Beach Sketches
Posted by trev | Filed under Sketchbook
Earlier this month, I met up with the family at a beach house down in Bethany Beach, Delaware. Did a lot of sketching, a good bit of it spent trying to learn how to draw the ocean.
Tags: beach, Bethany Beach, Delaware, LAMY Safari Fountain Pen, ocean, piccadilly, sand, waves
Figure Drawing 08.20.10
Posted by trev | Filed under Figure Drawing
Tags: figure, Figure Drawing, LAMY Safari Fountain Pen, model, piccadilly
Faux-Skines
Posted by trev | Filed under Moleskine
If this blog has done nothing else, it has documented my near obsessive love of Moleskine notebooks. I have waxed on enough about my love of these notebooks, so I won’t get into that again here. Despite my devotion for these wonderful little notebooks, I do acknowledge that they do have one big downside — price. Sure, I am willing to spend a couple of extra bucks to maintain my carefully cultivated hipster doofus lifestyle, but I recognize that not everyone may be in a similar situation. Well, now there is an alternative.
During a recent trip to Borders bookstore, I stumbled across their selection of Piccadilly Notebooks. At first, I confused them for Moleskine notebooks and it’s an easy mistake to make. They look almost exactly like the Moleskine. They come in similar sizes. They have they the same hard leather cover. They have a similar expandable pocket. They are bound similarly. Heck, even their packaging is similar. But there is one huge difference: price. The Piccadilly notebooks are nearly two thirds cheaper than the Moleskines (at least at Borders). Two thirds!
Obviously, I was intrigued, and bought one the 5″ x 8.25″ plain notebooks. After using it for a couple of weeks, I gotta say that the folks at Piccadilly did a good job aping the Moleskine style. It’s solidly put together, with a satisfying “feel” There are some minor cosmetic differences. It has a slightly different “feel” than the Moleskine, but not in an unpleasant or cheap way. The paper had about the same amount of bleed-through that I get from the Moleskine. It definitely doesn’t come off as a cheap Moleskine (a fear I had due to the price difference).
The biggest difference I found was subtle, yet important. The paper used in the Piccadilly has a touch more tooth than the paper used in the moleskine. It wasn’t noticeable at first, but when I used my trusty Pentel Brush Pen on it, I noticed it immediately. Using the brush pen on the Moleskine is like butter — it glides effortlessly over it producing a smooth line. The brush pen is still smooth on the Piccadilly, but it easier to get a dry brush type effect, a sure sign that the paper has some tooth. The effect is not displeasing, and actually makes a nice change of pace, but it is a difference.
Another difference between the notebooks comes in options. Moleskines come in an almost dizzying array of sizes and styles. My favorite Moleskine, the 8.25″x5.25″ Plain Reporters Notebook is not available from Piccadilly. And they don’t carry the notebooks with heavier stock or watercolor paper that are available in the Moleskine line either. But Piccadilly does offer an interesting format that (to my knowledge) Moleskine does not yet offer, a 7.25″x9.75″ hard cover notebook (currently Moleskine only offers a soft cover in that size). It’s an interesting option for when I’m craving more real estate, especially at the reduced price.
I don’t see the Piccadilly notebook totally replacing my Moleskine love at this point. The slight difference in paper texture is enough to keep me supporting the Pentel Brush Pen-friendly Moleskine for some time. However, it’s good to have a lower priced alternative, especially if you’re like me and go through these things like water.
Tags: Moleskine, notebook, pentel brush pen, piccadilly, Sketchbook
