Seawhite & Moleskine Watercolour Travel Journal - Sketchbook Comparison & Review

Lets take a look and review the new Seawhite watercolour travel journal, and a side by side comparison with a Moleskine watercolour sketchbook, also a quick watercolour painting demo on the quality of the watercolour paper.
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Amazon UK,
A4 Seawhite travel journal, amzn.to/2lQPNHD
A5 Seawhite travel journal, amzn.to/2KKbmnR
A6 Seawhite travel journal, amzn.to/2lOOEjB
Amazon USA,
A4 Seawhite travel journal,amzn.to/2lTVbtH
A5 Seawhite travel journal,amzn.to/2KERNgJ
A6 Seawhite travel journal,amzn.to/2z4aVn6
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[@ElyseChambers]

I love your voice! It's so smooth and calming. And this review is amazing as well. It's always great when the underdogs perform better than the more mainstream brands :)

[@GezButterworth]

Just received a Seawhite journal today, not tried it before, great review. Great to find your channel. Best wishes, Geraldine

[@RanggaInoue]

I've been using this Seawhite Watercolour travel Journal since May and I absolutely love it. The quality is really good at an affordable price and the binding is great too. I also bought another one after painting on just a few pages because I was really pleased with it.

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

The more I use mine the more I love it, They really are the best for the price in my opinion, thanks for the comment.

[@amysamin]

Thanks for this review, Smoothie! I’ve had my eye on Seawhite for a while, now I am more eager than ever to try this sketchbook.

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

You're very welcome Amy, I can't recommend them highly enough, they are superb.

[@istolebilliesavacados1315]

Amy Samin if you got one, I hope you enjoyed it! I loved mine so much.

[@LinekeLijn]

First!! Hahahaha lol ^^ just kidding you Jon ;) Thank you so much for sharing and might I add... I loved that little watercolour drawing you did!!! All the love - Lineke

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Hahaha, Its been a while since that's happened :) thank you my friend, much appreciated 👍

[@noxmoonyisadork]

Nice! Glad Seawhite came up with a proper watercolour travel journal. They have a lot of sketchbooks, but nothing like this until now. Pricing is very good as well. Will have to give it a try! I actually bought an Arches cold press spiral travel journal thingy, it's called "Carnet de Voyage". It was only 10 pounds and ofcourse performs great. Can't seem to find it anymore on Amazon UK...bit of a shame really since I loved it. It's a convenient format to have Arches on. I did see Pink Pig make some Bockingford spiral pads, seemed nice. But yes I've yet to see anything of this exact format like a "true" travel journal with really fancy artist grade watercolour paper. I'd totally buy the heck outta them XD Also wow what lovely paintings you've already got there. Very inspiring. Thanks a lot for sharing Smoothie 😊

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

I had a look for the Arches sketchbook, I think they may have been discontinued, oh well...glad I found the Seawhite, and yes I agree they are very good price, I already bought a small stash of them :) Thanks very much for the nice comment, its always appreciated :)

[@gorway7]

Check out www.greenandstone.com they have some case bound Arches and Saunders Waterford Journals... but a bit beyond my budget. Don't know if they have any in travel journal format. R.K. Burt 'Fat Pads' are also available in Bockingford I believe from Curtisward. There was another UK company I came across that had a limited stock or made to order Watercolour journals in Arches or any other paper you like but I don't think I saved the link - they were a book binder / restorer type business - think I came across them when looking at book binding supplies - If your really after something of that quality without a mortgage, it might be worth looking into making your own. There are plenty of tutorials on KZbin.

[@TheArtGearGuide]

I can’t for the life of me find a Moleskin A5 watercolor pad anywhere in Durham, Newcastle or Sunderland and I know I can get it online but you can buy almost every other Moleskin watercolor in the shops. But I love the look of this new watercolor journal you are showing Jon mate, I’ll have to order one mate and see what it’s like, I’ll use your amazon links mate. Another outstanding video mate and your work in the journal is superb. Hope you are keeping well mate and talk soon.

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Thanks Harry, you won't be disappointed with the Seawhite, the paper is far superior to the Moleskine, I'm keeping very well thanks mate, I hope you are to, and thanks again for buying through the link, much appreciated my friend 👍

[@gorway7]

Well... just popped into the gallery (Walsall) this morning and picked up the A6 Watercolour Journal to try out - I wanted something I could fit in my pocket and carry with me. The quality of the of the paper I was well familiar with, I've used it for many years - but this paper feels slightly higher quality in the sketchbook now. I have just been comparing it to some loose sheets of 220gsm I still have. The texture is really nice on this new stuff, on the smoother side of CP/NOT but almost identical now on both sides. Can't wait to try it.

