After finishing my last watercolour sketchbook, I went on the hunt for a new, fresh one. The last time I bought a watercolour book, I just got the cheapest thing I could find, but with my experience now, I realize that the type of paper can make a big difference in the outcome of the painting. I found mine at the UVIC bookstore. I chose one with cold-pressed paper and smaller pages so that I could focus on filling the pages with landscapes.

When I brought it home and set myself up to paint, I immediately felt nervous. The blank pages felt threatening. I felt that old fear of not marring such a nice book with ugly paintings. So my new sketchbook sat empty for many days. I know this is a common anxiety for anyone doing something artistic. A blank page has an equal opportunity to be beautiful and horrible, a blank sketchbook all the more. But if I think of it like this, it becomes easier: my last sketchbook was once blank, and the first painting there is horrible, but now it stands as a catalogue of my progress. This could be that as well.

Finally, I was forced to action by a friend. We were doing our regular craft and podcast night, and with her there, I couldn’t avoid painting anymore.

The reference I picked was actually taken from a photo of Denmark on one of my friend’s Instagram accounts (obviously, I can’t share that here, haha).

I loved painting on this new paper. Everything sat differently, so it was a bit of a learning curve, but it felt so smooth in comparison. It even photographed better!