One pale band turned into a harbour1 page. Watercolor. A grey band across the middle. Draw boats on it and their masts above in pen.
A picture inside a painted frame1 page. Gouache. Tape two boxes, one inside the other. Paint the outer band flat, dry it, then the middle.
A graded wash with a pen skyline along its foot1 page. Watercolor. Grade yellow into pink. When it is bone dry, ink roofs and antennas along the bottom.
A grid of twelve tiny still lifes2 pages. Gouache. One object per box and one background colour for all. Thick paint, hardly any water.
A picture inside a painted frame1 page. Gouache. Tape two boxes, one inside the other. Paint the outer band flat, dry it, then the middle.
A porthole of sea painted through a paper mask1 page. Watercolor. Cut a circle out of a sticky note, paint through the hole, and lift it off when dry.
A single taped rectangle with a wide white border1 page. Watercolor. Keep the painting small and the brush damp, not dripping, so the page stays flat.
A tall thin strip from sky down to ground1 page. Watercolor. Tape a strip two fingers wide and grade the colour down it without stopping.
A view through a window taped as four panes1 page. Watercolor. The tape is the frame. Paint the view straight across all four panes.
A week of skies in seven taped squares2 pages. Watercolor. One square a day, sky only. Write the day under each after the tape is off.
Five doorways from one street in tall taped boxes1 page. Gouache. One flat wall colour in each box, then the door on top once that has dried.
Four small skies in a row of taped boxes1 page. Watercolor. Press the tape down hard, paint each sky in one pass, and peel it when dry.
One hill in four kinds of weather, a box each2 pages. Watercolor. Two boxes a page. Keep the hill's outline identical and change only the sky.
One view at three times of day in taped boxes1 page. Gouache. Three boxes down the page. Mix all three sky colours before you start.
Painted postage stamps of places you have never been1 page. Gouache. Tape small boxes and paint them. Draw a perforated edge around each in pen.
Six stamp-sized paintings of things on your desk1 page. Gouache. Rule the boxes in pencil and paint just up to the line with a small flat brush.
Three thumbnails testing one picture's colours1 page. Watercolor. The same scene three times: warm, cool, and two colours only. Star the best.
Across the spread 14
A beach that runs across both pages2 pages. Watercolor. Slip a paper towel under each page and work one side at a time in light washes.
A bridge with its middle span on the fold2 pages. Gouache. Paint the water as one flat band across both pages before the bridge goes in.
A clothesline strung from edge to edge2 pages. Watercolor. Each garment is one blob of colour. Add the line across both pages in pen when dry.
A flower border along the bottom of both pages2 pages. Watercolor. Dab flower heads in a band along the foot. Stems in pen when dry. The top stays empty.
A kite on one page and its flier on the other2 pages. Watercolor. One pale sky wash across both pages links them. The string crosses the fold.
A mountain range that crosses the fold2 pages. Watercolor. Farthest ridge first and palest. Let each one dry before the next, darker ridge.
A painted train with cars on both pages2 pages. Gouache. Flat blocks of colour for the cars. Couple them across the fold with a pen line.
A pond bank above the fold and its reflection below2 pages. Gouache. Turn the book sideways. Paint the bank, then repeat it upside down and paler.
A river seen from above, left as bare paper2 pages. Watercolor. Pencil the banks across both pages and paint only the land on either side.
A road that starts on one page and ends on the other2 pages. Watercolor. Pencil the road across the fold first so the two halves line up.
A table laid for a meal, seen from above2 pages. Gouache. Tablecloth first, as one flat colour over both pages. Plates go on top once it is dry.
A tree trunk growing up the gutter2 pages. Gouache. Trunk on the fold, branches out to both edges. Thick paint, so little soaks through.
A whale too long for one page2 pages. Watercolor. Head on the left, tail on the right. Keep the paint thin near the fold, where it pools.
The fold used as a horizon2 pages. Gouache. Turn the book sideways: sky on the upper page, land on the lower, meeting at the fold.
Paint first, draw on top 14
A blue page with a shoal drawn in white pen1 page. Watercolor. Fill the page edge to edge, dry it, then draw the fish in white gel pen.
A graded wash with a pen skyline along its foot1 page. Watercolor. Grade yellow into pink. When it is bone dry, ink roofs and antennas along the bottom.
Bleeding patches turned into a made-up map1 page. Watercolor. Let the patches touch and bleed. Pen borders, roads and place names over the top.
Blots pressed in the fold, then drawn into moths2 pages. Gouache. Paint one page thickly, shut the book, open it, and pen in bodies and feelers.
Coin-sized dabs turned into beetles1 page. Gouache. One dab each, left to dry, then legs, spots and feelers with a fine pen.
Green patches turned into houseplants in pots1 page. Watercolor. Paint the leaf masses only. Pen the pots, the soil line and a few veins afterward.
Loose blobs turned into birds with a pen1 page. Watercolor. Drop ten blobs, let them dry fully, then add a beak, legs and one eye to each.
One dry drag of the brush turned into a mountain1 page. Watercolor. Pull a nearly dry brush once across the page. Pen a few pines along its top.
One pale band turned into a harbour1 page. Watercolor. A grey band across the middle. Draw boats on it and their masts above in pen.
Painted circles turned into planets1 page. Gouache. Paint the circles and dry them, then pen in rings, craters and a few orbit lines.
Pale puddles of paint turned into ghosts1 page. Watercolor. Paint each shape in clean water and touch in a little grey. Faces in pen, sparingly.
