Hello there ;) Good questions!
I leave my sketchbooks open until paint is dry, it can takes day or two so I just use other sketchbooks - I normally use 3-4 of them, 2 pocket-sized, 1 bigger and 1 with toned paper for value studies. You can also use mediums to increase drying time, or paint thinly, or use flake white instead of titanium white. Hope it helps
You can try to paint without grounding but paper will meet paint aggresively and I'm not sure about longivity of the page afterwards.. I like to paint on ground - more predictable and smooth and you can erase.
Concerning cheaper sketchbooks - use all the spectrum, I like to use newsprint paper or just printer paper to make gesture sketches, quick warmups et cetera. We should never skimp on paper and materials but we can treat expensive ones respectfully I believe.
Happy painting!
very nice in depth answer
Thanks so much for taking the time to write this detailed answer.
How do you view your sketchbook? I find this varies a lot from artist to artist. But do you see it as a place to better your technical skills/jot down ideas/come up with concept/experiment or do you see it more as an artwork in its own?
I think latter is closer to me... Especially when I draw with ballpoint pen - I do it only in small sketchbooks and mostly when I am out of studio.