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My eighth visual journal was my first flop, in my opinion. I search and searched the stores and the internet for the perfect book and the perfect paper. I had tried toned ground in brown and grey and now wanted to focus on a higher paper quality; one that could handle watercolor, something that markers wouldn’t bleed through. I wanted a “multimedia” paper. I found one. I think I got it at Michael’s. The book is Strathmore’s 500 Series, Mixed Media Paper. The paper is thick and sturdy. It holds up to acrylic and collage well. But honestly, I hated the way it dealt with watercolor. It was too absorbent, if I remember correctly. Also, there were still some bleeding issues with shapries and when I used rubbing alcohol with th watercolor. The bigger problem was a personal one. The paper just felt too nice. It felt like I couldn’t doodle and take notes on these thicker papers. I needed to reserve them for finished pieces. That was a recipe for disaster as this should be and has been a place of experimentation and brainstorming for me. I was intimidated and therefore this is a short book with some failed attempts at pretty pages. I don’t feel like I accomplished anything as an artist with this book. Unlike my other books, I can’t look back at this one and point out the visual ideas I was trying to work through. It feels barely started. It feels abandoned. It makes me sad.