I love hearing from past notebook addicts who update me on how their collections have grown. JournalJoy was featured as a Notebook Addict in April 2015. Since then I my notebook collection has grown substantially and I recently uploaded a video on my Youtube channel featuring my entire journal collection. I love to take my … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week (Again): JournalJoy
The gallery exhibition below at An Lantair in Scotland looks like quite an amazing presentation of sketchbooks. The sketchbooks were created during the lockdown, and of course with pandemic precautions continuing, it’s difficult for many people to view it in person. But you can see it online in their virtual gallery. [An Lantair’s] Lockdown Sketchbooks exhibition is … Continue reading Scottish Lockdown Sketchbooks
Yet another reason why I’m dying to visit Japan! In Tokyo, a bar called Decameron opened recently, despite the fact that other bars in the neighborhood have been closing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In part due to concerns over the transmission of the virus through droplets spread while speaking, and in part due to … Continue reading Communicating By Notebook in a Tokyo Bar
One of the more recent entries to the world of digital/analog notebooks is the Thinkers Notebook and its companion app. When the makers contacted me to offer a sample for review, I wasn’t sure what yet another proprietary notebook/app combo would do to distinguish itself, but the Thinkers Notebook actually fills a niche. The Thinkers … Continue reading Thinkers Notebook Review
It’s back to school time, so everyone’s posting about the best notebooks and pens. But a post at High Snobiety actually caught my eye with a lot of notebook brands I’d never heard of. Many of their picks are a bit more expensive than your average back to school notebook… just a bit… That said, … Continue reading High Snobiety on Notebooks
I’ve previously featured Jordan Mechner’s Sketchbooks on this site, and more recently, I spotted an article he wrote on Medium about his habit of keeping a journal: I’m a journal-keeper. With over a hundred notebooks filled since 1982, it’s become part of who I am. I couldn’t have expected or anticipated all the ways my … Continue reading Jordan Mechner on Journaling
For me, size matters. When it comes to choosing a notebook, I mean. I have hundreds of notebooks, in a variety of styles, materials, colors, and brands, but most of them fall into a pretty narrow size range. My preferred size has evolved over time, perhaps in proportion to the size of my own hands: … Continue reading What Matters?
Australian artist John Lovett has a great article on his website about different kinds of sketchbook-keeping. Aside from using sketchbooks to capture ideas and practice drawing, he talks about using a notebook or sketchbook in the studio as a working book, for recording technical stuff about materials and methods: Artists Studio Notebooks I always have … Continue reading John Lovett on Artists’ Sketchbooks
A fun look inside the world of Kevin Aucoin, the celebrity makeup artist who sadly died way too young. He seems to have used a variety of diaries in a similar format but with different page layouts. I’m not sure what brand any of them were. Kevyn Aucoin was a makeup artist decades ahead of his … Continue reading Kevyn Aucoin’s Journals
I love it when I come across textile sketchbooks, such as the ones below by mixed media artist Shelley Rhodes. She works in textiles and collage so her pages have lots of color and texture that go beyond just drawing and painting. If you are inspired by Shelley’s work, you might want to check out … Continue reading Textile Sketchbooks By Shelley Rhodes