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

That's great news Peter, I would love to hear your thoughts when you've used it...

[@LeiliMana]

First of all your art is gorgeous! It's so pleasing to look at (and your voice is also pleasant) And also this is exactly the kind of review I've been looking for, thank you this!

[@jakepeters4370]

I agree. I like Global Art Handbook and Seawhite watercolour journals equally for paper quality. Seawhite sketchbooks are less costly. I bought 2 after watching your review, medium and large. I’m super happy with them. I agree with you about the dimensions. I also bought a few more, fearing they’ll be unavailable later. Now that I have several and they’re not so “precious”, I’m more inclined to mark that first "clean page". I decided to make A4 my standard. I like using bigger paper and a bigger brush. I feel more confident. Thank you so much for your good advice.

[@gorway7]

Well timed review, I have spent the last few days trying to decide on a watercolour travel journal, never had one before and always wanted a Moleskine but I have heard such horror stories regarding the poor quality of the new ones. I have always loved Seawhite products and use their cartridge paper pads and 350gsm watercolour paper, it's good stuff, with the bonus my local town gallery has a concession stand for Seawhite. Will see if I can pick one up tomorrow. Childrens author and illustrator Shoo Rayner is a great adocate of Seawhite and recently started using these journals but his style is more dry brush and I wasn't sure if they would stand up to my more heavy handed style.

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Thanks Peter, certainly pick one up, they are much better than a Moleskine, Moleskine used to be nice quality , but now they are made elsewhere and quality has gone down, The Seawhite will stand up to heavier washes...no problem, they great for wet in wet.

[@johnd942]

Ordered a Seawhite water colour travel sketchbook based on this video. Thank you very much for this presentation.

[@SarahNotSara]

Just discovered your channel and wow...your artwork is breathtakingly beautiful. Really like your style! Thanks for the video...was looking for feedback on the seawhite.

[@bradfordyorks5055]

At 9.43: "....a bit on the smooth side, but I kind of like that....." So do I, Mr Smoothie, so do I!

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Hahaha, you crack me up :)

[@bradfordyorks5055]

+smoothie77 so, you've seen some of my artwork, then?

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Your comments are artwork :)

[@mindfulnessman8575]

Great. What is the tape you’re using please?

[@GregorysMode]

Superb Smoothie 77 as always love your vids always. I bought the seawhite sketchbook Im also enjoying it.

[@mariacameliamirica279]

Thank you for this excellent review!

[@MsVanorak]

An online shop company called Artway (UK based either Gloucs or Wilts) stock a lot of Seawhite stuff and the last time I looked their prices were better than Jackson's and Amazon.

[@rebeccapage4411]

Thanks for the review and all the links. Wish listed this one.

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

You're very welcome Rebecca.

[@MrHurrion]

Not much of a comparison, surely equal time should be given to each? Also, why did this company use such a similar design for its logos etc? One might almost think they are trying to copy a brand leader. Surely not?! I also assume that there is no sponsorship or freebies from Seawhite?

[@realSTYLISHx]

I’ve noticed some reviews trickling in for moleskins saying that the quality has gone down, which has put me off. My last sketchbook was an arteza watercolour and that’s breaking up at the bind. ETCHR looked interesting, but there’s a lack of stock in the uk, and I don’t fancy importing as it will probably get damaged on the way. I’ve used a spiral bound seawhite in the past and I was surprised by the sturdy feel to it, thanks for the review I’m going to go back to seawhite, this ticks all the boxes. Thanks for your opinion, and brilliant art.

[@GenWivern2]

I'm glad that worked out well in the end. That's a very persuasive price / performance ratio, and your recommendation is duly noted. The complaint I've heard about Moleskine time and again (relating to the notebooks) is inconsistency - you get a good one, then you get a dud and so forth. It doesn't do the brand any favours in the long run, especially with competition like Rhodia, Leuchturm et al snapping at their heels. I guess the same applies to the watercolour journals. Put me down as another person mystified by the absence of a similar format from Saunders: I know those 11"x10" ones are well liked by many artists, but it's a strange size, and the price is, ahem, non-trivial. Enough to make an amateur bookbinder of you, in fact. :-)

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Hi Gen, you're absolutely right Moleskine certainly need to "up" their game or they will lose out in the long run, I was chatting with someone yesterday who told me she bought 5 full sheets of Arches wc paper, took it to a local book binder who cut it to size and bound it with hard covers for £30, it sounds expensive at first, but when you think about it, its not so bad, its actually a good idea, at least you know the paper is good quality and the size you want, food for thought.....

