Reflexions Watercolor Journal 5.5x5.5"

There is nothing that I did not like about these watercolor pads and I am very hard to please.I make personalized art work from them - perfect size. Water does not bleed through.

Shoddy construction. The first page was only glued to the cover and immediately detached.

Like this journal very much. It is a nice size, fits well in my 'go' bag, and the paper is heavy and takes watercolor wonderfully. I will buy this brand again as it comes in a nice variety of sizes and is priced fairly.

The cover came loose from the pages the first time I opened it.The paper soaks up the color making it hard to move the paint around.

Great 140 lb paper in a sturdily bound book. I like this size (3.5 x 5.5in) and the next larger one (5.5 x 5.5 in).

Works well with watercolors and pens dont bleed through.

I wanted to love this sketchbook because it looks so nice and the paper feels very good. However, I first tried it with tube watercolors and it was just a disaster. The water and paint sink into the paper like it was a sponge. It's almost like there was no sizing on the paper. Some of it did bleed through to the back like another reviewer mentioned. So today I decided to try gouache. the gouache worked really well on the paper, although it dried really quickly because all the liquid soaked into the paper. But what was really awful was when I pulled up the washi tape that I used for the horizon line. The entire surface of the paper came up with the not very sticky tape. And I didn't even press it down hard because I knew I was using thick gouache and I was just using it as a horizon guide. Maybe I got a defective one since there are so many glowing reviews about how wonderful this worked with watercolor, but I did not have that experience. I would say use it for colored pencil and pencil sketching, but the paper is so soft that I don't know how well it would hold up to erasing.

I go out once a week in good weather with a group of local Plein air artists. They are serious about it. They set up French easels with umbrellas and paint on canvas with oils.More power to them, and they are good, but the light changes too fast for me and by the time I get everything set up it's raining, it's 102 degrees, or the wind is carrying off small cars parked along the roadside. I learned how to do ink and watercolor sketches from an online class and I'm happy.I just pull out my folding stool, grab my kit (in a zipper canvas bag), pick a sketchbook, and go to work. I can finish a color sketch that catches the mood of the day in a little more than 20 minutes. This little sketchbook is the perfect size. It's better quality than I usually use, so the watercolors sing on the paper and I can lift them if I need to. Sometimes I have to resort to gouache at home if things get too dark.The pages are stitched into the book, so if you get a good one, you'll have to use it for reference. That's okay though. It's fun to have a record of your summer in one place. The paper is heavy enough to use the backs for paintings, or you can make notes on one side and paint on the other.Great for a gift with a travel palette, if you can part with it.