Plumchester Review and the End of Sketchbook NUMERO Uno

OK - I am just going to STOP predicting items for my next post.  I just finished my first complete sketchbook journal and what a thrill it was to complete and go thru. How fun!  See my video below. I used the Stillman & Birn Alpha Softcover 5.5" x 8.5".  I really liked it and it handled all level of medium very well and did not seem too toothy although I did detect a bit of resistance to my Lamy Joy 1.1 nib, but not anything too much to put me off.  I also am not sure of the size, it was easy to carry and through into my bag, but it seemed too small for me, although at the beginner phase, it also did not overwhelm me to fill the page.

As I excited as I was to be committed to finishing this sketch book, I was even more excited to begin work in the Plumchester Sketchbook I purchased some time ago. I LOVE square format notebooks, my all purpose sketchbook is a square spiral bound and I have been using a square global arts watercolor book for my urban sketching.

So here are some shots of the book. Side note(as a vegan), I also love that it is NOT a leather cover and is vegan friendly. YEAH!  It is 8.3" x 8.3" and has 48 pages of 160 GSM pure white pages. It has an elastic band to keep it closed. and has a yellow page marker. It is $18 USD, which is pretty good compared to the Moleskin Art which is $20 for 7.5" x 7.5" 120 GSM with 88 pages and a soft cover.

I ADORE the paper - very smooth and silky to write on. Here is the first page. There is absolutely NO tooth on the paper and receives the Copic Multiliner SP pens like BUTTER. Just lovely. It also is nice to use pencil with, although the Palamino pencils seem to smear a bit.

There is a little bit of buckle to the watercolor page, but honestly no more than my Stillman and Birn Alpha. It handles best a light wash and even a wash of watercolor pencil just fine(see sketch below).  I did find that my Lamy Joy 1.1 nib and other fountain pens seem to absorb almost a little too much and it does seem that it is hard to control the line of the fountain pen width as a result of the way it absorbs into the page.

 I did use a COPIC sketch marker to outline and to fill in the sketch above and as you can see below,  it bled through to the other side... it did not migrate to another page though.

All in all, though this is a fun sketchbook and I am hoping that it will continue to serve me well. I look forward to using it as my daily sketch journal. I am also taking a Creative Lettering course in Sketchbook Skool, so I am looking forward to using it as I finish that and as I take the Urban sketching Kourse!