{"id":58,"date":"2014-02-24T21:10:36","date_gmt":"2014-02-24T21:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/?p=58"},"modified":"2016-08-14T21:20:45","modified_gmt":"2016-08-14T21:20:45","slug":"sketchy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/?p=58","title":{"rendered":"Sketchy"},"content":{"rendered":"

I sketch every day when I travel. \u00a0I draw on the backs of postcards I send to my family, and I draw in sketchbooks.<\/p>\n

I have particular preferences. I want paper of sufficient weight (so pen and ink won\u2019t bleed through), and a bit of texture, or tooth. I like spiral binding, so each page can lay flat, not bowed up.\u00a0Toned paper in a warm tan works best with a variety of mediums –\u00a0 graphite, ink pens, charcoal, earth toned Cont\u00e9 crayons, http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cont%C3%A9\u00a0\u00a0 <\/a>and white chalk for highlights.<\/p>\n

I can fit stubs of pencils, Cont\u00e9 and chalk, a small sharpener and a kneaded eraser http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kneaded_eraser<\/a> inside an old plastic cassette tape cover.\u00a0 It slips under the heavy rubber band that keeps the sketchbook closed.Compact, handy and works like a charm. In years past the other requirement is that the dimension of the sketchbook be small enough to fit into my Longchamps mini-backpack.<\/p>\n

The sketchbooks that get the most use are made by Cachet. http:\/\/www.bindersart.com\/paper-pads\/sketch-paper-pads\/xl-sketch-pads.html\u00a0 <\/a>I\u2019ve tried other variations, but I\u2019m the Goldilocks of sketchbooks; they are too big\/too small\/too hard\/too soft – or just right. See below.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_6930\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Clockwise from top\u00a0 1. Bought in Vienna – love that red and a nice elastic closure, but the paper is so thin you can see a pencil mark through it and blindingly while. 2. Lovely gift book with heavy, handmade, deckle-edged paper, hand stitched in a leather cover, but it’s unwieldy and weighs a ton. 3. My first sketchbook, a classic moleskine, well used and well-loved, but teeny tiny.\u00a0 4.Toned paper, a comfortable size, but the spine has to be cracked for it to lie flat.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_6931\"<\/a>T<\/p>\n

My favorite sketchbooks (postcards on left for scale). Toned paper with a hint of texture, spiral binding, sturdy and lightweight. Note cassette tape box with pencils, crayons, eraser and sharpener.<\/p>\n

This trip I wanted to try a larger sketchbook. What held me back was the transportation issue. \u00a0I considered tying cord to the ends of the wire spiral so I could sling it over my shoulder, until Robert pointed out it would bend the wire. Then I came across a lightweight, waterproof, sturdy satchel with\u00a0 adjustable shoulder strap and a single pocket inside that perfectly fits a 9×12″ toned, spiral bound sketchbook.\u00a0 I felt like I had struck gold. The graphic pattern works with the wardrobe I have planned for this trip (black and pewter with pops of\u00a0Schiaparelli pink) . Eureka!<\/p>\n

\"IMG_6927\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"IMG_6926\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I sketch every day when I travel. \u00a0I draw on the backs of postcards I send to my family, and I draw in sketchbooks. I have particular preferences. I want paper of sufficient weight (so pen and ink won\u2019t bleed through), and a bit of texture, or tooth. I like spiral binding, so each page […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[19,3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-58","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-madrid","7":"category-preparation","8":"entry","9":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s7OBxc-sketchy","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions\/64"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}