Sillman & Birn’s management team announces the acquisition of our company by Clairefontaine Rhodia. We are pleased that our unique mixed media sketchbook system will be nurtured in the future by this renowned and highly respected French paper company. Our connection to the Clairfontaine organization is not new: Stillman & Birn’s paper has always been […]
October 5th, 2019
ARTIST: Niloufer Wadia, India ARTIST STATEMENT: This sketch was done on location at the very busy Fergusson College Road, Pune. Café Goodluck has been situated at that crossing since 1935, an iconic eatery open 7am through 11.30pm, serving no frills Indian tea, snacks and meals, and always overfull. As a group, the Urban Sketchers Pune […]
September 28th, 2019
ARTIST: Josue Salazar, United States
ARTIST STATEMENT: This painting is of the unique rock formation found in the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado. It was made with gouache paint, and I wanted to capture the brightness of the day so I did not hold back on using my brightest greens for the foreground […]
September 13th, 2019
If your next source of inspiration needs a little extra warmth, then look no further than the Stillman & Birn Delta Series! This robust, ivory-toned paper allows you to use heavy washes of your favorite watercolors, gouache, acrylics, inks, and more, all while giving your art a warm glow! This paper series weighs in at […]
August 31st, 2019
Stillman & Birn Hardcover sketchbooks are classic in design and extraordinarily robust in their construction. They have tough, extra heavyweight covers on the outside and our renowned mixed media art papers on the inside. Choose from any of our original six paper series (Alpha through Zeta) with for a sketchbook that will not only last […]
August 18th, 2019
BEAUTIFUL HOLLYHOCKS Artist: Regina Sielk, Germany Artist Statement: This summer, gorgeous hollyhocks were almost everywhere and I wanted to capture the beauty. Thewarmth of the Stillman & Birn Nova beige paper makes the watercolors and coloured pencils contrast so intensively, perfect for bright hollyhocks.
MEDIA: Watercolors, Colored Pencils, Acrylic SURFACE: Nova Series – Heavyweight – […]
August 3rd, 2019
ARTIST: Brenda Swenson, United States ARTIST STATEMENT: Being a painter is more than mastery of techniques. It’s the desire to express how I feel about my world and my response to it. To put simply…to communicate. My tools are that of a painter: brush, paint, paper and ink. I sketch and paint outdoors constantly. Working […]
July 20th, 2019
OKUNOIN CEMETERY, KOYASAN, JAPAN ARTIST: Doug Russell, United States ARTIST STATEMENT: About twelve days into a recent month-long trip in Japan, I sat down to sketch two tombstones in the Okunoin Cemetery on Mount Koya. The nearly two kilometer long cemetery is home to the graves of over 200,000 Buddhist monks – and just a […]
July 6th, 2019
ARTIST: Kathryn S. Brashears, United States ARTIST STATEMENT: I’ve loved to draw people for as long as I can remember. I’ve taken various workshops with notable portrait artists in recent years, usually doing charcoal sketches and oil paintings. As of late I have been working in watercolor for the portability, clean up ease and quick […]
June 29th, 2019
ARTIST: Jessica Seacrest, United States ARTIST STATEMENT: I live in Southern Arizona. Lots of amazing cacti. This sketch is of a Beavertail Prickly Pear. Occasionally I’ll snap pics when I’m out walking. I like painting from photos because I don’t feel rushed, plus the temps here get high. What appealed to me the most about […]
June 13th, 2019
We’re giving away ten of our new 7½” x 7½” softcover sketchbooks. Winners can choose one sketchbook from the following series in which this new size is offered: • Alpha Series • Beta Series • Zeta Series • Nova Trio (toned paper – mixed sheets)
TO ENTER CONTEST: Simply email us with your name to: […]
June 11th, 2019
Thank you to co-founders Melanie Reim and Veronica Lawlor for featuring our new Alpha Series square sketchbook at their Life Drawing Symposium. The Symposium took place this past weekend in White Plains, NY. The annual two-day workshop is an immersive experience oriented to training artists in the techniques of drawing people. For more details and […]
June 8th, 2019
ARTIST: Shari Blaukopf, Canada ARTIST STATEMENT: Every once in a while, I love to take my tubes of gouache out to play. I find that the process of applying opaque pigments onto toned paper is a great exercise in thinking about colour mixing.
The real challenge in this one was figuring out what to do […]
June 1st, 2019
ARTIST: John Fishman, United States ARTIST STATEMENT: I have admired the design of guitars since I began playing them as a teenager, and built a few of my own in high school and college. They are truly practical art, meant to be admired and used. In my mind, Fender Telecasters, such as this 1962 “Fiesta […]
May 21st, 2019
We are very pleased to announce that Stillman & Birn has finally arrived in France thanks to our new partners at Aqaurelle et Pinceaux ( www.aquarelleetpinceaux.com ).
Thank you M. and Mme. Laisné and the rest of the Aquarelle et Pinceaux team!
May 16th, 2019
Artist: Natalie Higgins, United States Artist Statement: I love experimenting and playing in my sketchbook. It gives my brain a break from the technical and precise work of designing and making jewelry, my day job. I enjoy trying to capture the expression and mood of the human face. I start my drawings with a simple […]
May 10th, 2019
ARTIST: Jordan Rhodes, United States ARTIST STATEMENT: I painted this gouache study out of excitement and anticipation of the upcoming movie Avengers Endgame. This particular scene was from Infinity War when Thanos was explaining his motivation behind his quest to eliminate half of the universe. While at the surface it is a cruel intention, it […]
April 28th, 2019
Artist: Jean Mackay, United States Thank you naturalist Jean Mackay for posting this lovely drawing of unfurling ferns to celebrate the arrival of spring. One of the joys of spring is watching fern fronds unfurl. They start with small fuzzy arcs in the early spring, just poking their little heads above the crown of the […]
April 19th, 2019
ARTIST: Rachel Gates, United States ARTIST STATEMENT: When I painted this, I’d been thinking about the importance of sketchbooks. How they are more than just a place to create. They are a place to experience, to explore, to learn, to share with the world or even to keep sacred with oneself. I was excited to […]