The famous plantsman David Fairchild titled his autobiography The World Was My Garden. Still, it would be a stretch to claim the mountains of western Carolina as an extension of my near-sea level back yard! I bought a new sketchbook just for this trip, so I'll review it here.
Over the past few years I've read a lot of rave reviews of the Stillman & Birn sketchbook series, and I finally bought one. They come in various weights and finishes, and I dithered and dithered over which one to buy until I just took a deep breath and bought a Zeta, heavyweight (270 gsm), super-smooth, high-white paper.
For years my sketching standby has been Aquabee Super Deluxe Mixed Media paper (150 gsm), and the slickness of the Zeta took me by surprise. My pencils and pens seemed to slip and slide all over the paper. Moreover, the Zeta series paper doesn't immediately soak up moisture, and puddles of pigment tend to sit on the surface and take a good while to dry. However, this does make for some very interesting mixing on the paper effects, and wet in wet causes no breakdown of the surface, which can happen pretty quickly with other sketchbooks. There was some buckling of the paper where I got really sloppy, but that was mostly evident on the back side, and diminished some over time.
I did and still do have problems laying down an even wash on this paper without prewetting it. That could be me as well as the paper, though. So far, which isn't that far into the book, I still have problems hitting just the right amount of moisture. The sketch of the Japanese maple leaflet below shows my problems with washes.
 |
| Uneven Washes |
Once I stopped fighting with the paper I really began to have fun. The top leaf in the next sketch is a sycamore, but I don't know what the other two are. The good old inner critic whom we all know and love, convinced me to give up on the bottom left leaf. I couldn't get the beige-yellow of the beat-up old leaf correct, and I gave up in frustration. Once I got home I decided that regardless of the inaccuracy of the color, the sketch wasn't that bad, but I no longer had the leaf.
I had more patience with my second attempt with a Japanese maple leaflet. I used multiple glazes of Winsor &Newton permanent rose, Daniel Smith quinacridone gold, and W%N quinacridone red, waiting for each layer to dry before adding another. The paper took all those layers, and likely would have taken more, without buckling or breaking down. I'm delighted with the clear, brilliant results I got.
Zeta is listed for mixed media, and back home I've tried it with both Prismacolor and Faber-Castell colored pencils. Despite the Zeta's lack of tooth, colored pencil goes on beautifully. Again, I had to modify my technique somewhat. I had to use hard pressure to make the pigment smear at all. Graphite, especially the softer grades, will smear if I'm not careful, but that is the nature of the medium.
The Zeta takes ink beautifully. The sketches above are done with Pigma Micron, but I have used a dip pen #104 at home with no scratching, skipping, bleeding or feathering. Even the juicy line of my medium nib Lamy Safari pen doesn't smear unless I deliberately and quickly get my hand or finger on it while it is still wet.
Now I know why other sketchers have raved about Stillman and Birn, though most seem to use the Alpha series. The main drawbacks of S&B over other sketchbook brands is that it is relatively pricey, and not as universally available.While it seems made for ink and watercolor wash, I don't know whether it would dry quickly enough for quick watercolor sketching on the go, especially for painters who like things wet. That might not be a problem in less humid areas.
The Zeta is very bright and very slick, even smoother, if possible, than Bristol plate. The most comparable watercolor papers to it that I know are Sennelier and Fluid hot press. It is ideal for the finely-detailed botanical illustration that I do back in the "studio," my dining room table. I am anxious to order some Zeta by the sheet, because even at this early point I like it better than Bristol and some watercolor papers.
My original plan was to start either with the Alpha or the Zeta, and work my way respectively up or down the series. I thought I might even try the roughest finish to train the frustrated landscape painter inside me because a rough finish would force me to deal in shapes instead of details. Stillman and Birn has recently come out with a sketchbook with toned paper, the Nova. I am so pleased with the clear, crisp images I can produce with multiple washes and patience on the Zeta, though, that I will have trouble keeping to my original plan!