I used to pshaw at squares. Thanks to Instagram, I now like squares. Squares are stability, equal opportunity polygons, Chinese character perfection, quadrille, dot grid.
My infatuation with squares continues with the Fabriano Quadrato Artist’s Journal. I have the 6×6 version (there’s also a 9×9). The cover is a textured deep gray board. Inside, there are 4 shades of neutral laid paper to play with, from white to light mocha.
This is the first sketch journal I’ve owned with different-colored pages.
The paper can make amateur watercolor brushstrokes look smooth.
It resists bleedthrough, even with the added burden of a watercolor wash.
I hadn’t tried watercolor on a tinted ground before. Now I think it might be a favorite thing to do.
Not only is it fountain-pen friendly, it’s flexible-nib friendly. How friendly? Like grew-up-together friendly, or mango-chutney-and-papadum friendly, or instant-soulmate-friendly. With ink. It can’t get any better, really.
File the Fabriano Quadrato Artist’s Journal under “Hoard.”
