Category Archives: Art

Star Wars Costume Designer’s Sketchbooks

This one’s for Star Wars fans: sketchbooks from the 1970s belonging to the costumer designer for the original movie. A treasure trove of items owned by Star Wars costume designer John Mollo are being sold at London auctioneers Bonhams including notes and his sketchbook. If you don’t have the estimated £300,000 it will take to … Continue reading Star Wars Costume Designer’s Sketchbooks

Wyoming Artists’ Sketchbooks

Unfortunately this exhibition of artists’ sketchbooks is long over, but it ran earlier this year at the Western Wyoming Community College Art Gallery in Rock Springs. It looks like it was a lovely display! The pages below are by Leah Hardy: Below are sketches by Florence Alfano McEwin, who was also the curator of the … Continue reading Wyoming Artists’ Sketchbooks

Phillip March Jones’s “Workbooks”

A beautiful and colorful page from a notebook by artist Phillip March Jones. I love the idea of taking old pages of scribbly notes and turning them into vibrant works of abstract art. The artist, writer and curator Phillip March Jones almost always carries a notebook — a small Moleskine affair, just the right size to … Continue reading Phillip March Jones’s “Workbooks”

More Holiday Gift Ideas for Notebook Lovers

I’m always salivating over these big marker and colored pencil sets when the holidays roll around. Santa, are you listening? And if markers and colored pencils aren’t your thing, here’s a few other items to keep your notebook pages colorful! Oh, and did you need a new notebook to fill with all these lovely things? … Continue reading More Holiday Gift Ideas for Notebook Lovers

An Autumn Sketch

Sometimes the simplest little sketches just grab me. This one featured on the Urban Sketchers site is gorgeous. by Javier de Blas in La Rioja, Spain] Logroño, 11.05.2018. I watch the evening with no thought in my mind. Green is still alive, but autumn is already in the sky. Source: In a few strokes: autum … Continue reading An Autumn Sketch

Wendy MacNaughton in The New York Times

You’ve probably seen Wendy MacNaughton’s artwork, even if you aren’t familiar with her name. She has illustrated some really cool books, including these: , and I just discovered this amusing blank notebook she created, the Punk Rock Writers Journal: Now she’s doing a regular feature in the business section of the New York Times, and … Continue reading Wendy MacNaughton in The New York Times

Gift Books for Notebook Lovers

I have quite a collection of books about sketchbooks and notebooks and stationery. Here are a few of my favorites that you might want to consider as a gift for the notebook lover who has everything… for yourself, that is!

Keeping a Daily Sketchbook

The interesting sketchbooks below were featured in an article with tips for how to get started with a daily sketchbook habit. These seem to be from the 1980s but Daler Rowney still sells Langton Watercolor books. A sketchbook can be much more than just a notebook for drawing. “It can be thought of as a … Continue reading Keeping a Daily Sketchbook

Doodling Through Grief

This notebook story brought tears to my eyes: On his 54th birthday, TV animation director Gary Andrews started a Doodle Diary. This still-ongoing project is simple, but it has proved powerful over the past year; he chronicles his day in a sketch. When he first began the endeavor, Andrews often depicted his life as a happily … Continue reading Doodling Through Grief

Mom’s Manga Sketchbook

Japanese manga artist Haruka Komowata discovered that her mother was also a talented illustrator when these 50 year old sketchbooks turned up! Professional manga artist learns that talent runs in the family. Read more: Japanese mom’s sketchbook of amazing anime character designs from 50 years ago amazes daughter | SoraNews24