When the USPS says it costs $2.12, I got $2.12.

Finally finished the last of my little Mokeskine Cahiers 3-pack on the D train this morning. I think I’m ready for a break from those.

Three more 18”x24” urban sketch acrylics, these all done around the Meat Packing District on May Day. They are up along with most of the last batch (minus a couple that sold) at ‘sNice Soho (150 Sullivan Street between Houston and Prince) for the month of May. After that, my ‘sNice world tour continues onto their West Village location for June. Hopefully will make some more new ones for that; that place has some looooong walls.

Big thanks to Mike ‘sNice for booking me three months in a row like this!

(And yes, at some point I will have better photos of these all for you to see.)

Q & A

Anonymous asks: “Jason, can you recommend a nice sketch book; I like sketch paper that has a little texture, that's not just totally slick paper. I'd like the book to be able to open flat (but I'm left handed and don't like large ring binders. ) I just bought two sketchbooks from Barnes/Noble today; great fiber paper, but my gouache leaks through on both of them. I'm quite aggravated! Your sketches are great; explosive and exciting! Ceci Neustrom, Lafayette , LA”

Thanks for asking the first question here, Ceci!

Short answer: No.

Medium answer: I can’t imagine anyone being too unhappy with Holbein “Multi-Drawing” books. (they have a small spiral, perforated pages, excellent paper, come in many sizes, and are delightfully designed)

Long answer: 

Your first step should be to go to an art supply store and feel all the books. Hopefully you’ll find a few that feel nice and aren’t too expensive. Do look for books meant for artists (not just notebooks), and perhaps books that claim to at least be able to accept a light wash. (Though I have done plenty of watercolor on paper that wasn’t meant for it; as long as it’s sturdy enough, the worst that will happen is buckling.)

I’ve yet to find any one type of paper or sketchbook that’s worth being faithful to. This may be more about me than anything else; I am really not a creature of habit. And I always have multiple books going at once, which I rotate between.

I have made great sketches on horrible paper and horrible sketches on great paper. My only real breaking point would be if the paper starts falling apart, which sounds like what happened to you with the B&N books. 

On the flip side, if the paper is too nice, I run into performance anxiety issues—afraid to mess up the nice paper, or thinking I have to work in a certain style to justify it. This rarely works out.

Good luck! Shop around and experiment.

True story

Sanjeev Joshi: black and white sketches,done with calligraphic metal nib