Paper Pleasures

 

3/18/21 Iroshizuku Yama-budo ink, Cd'A Museum Aquarelle pencils and Boku-Undo
sumi watercolor on various Legion Stonehenge papers

As you know, I always enjoy trying out new art materials and tools, but paper is one category I’m less apt to experiment with willy-nilly. Although paper is an integral part of the art medium equation, as an urban sketcher, I have other factors to consider besides the paper quality itself that may require tradeoffs: Most critically, the sketchbook size and format. Even if I fell in love with a particular paper, if I didn’t like the book it came in, it might be a deal-breaker. It’s been two years since I stopped hand-binding my sketchbooks, so I generally don’t consider unbound papers anymore.

I’m working on a review of the Legion Stonehenge paper sampler set for the Well-Appointed Desk, and it’s giving me a fun paper-testing fix that I don’t give myself often. All of the papers seem high-quality and mixed-media friendly, which makes the testing all the more pleasurable. As I test, my favorite Stillman & Birn books are my personal yardstick against which all other papers are measured. An unbound Legion paper or a sketchbook containing Legion paper would have to leap high to reach that (metaphorically mixed) bar. I hope I don’t fall in love with any sample, or it will throw me into a new paper tizzy (I haven’t had one of those since I returned from the Netherlands nearly two years ago!).

On the other hand, I must remind myself that I still use plenty of paper at home and in the (real and virtual) classroom regularly, so portability is not always a factor. I wouldn’t hesitate to spring for a fresh pad of unbound paper if it was the right paper. My mind is open.

The Legion samples are 2 ½ by 3 ¾ inches, so these tiny paper pads are stretching my sketch-scaling muscles. Fortunately, my trusty head of garlic fits just right.