The one for people who think in shapes rather than lines. The square is the interesting one. There is no implied top and bottom the way there is on a portrait page, so a spread reads as one wide field rather than two tall columns. This one comes with blank pages on 140gsm acid free paper, 80 sheets of it, behind a hardbound in a dark, jewel-toned reproduction, mostly black and deep red. Made by Royal Talens, who have been making artists materials in the Netherlands since 1899.

★ ART SHED STAFF TIP

Test your worst pen on the inside back cover before you start, not on page one. Every paper has a limit and you want to meet it somewhere you do not care about.

Perfect for

Urban sketchingTravel journalField studiesGiftSquare formatComposition

The cover: a 370 year old bouquet

The cover is Jan Davidsz. de Heem's Still Life with Flowers in a Glass Vase, painted some time between 1650 and 1683 and hanging in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Look properly and it is not a still life at all. There is a garden snail near the bottom right, a butterfly at the top left, and a spider on a thread. De Heem filled his bouquets with things that were quietly eating them.

What the paper will and will not do

One hundred and forty grams is the number that decides what you can do in here. It is roughly double ordinary notebook paper, which means pencil, charcoal, pastel, ink, gouache and acrylic all sit on it without the page giving up, and a fountain pen will not print through to the other side. Light washes of watercolour are fine. Flood it and it will cockle, because this is a drawing paper, not a watercolour block.

The stock is a warm cream white rather than a bright white, which cuts glare under artificial light and gives coloured pencil somewhere softer to sit. At 12 x 12 cm you get a composition with room left around it.

What you are actually getting

Paper

80 sheets, 160 sides, 140gsm acid free, in a warm cream white

Pages

Blank, no ruling at all

Cover

Rigid hardbound cover, a dark, jewel-toned reproduction, mostly black and deep red

Fittings

Elastic closure band and a bound-in ribbon bookmark. No back pocket on this range

Questions about the Still Life sketchbook in 12 x 12 cm

Will fountain pen or marker bleed through?

Fountain pen and fineliner, very unlikely at 140gsm, which is roughly double ordinary notebook paper. Alcohol markers will go through almost any uncoated paper, so test on the inside back cover first.

Is the paper white or cream?

A warm cream white rather than a bright white. It cuts glare under artificial light and gives coloured pencil and ink a slightly softer ground to sit on.

How big is 12 x 12 cm in the hand?

Smaller than people expect from the number, roughly the footprint of a CD case. It is a carry size rather than a desk size, and it still opens to a 24 cm wide spread.

Can I get this in other sizes?

Yes. The Art Creation range runs from this pocket size up through 13 x 21 cm and 21 x 30 cm, in a spread of cover colours, so you can keep the same paper and step up in size.

Is this a good gift for someone who draws?

It is one of the safer ones, because it does not commit them to a medium. The paper takes pencil, ink, charcoal and pastel, and the size decides how it gets used rather than the book telling them what to do.

Do you ship Australia wide?

Yes, Australia wide from Australian stock, which is why orders move in days rather than weeks. Art Shed is family owned and Australian run, with stores in Moorabbin in Melbourne and West End in Brisbane if you would rather handle one first.

(NU9314254M)

SKU NU9314254M
Barcode # 8712079516420
Brand Royal Talens
Shipping Weight 0.2000kg
Shipping Width 0.050m
Shipping Height 0.050m
Shipping Length 0.050m

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