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Washington DC travel sketches in pen & watercolor - ScratchmadeJournal.com

Washington D.C. Travel Sketches: A Sans Sketchbook Experiment

Tonya November 15, 2017

For sometime now, not even consciously, I’ve been slowly moving away from sketchbooks. Well okay, sort of.

I really love sketchbooks. Like, really. And I really love buying beautiful sketchbooks and trying new sketchbooks.

However, I’ve noticed that lately I will fill up about a fourth of a sketchbook and then default back to watercolor paper. This process has repeated itself so much that I’ve amassed a stack of partially used sketchbooks. This isn’t good for my budget or our tiny little rental house.

I’ve started to realize that as much as I love sketchbooks, I love watercolor paper even more.

I’m not even that crazy about blocks or pads. Instead, I really love the feel and performance of full sheets.

As I prepared for a recent family trip to Washington D.C., I sat down, sorted through, and cleared out my stack of partially used sketchbooks. As I did so, I tried to evaluate what my hangups might be or what might have changed and why I'm no longer finishing them. I could only come up with one, main reason.
 

I've gotten pickier.


When I first began sketching and painting, sketchbook paper didn't bother me. Neither did cheap brushes or paints. Back then, I had no experience with high-quality tools, so I couldn't recognize when something wasn't up to snuff. (Southern saying meaning up to standard.) Now I notice. And now the less-than-snuff stuff bugs me.

There are very few sketchbooks out there with artist-grade watercolor paper, even less with my preferred brand and type of watercolor paper. I can make do with sketchbook paper and easily look past a good sketchbook’s paper limitations, but I would prefer to not deal with those limitations at all.

I've considered stitch binding my own sketchbook, but I currently lack the patience and inclination to learn such a thing. (I even find it a chore to measure and cut watercolor paper. I usually just tear it into usable sizes.) I don't care for spiral binding so the copy shop idea is out. This post was probably as close as I'll ever get to a DIY sketchbook, and though I love the binder and use it at home, it turned out to be way too heavy for travel and field sketching.

I know. Picky. Picky.


My D.C. Sketching Kit

After a bit of soul searching, I decided to forgo my longstanding love affair with sketchbooks and pack small, individual sheets of watercolor paper for our trip to D.C. Since I often carry multiple sketchbooks, this plan turned out to be a much thinner, more lightweight way to travel.

My complete D.C. sketching setup is below, and you can read more about the pack and what I usually keep in it here.

Travel watercolor sketching kit - ScratchmadeJournal.com

Ingredients:

  • My beloved Tom Bihn backpack with Freudian Slip organizer
  • Thin plywood (Hubby DIY) for a drawing surface
  • Binder clips
  • Saunder's Waterford 90lb CP watercolor paper
  • Thin piece of plastic as a cover/protector (cut from an old notebook)
  • Ginometer (fantastic for urban sketching!)
  • Assorted pocket brushes
  • Woodward & Father travel palette stocked with 16 colors
  • No 2 Pencil & separate eraser, pencil sharpener, chip brush for cleanup, etc
  • White gel pen (these are the best!)
  • Platinum Preppy fountain pens in assorted nib sizes
  • 005 Micron pen
  • Collapsible travel cup

[List contains affiliate links.]


Washington D.C. Travel Sketches

I spent 5 days sketching and journaling our time together in and around D.C. All of my pages are below. (I removed a few minor details out of respect for others' privacy.) Below the gallery is my take-away from my Sans Sketchbook Experiment.

P.S. This isn't the first time I've sketched D.C. I have additional sketches from a past trip here.

Tip: Hover over the right or left arrows to stop the auto scroll.

DC Day 0 Journal Page ©ScratchmadeJournal.jpg
DC Day 1 Journal Page ©ScratchmadeJournal.jpg
DC Day 2 Journal Page ©ScratchmadeJournal.jpg
DC Day 3 Journal Page ©ScratchmadeJournal.jpg
DC Day 4 Journal Page ©ScratchmadeJournal.jpg
DC Day 0 Journal Page ©ScratchmadeJournal.jpg DC Day 1 Journal Page ©ScratchmadeJournal.jpg DC Day 2 Journal Page ©ScratchmadeJournal.jpg DC Day 3 Journal Page ©ScratchmadeJournal.jpg DC Day 4 Journal Page ©ScratchmadeJournal.jpg

The Pros:

- I loved, loved, loved using quality watercolor paper! Even 90 lb paper worked way better than normal sketchbook paper. Though my journaling pages are usually rough, quick, and don't always require watercolor paper, I was able to relax because I knew that it was there if I needed it.

- I liked working on flat sheets. A lot. Though I missed having a front/back/spread format, it was great to not have other pages or a binding in my way. I felt a sense of freedom from those irritations while journaling our travel days!

