Westmount corner
Posted: January 13, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized 12 CommentsWe’ve been waiting a long time to be able to buy Stillman & Birn sketchbooks in Montreal. I was happy to see that my favourite art supply store — Avenue des Arts in Westmount — is finally stocking them. There’s a great supply of books just to the left of the door, including this one I am trying out. It’s from the Alpha Series and it’s a new horizontal format, about 8″ x 5″. I am used to painting on the Beta series which has much thicker paper so this warps a bit more than I am used to, but that’s because I use so much water. If you tend to paint a bit drier than I do or if you work in pen or pencil with a light wash, this would be perfect for you.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
You are so talented..I love this one also..Will tell my artist friend about your store in case she does not know about it.
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I didn’t discover this little gem until last year. It’s an amazing store with some very beautiful products. I want to buy everything when I go in.
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It is, indeed, good news to hear that someone in Quebec is carrying S&B sketchbooks. I wish someone in Quebec City would do the same.
Cheers — Larry
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This happened because I connected Stillman & Birn with Avenue des ARts. Maybe you can do the same in Quebec City. If there is a small art store that is open to that sort of thing.
It took a bit of time (probably close to one year) for the books to get here but it was worth it.
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We have two places that have anything resembling art supplies. One place is deSerres, the art/craft chain. S&B was rejected by them, mostly because they don’t seem to understand that a LOT of people are now sketching. The other place called “The Zone” which is a smaller place. It’s a student coop that tries to supply UofLaval art students with better quality materials than does deSerres. They said they would look into it but I’ve seen nothing yet. I may have to drive to Montreal to buy some. Might be a good excuse 🙂
Cheers — Larry
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If you come into town let us know. Maybe you can time it to come to an Urban Sketchers outing. We have a good group here.
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I definitely want to get over for one of your outings next summer. I talked with Marc about it not long ago. I’m also hoping to get a USk group going here too. I’m a bit French-challenged which makes the logistics of it a bit difficult but I’m hoping to overcome this limitation.
Cheers — Larry
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I got one of these beta sketchbooks for xmas and like how it holds wc. I really like the horizontal double spread format of your painting
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Thanks Rachel. I like this format too.
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How do you hold it, Shari? I use their 10×7 spiral and I can flip it completely open. I’ve filled one of their 9×6 hardcovers, however, stuggled with balancing it while sitting on my tripod stool. Maybe I’m just too much of a klutz.
Cheers — Larry
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Larry, I guess my left hand cramps up after a while but this was a quick sketch. I used that size and format of Moleskine for so long that I guess I am used to it.
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Ha…my first run-in with the bound landscape “problem” was with a Moleskine. I actually gave that one away as I was just starting to sketch outdoors and was completely frustrated by the 17″ spread. In hindsight, it was actually easier than the S&B landscape because it was lighter 🙂
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