watercolor, teacher Beth Robles of Playcrafts Philippines, said she uses different sizes of the journals depending on which bag she carries when she goes out. Tokyo Finds Journals’ papers are 300 GSM thick, acid-free just like the two brands of journals mentioned earlier, and are made of wood pulp. Each page has a smooth and rough side. Personally, I use the smooth side mostly for swatching colors or painting loose florals and the rough side for painting landscapes because I like using dry brush techniques in painting this subject. I’ve also used Tokyo Finds for painting using gouache, poster paint, and thinned acrylic paints. Because these journals are made of wood pulp, watercolor behaves differently on this substrate compared to cotton papers so that’s one thing to keep in mind. I find Tokyo Finds journals similar in property to Canson XL Watercolor so I only paint a maximum of 3 washes on both.
Hahnemuhle Watercolor Book
Two of the watercolorists I interviewed mentioned this brand of sketchbook as one of their preferred choices. I can’t recommend this sketchbook enough myself! My A6-sized cotton sketchbook is exceptionally well-made—I’ve used multiple washes on it, and the spine has remained intact, a stark contrast to my Baohong journal, whose spine gave out easily after wetting just a few pages.
Additionally, the Hahnemuhle sketchbook handles multiple layers of washes beautifully, similar to Arches. Its pocket-friendly size makes it a personal favorite, and I often carry it with me when I go out, finding time to sketch between errands. Below is a slideshow of my most recent watercolor practice sketches in my Hahnemuhle sketchbook:
Another artist that I would like to feature because of her stunning artworks on watercolour journals is Chel Reyes of art.chelr on Instagram.
Handmade Journals by Art Mats Corner
I like supporting local artisans so I won’t end this article without promoting one artisan who got recently featured by an artist, Joly Poa or jolypoa on Instagram, which is Artmats Corner. It was through Joly that I found out about their handmade journals with leather cover. For a small fee, they can also add your name on the cover which is something I did not avail for now. I put my order through their Shopee store and messaged them via Instagram to mention that I want the same journal that Joly got since she mentioned that it’s made of artist grade papers (turned out to be Baohong, yay!). I also added mini journals for when I want to paint miniature art. I got my handmade journals after about a week as they only make them when orders come in, as it usually is with handmade goods. I’m happy with my order and can’t wait to fill the journals with my sketches, see the IG reel below to see how pretty they are:
So there you have it, these are my preferred watercolor journals that I personally swear by. If you’re curious about where to find them, here is a list of stores where you can purchase these fantastic sketchbooks:
- Giftbox, Inc. for Baohong Journal
- Pulp and Pigment for Canson XL Watercolor
- Hahnemuhle Watercolor Book
- Tokyo Finds Watercolor Journal
- Handmade Watercolor Sketchbooks by Art Mats Corner Philippines
Hope you find this article helpful!
Cheers,
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