My Favorite Art Journlas

Today I wanted to share a list of links to my favorite art journals across the years and tell you a little about my experience with them. I'm going to take you through chronologically. All links in this blog are Amazon Affliate links. If you make a purchase using this link I will get a small commission -- but these really are the journals I have used and what I think about them!

In the Beginning

When I first started art journaling I used Strathmore Mixed Media Art Journals like these:

• Strathmore 460-19 500 Series Visual Mixed Media Journal, Vellum, 9"x12", White, 34 Sheets https://amzn.to/4pziNRw

• Strathmore Visual Journal Mixed Media Vellum 5.5"X8" https://amzn.to/4jR4pDb

  

This was back when there were very few options for mixed media journals and also I didtnt know a lot about paper. But, that doesnt mean that these are not good journals. They are actually great for mixed media art journaling and come in different sizes. I don't really like working in spiral bound journals lately but they benefit of them is that they can expand easily if you glue in a lot of ephemera! You can also fold the cover and pages behind the page you are working on and these jouranls ahve a hard cover which makes them sturdy for jouranling out and about!

A few years later I moved into the Canso XL Mixed Media spiral journal. My favoite one was the 7"x10" which is not a typical size in most journals. These are usually available at local craft stores and are not very expensive. The paper holds up well to a variety of techniques.

• Canson XL Series Mixed Media Pad, Side Wire, 7x10 inches https://amzn.to/4pzMKRF

Middle Years

The longer I did art journaling and the more classes I took from different teachers - and probably as mixed media work became more popular - I began to learn more about different types of journals. I moved away from sprial bound jorunals so that I could create more spreads -- two pages that are completed as one art journal entry. So, I tried a different Stratmore:

• Strathmore 460-19 500 Series Visual Mixed Media Journal, Vellum, 9"x12", White, 34 Sheets https://amzn.to/4pziNRw

I also tried Dylusions Art Journals. These are journals with really thick pages and they work great for mixed media work. Some of them come with ledgers, or dots or lines on some of the pages - some of them are completely filled with blank pages. I've used them in a variety of sizes in both rectangle and square formats.

• Dylusions Journal 5x8, https://amzn.to/453tuo8

• Dylusions Jouranl Square https://amzn.to/49Lkt5H

  

Recent Years

The all-purpose mixed media art journals that I have been using lately are from Royal Talens. They are inexpensive, come in a variety of sizes and different cover colors, and hold up well to mixed media work. I used a 9x12 for an art journal w/ a variety of techniques and a smaller square one for making prints while traveling using a kneaded eraser.

• Talens Art Creation Sketchbook - 13x21 cm [apox. 5x8 in.] - 80 Sheets - 140 g/m²  https://amzn.to/4qapfPZ

• Talens Art Creation Sketchbook Black 21x29,7 cm[aprox 8x12 in.], 140 Grams https://amzn.to/49nnSaZ

I said "all-purpose" in the previous paragraph because I have also been doing more urban sketching which - for me - is typically done with watercolors. So, in this case I need/want an art journal with watercolor paper. My favorites are Moleskine Watercolor Art Notebooks. I like the A5 for sketching on location, and I LOVE the pocket size for when I am traveling. The pocket size easily fits in my purse with a pen, water brush, and small watercolor set so I can make drawings/paintings whenever I want.

• Moleskine Watercolor Art Notebook, Hardcover, Large (5” x 8.25”) / A5, 72 pages https://amzn.to/48TF4o0

• Moleskine Watercolor Notebook, Hardcover, Pocket Size (3.5” x 5.5”), 60 pages https://amzn.to/3Xy0alB

Another book that I used primarily for watercolors (but did also try acrylics and it worked great) - was from Etchr. They make beautiful watercolor journals with very nice paper so I wanted to try one. I ended up getting the Mixed Media book because it was less expensive. It worked well but - for me - the pages were too thick and I didnt like the feel of the journal.

• Etchr Mixed Media Hardbound Sketchbook – Cold Press, Portrait, 8.3” x 5.8”, 110 lb paper https://amzn.to/3XGHu2X

I do normally have several journals going at once. Right now - after just having moved and pared down my journals - I have 2 A5 journals, 1 pocket size, one 9x12, and a B5 size. So, I am not going to tell you to pick one -- but if you are just startig choose one that has the right paper (mixed media paper if you are going to use different techniques) - is a good size, you are excited to work in and fits within your budget. Don't buy a whole bunch to start with because you will learn as yo use the first one what you like/dislike and that will inform your next purchase. If you have any questions about this let me know!