- I really liked the size of the paper, which is 7x10-inches (17.5x25.5 cm) or approximately a full sheet of watercolor paper cut into nine pieces. Since I don’t like to carry sketchbooks this large because of the weight, I’ve never used this size when traveling or field sketching. I found it perfect for recording a day of travel and really want to try out this size in the field.

Oh no! A cheap rollerball pen blew a fuse while sketching at the National Botanic Garden. It was the only one I had with me, so I pressed forward. I was glad I wasn't using a nice sketchbook!

Oh no! A cheap rollerball pen blew a fuse while sketching at the National Botanic Garden. It was the only one I had with me, so I pressed forward. I was glad I wasn't using a nice sketchbook!

The Cons:

- I miss the organization of a sketchbook. It hit me about Day 3 that I had left no margin space for a future binding, and now I have no idea what to do with my sketches! Before, they would have already been in a storage system (aka sketchbook). Now I just have loose sheets that really should be together, because one of the things I love about a sketchbook is the story that it tells.

- I missed the privacy of a sketchbook. I’ve learned to hold a sketchbook so no one can really see what I’m doing but me. Not so with single sheets! Paper on a clipboard doesn’t attract a crowd like an easel (thankfully!), but I was still a bit self-conscious. I couldn’t have handled this when I was a beginner, but I think I can deal with it now. Still, I missed my incognito sketchbook.

- I didn’t want to use my “good paper” for quick travel notes and on-the-go sketches. Sheesh, you’d think I could find a happy medium here, but I really struggled/struggle with this mindset. By Day 3, I had quit carrying paper and began toting around a small Tomoe River journal (in the photo above) for daily notes and quick sketches. Later that evening, I used those notes and sketches to compile my daily journal page. Old habits die hard!


Will I Stay Sans Sketchbook?

Beginning my D.C. travel journal our first night of arrival. Real watercolor paper makes A+ washes!

Beginning my D.C. travel journal our first night of arrival. Real watercolor paper makes A+ washes!

This experiment certainly isn't over. I really want to invest more in this idea and give myself a longer adaption period. Just like forming any new habit, all my Sans Sketchbook Experiment may need is time.

I may continue to carry individual sheets but also carry a thin journal that I use for quick sketches and notes. If I'm working on pages that I want to keep together, I'll have to learn to leave a margin for binding.

I think I'm onto something good if I can figure out how to make it work for me. Game on!

However, I'd rather be sketching & painting than spending inordinate amounts of time trying to figure out a setup.

If I can't adapt within a reasonable timeframe, I have my eye on this sketchbook at Ken Bromley (but oy vey that price!) or this more affordable spiral-bound version at Jackson's Art. If I don't enjoy the transition to single sheets, I plan to try one of these beauties or figure out a simple way to bind my own.

Back to the drawing board!

If you have any travel sketching tips, I’d love to hear them! Or share a picture of your travel or field kit in the comments below.


Available Artwork
Early Morning Light
Early Morning Light
52.00
Pink Peonies
Pink Peonies
42.00
Morning Light on the Marsh
Morning Light on the Marsh
43.00
Winter Woodland Scene 1
sold out
Winter Woodland Scene 1
34.00
Bethel Pond Road
sold out
Bethel Pond Road
40.00
A Waterfall Worth the Hike
sold out
A Waterfall Worth the Hike
44.00
White Breasted Nuthatch in the Cedar
White Breasted Nuthatch in the Cedar
45.00
January's Blue Moon Rising
sold out
January's Blue Moon Rising
38.00
Afternoon Light on Snow
sold out
Afternoon Light on Snow
38.00
Beaver Creek in Winter
sold out
Beaver Creek in Winter
37.50
Springtime in the Valley
Springtime in the Valley
50.00
Mist at Thunder Hill Overlook
Mist at Thunder Hill Overlook
70.00
He Thinks He's Camouflaged
He Thinks He's Camouflaged
48.00
September Sunset
September Sunset
50.00
The Magical Colors of Winter
sold out
The Magical Colors of Winter
36.00
Vineyard Overlook in the Autumn
sold out
Vineyard Overlook in the Autumn
36.00
Morning at Hillman's Farm
Morning at Hillman's Farm
38.00
Through Autumn Fields
Through Autumn Fields
44.00
Going with the Flow
Going with the Flow
93.00
Early Autumn on the Water
sold out
Early Autumn on the Water
36.00
Dusk Falls on the Farm
sold out
Dusk Falls on the Farm
36.00
Winter Solstice Moonscape
sold out
Winter Solstice Moonscape
40.00
Winter Woodland Scene 2
sold out
Winter Woodland Scene 2
36.00
In Journaling Tips, Urban Sketching, Sketching Tools Tags travel journal, papers, sketchbooks
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