Mountain Painting and Making your own Sketchbook

Well I'm still trying to paint daily but sometimes the kids have their own ideas. Was very hot yesterday so we ended up going to a local outdoor pool. Too crowded to sketch or paint as I had to keep my eye on the kids.









Here is a daily practice painting I did a few days ago from a reference photo. I was trying to capture that pink glowing sky. It was in my store bought sketchbook so the quality is not as good as it is on Bristol paper instead of wc paper.

It is really hard to find a good quality wc paper sketchbook. It usually has inferior paper and is very expensive. So a couple of times a year I make my own. The binding is very important. I prefer a ring binding for ease of movement and it allows me to use both sides of the paper. I cut my paper to size. This time I am adding a sheet of good quality Bristol between each wc sheet for thumbnails or sketches. I add a cover and a thick cardboard back , (use the back of the pad of paper you cut to size).

Then I take my little piles of paper to Staples where they bind it for me for about $3.50 per book. The more books I make the less it costs per piece. Ta Da! perfect wc sketchbooks custom made for me.

Anyway thanks for reading,
gail