[@GenWivern2]

Yep - what I probably should've mentioned but didn't for fear of being even more longwinded is that those Saunders books contain the best part of five full Imperial sheets, so the price isn't unreasonable as such so long as the format suits. Factor in bookcloth, boards, thread and so forth plus the time, and you don't stand to make a huge saving doing it yourself, but it does open up a lot of options.

[@MrNani1983]

Beautiful paintings superb

[@Spafon1]

Good vid, might buy one of these. The link to your Amazon shop doesn't work, mate.

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Thanks for pointing that out, just renewed the link, its working now :)

[@freddykrueger6571]

How about a review of the small (A6) size Seawhite. It looks slightly bigger than a small Moleskine equivalent.

[@mwmingram]

I just bought a Seawhite A4 book to replace my usual Daler Rowney Ebony and Ivory books. The paper lovely and white and smooth.

[@jakepeters4370]

The Seawhite watercolour journals have the same proportion as the 20x30” canvas size I was taught to paint on at art school.

[@sophieprice3288]

This is such a helpful video! I've been looking to get a good quality sketchbook because right now (as you can see in the sketchbook tour I posted) I only used really cheap ones and the quality is not very good, do you suggest using both sides of this paper or is it for one side use only?

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Hi Sophie, if you are looking for better quality sketchbooks the Seawhite sketchbooks are a good option in my opinion, very good quality paper at a reasonable price, and yes you can use both sides too :)

[@emmal9534]

I think it also depends on what you paint? My experience (at least with cheap papers) is that if I paint something simple and don't do a lot of wet on wet or heavy washes, I can paint on both sides easily. But wet on wet for both sides is disastrous. I can get away with wet on wet on one side and then light painting on the other side.

[@fish7719]

Is it better to use not paper for dip pens or do I need to use hot press paper? I like to work with dip pens and watercolor.

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Hot pressed is a better option for pen work, but cold pressed (NOT) will work ok too.

[@fish7719]

Thank you very much!!!

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

You're welcome.

[@dianequinn1500]

I can't manage with this paper. Can't lay down graded washes; it dries too quickly; not for me!

[@stevemurray6543]

Thank You. Great review and I will get from the link.

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Thank you Steve, I appreciate it very much!

[@NeutrinodiMajorana]

Hi, thanks for the review. I am searching for a journal suitable for a nature journal, but I would like to use both sides of the pages. Do you think the paper would stand this?

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

The Seawhite certainly will

[@edwill62]

Nice .....great info Smoothie , as always

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Thank you Ed, you're so kind.

[@inekedusseljee3093]

Are the grams the same?

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Yes, both 200gsm.

[@OnyxFyre]

I purchased an a5 Seawhite Watercolor sketchbook from Amazon after watching your review. Unfortunately, pages were falling out of it the very first time I opened it. I am returning it, but Amazon seems to be out of them in the a5 size right now. Do you know where I might find another one online? I live in the US. Thank you!

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Sorry to hear that, that's very unusual, mine have been brilliant, no problems at all, have you tried going to the main Seawhite website, you should be able to order from there, also mention to them what happened, I'm sure they will help you out.

[@OnyxFyre]

I will check out their website. When I contacted Seawhite via Amazon, they told me that Amazon fills their orders, and I need to try to take care of it through Amazon. Thank you for your response!

[@imissmypandacar]

Many thanks for this video

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

You're welcome!

[@lvbailey1]

❣️

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

👍😊

[@Brontesister1]

may I ask...if you wanted to do a double page spread, does the sketchbook open out flat across the two pages throughout the book please?

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

Yes it does.

[@Brontesister1]

@@smoothie77drawingpainting Thankyou!

[@izakpolman6280]

Thanks for this review!

[@smoothie77drawingpainting]

My pleasure Izak, thank you.

[@colinreid325]

Disappointed to see some of your tutorials are featuring less and less and that they just seem a promotion for your Patrion lessons, unfortunately some of us can't afford it.

[@Sherry1944]

I think you are being a bit hard there Mr Reid. Even though Jon's tutorials are shorter now they still cover a heck of a lot more than the growing number of artists who just show pictures of their art work, links to Patreon or websites and nothing else! Who can blame smoothie for wanting to earn a few bob? It must take ages to do the videos. And I for one am grateful for all he does.

[@colinreid325]

Angela Luke I understand the need to earn a living but perhaps there is middle way, unfortunately if you wish to follow a number of artists it can start to mount up. I probably will follow him on Patreon when my other commitments run out, but I have very limited means.