Rough washes turned into a shelf of pots1 page. Watercolor. Paint pot shapes in a row. Pen in rims, handles and a shelf line once they are dry.
Splashes turned into friendly monsters1 page. Watercolor. Drip, tilt the book once, and lay it flat to dry. Add eyes where the shape suggests them.
Stripes of colour turned into a row of houses1 page. Gouache. Paint upright bars side by side. Windows, doors and roofs go on in pen.
Colour pages 14
A chart mixing every paint with every other2 pages. Watercolor. Names across the top and down the side. Each box is the mix of its row and column.
A colour diary with one chip a day for a month2 pages. Gouache. Rule the grid now. Each day, mix the colour of one thing and fill a box.
A mixing chart of two paints1 page. Watercolor. Rule a row of seven boxes. Pure paint at each end, more of the other at each step.
A page of greys mixed from three colours1 page. Watercolor. Lean the grey warm, then cool, then neutral. Paint each as a small stone.
A palette taken from one walk1 page. Gouache. Mix and paint a chip for six things you saw. Write what each one was beneath it.
A test of what this paper can take1 page. Watercolor. Light wash, heavy wash, scrubbed patch, lifted patch. Thin paper buckles when soaked.
Colours matched to a peach, a plum and a lime1 page. Watercolor. Mix to match the real fruit, paint a chip, and hold the fruit up against it.
Darks mixed without black1 page. Gouache. Mix pairs of strong colours, such as red with green, and paint a square of each result.
Each paint swatched thick and thin, side by side1 page. Gouache. Two strokes per paint, one creamy and one thinned. See which turn patchy.
How many greens come from one blue and one yellow1 page. Watercolor. Start at yellow, add blue a touch at a time, and paint a leaf shape for each mix.
One colour in nine strengths1 page. Watercolor. Nine boxes from full strength to nearly water. Add water, not white.
One stripe glazed across six others1 page. Watercolor. Six stripes down the page, dried, then one stripe across them all. Note the crossings.
The same chips noted wet, then checked dry1 page. Gouache. Paint six chips and jot what you see. Light tones tend to dry darker, so look again.
Small squares of one colour inside another1 page. Gouache. Try six pairs. Opaque paint covers, so the inner square can go on top once dry.
Easy 14
A sun whose rays are pulled out of a wet disc1 page. Watercolor. One colour. Paint the disc, then drag its wet edge outward with a clean damp brush.
A two-colour checkerboard with no pencil lines1 page. Gouache. Use a flat brush as wide as a square. Paint every other one, dry, then the rest.
Confetti flicks in two colours1 page. Gouache. Short dabs in every direction. Cover the facing page with scrap paper first.
Dots that grow from tiny to coin-sized1 page. Gouache. One colour. Smallest at the left edge, biggest at the right, none touching.
Drips running down the page1 page. Watercolor. Two colours. Tilt the book, touch wet paint to the top edge, then lay it flat to dry.
Every mark one brush can make1 page. Watercolor. One colour. Rows of tip marks, side marks, press-and-lift marks and dry drags.
Hills brushed up from a torn paper edge1 page. Watercolor. One colour. Hold the torn edge down, brush colour up off it, move it and repeat paler.
Leaves made with one press and lift each1 page. Watercolor. Two greens. Touch the tip down, press the belly flat, and lift to a point.
Loops painted until the brush runs dry1 page. Gouache. One colour. Keep the brush on the paper as long as the paint lasts, then reload.
Overlapping circles in a single colour1 page. Watercolor. Let each ring dry before the next one crosses it, so the overlaps show darker.
Plaid from two colours of crossing stripes1 page. Watercolor. All the stripes one way first. Dry. Then the second colour across them.
Stripes that fade as the brush runs out1 page. Watercolor. One colour. Load the brush once and keep painting stripes until it is empty.
Two colours that meet in the middle of the page1 page. Watercolor. Paint one in from each side and let them touch while wet. Do not go back in.
Wavy bands from pale to dark down the page1 page. Gouache. One colour. Paint edge to edge, with a little more paint and less water in each band.
How it works
Painting ideas for sketchbook pages, where there is a fold down the middle and the paper may be thin. Each one names watercolor or gouache and says how to keep the edge clean or the page flat.
Read the full guide
Tape, thick paint and a damp brush
Thin paper buckles when it is soaked, so most ideas here use little water. Taped boxes and thumbnails keeps each painting small, and the tape leaves a clean edge. Gouache is opaque. Slip a paper towel under the page you are painting.
Use the fold
Across the spread treats both pages as one picture: the fold used as a horizon, a tree trunk growing up the gutter, a bridge with its middle span on the fold. Pencil the main line across first so the two halves meet.
Let a layer dry before the next one goes on. Wet paint on a wet page spreads.
Gouache can be wetted again once dry, so paint over it with a light touch.
Close the book only when the page is dry to the touch.
Questions and answers
Can you use watercolor in a sketchbook?
Yes, in light washes. Thin paper buckles when it takes a lot of water, so keep the brush damp, paint small, and let the page dry flat before you turn it.
What are easy things to paint in a sketchbook?
The Easy group needs no drawing and one or two colours: overlapping circles in a single colour, plaid from two colours of crossing stripes, leaves made with one press and lift each.
How do I get clean edges?
Mask the shape with tape, press it down hard and peel it when the paint is dry. A week of skies in seven taped squares is a page built on that.
How is this different from watercolor painting ideas?
Watercolor painting ideas are technique exercises for a loose sheet of painting paper. These are about the book: the fold, the facing page and paper that buckles.