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Painting

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Watercolour Sketchbooks

Our watercolour sketchbooks are built for water: heavyweight paper that takes washes, layering and lifting without cockling or buckling. The spiral binding lies flat, so you can work right across the page or fold it back one-handed. Built to be painted in often, they come in sizes from studio down to a book that fits a bag.

At a glance

Made for water

Heavyweight paper that holds washes and lifts colour without cockling.

Lies flat to paint

Spiral binding opens flat and folds right back, so you can work across the whole page.

Tracked 1 to 2 day delivery

Dispatched quickly on a tracked service.

How to choose a watercolour sketchbook

The paper does the work. Watercolour needs a heavier, more absorbent sheet than ordinary cartridge, because it has to hold water and pigment without buckling. It should be heavy enough to take a wet wash, lift colour back off and layer again without the page cockling. Our own watercolour sketchbooks are built for that, so you can paint properly rather than fight the paper.

Binding matters more than people expect. A spiral binding lets the book open completely flat and fold all the way back, which means you can work across a full spread or hold it in one hand outdoors, and the pages sit still while the paint dries. It is the practical choice for painting on location as well as at a desk.

If you are choosing between a watercolour sketchbook and a watercolour pad, it comes down to how you work: a bound sketchbook keeps a body of work together over time, while a gummed or loose pad suits single sheets you want to frame or scan. For most people building studies and finished pieces in one place, a sketchbook is the natural home.

Pair a book with a watercolour paint set and you are ready to paint.

Frequently asked

What size watercolour sketchbook should I choose?
It depends on how you work. A larger book suits studio painting and bold, loose washes, while A5 or a pocket size is easy to carry for painting on location. Many artists keep a big one for finished work and a smaller one for sketching out and about.
Do you need to stretch watercolour paper in a sketchbook?
Not usually. Heavier watercolour paper is made to take water without buckling, so in a good sketchbook you can paint straight onto the page. For very wet washes, taping the sheet down at the edges or working across a couple of pages helps it dry flat. Full stretching, soaking the sheet and stapling it to a board, is really for loose paper rather than a bound book.
Is a watercolour sketchbook good for beginners?
Yes. A bound book keeps all your practice in one place, so you can watch your progress, and a heavyweight watercolour paper means early washes are far less likely to buckle or tear than they would on ordinary paper. Starting on the right surface takes a lot of the frustration out of learning.

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