This is the Still Life one, 9 x 14 cm, blank pages on 140gsm acid free paper. Genuinely pocket sized. It clears a jacket pocket and the side sleeve of almost any bag, which is the whole argument for this one. The cover is a dark, jewel-toned reproduction, mostly black and deep red. The one that actually leaves the house, from Royal Talens in the Netherlands.

★ ART SHED STAFF TIP

Run the elastic under the back cover while you are working rather than around the whole book. It stops the band pressing a dent across the pages you have not used yet.

Perfect for

Urban sketchingTravel journalField studiesGiftPocket carryOn the move

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 9 x 14 cm you get a few lines of notes or one quick thumbnail per page.

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 9 x 14 cm

What media does the 140gsm paper take?

Pencil, graphite, charcoal, pastel, crayon, ink, gouache and acrylic, plus light washes of watercolour. At 140gsm it will cockle if you flood it, so treat wet work as a light touch rather than a proper wash. For real watercolour you want 300gsm.

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.

Will it fit in a pocket?

Yes. At 9 x 14 cm it clears a jacket pocket and most back pockets, and it slides into the side sleeve of almost any bag. That is the entire reason this size exists.

How many pages do you get?

Eighty sheets, so 160 sides. At a page a day that is most of a working year.

Is the paper acid free?

Yes. Royal Talens specifies acid free paper across the Art Creation range, which means the sheets will not yellow and go brittle with age. If you are keeping finished books on a shelf, that matters more than it sounds.

Where can I buy Talens Art Creation books in Australia?

Right here. Art Shed is an Australian family owned art supplies retailer shipping the Art Creation range Australia wide from local stock, so there is no overseas wait and no international freight. You can also buy over the counter at our Melbourne store in Moorabbin or our Brisbane store in West End.

(NU9314251M)

SKU NU9314251M
Barcode # 8712079516390
Brand Royal Talens
Shipping Weight 0.1750kg
Shipping Width 0.050m
Shipping Height 0.050m
Shipping Length 0.050m

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