The MoMA website has an interesting feature on Rashid Johnson’s sketchbook practice. In a conversation with Samantha Friedman, the organizer of MoMA’s exhibition “Degree Zero: Drawing at Midcentury,” Johson talks about how he uses sketchbooks, some of the motifs in his drawings, and how the pandemic inspired him to think back to how he’d used … Continue reading Rashid Johnson’s Sketchbook
dana jennings, toxic youth, unh, sketchbook, drawing, moleskine, handbook artist journal, journal
I don’t usually do art supply reviews here, but when the folks at Viviva Colors contacted me to offer a sample of their Colorsheets watercolor set, I couldn’t resist. Viviva Colorsheets are a slim, portable, pocket notebook sized booklet of watercolor paints: right up my alley! At least in theory… First off, the packaging is … Continue reading Viviva Colorsheets Review
Before the holidays, I was talking about my wishlist of a few notebook/sketchbook/art supply items. Santa came through! I expected to receive James McElhinney’s Sketchbook Traveler book, and I wasn’t disappointed. McElhinney’s pocket size sketches are reproduced life-size, each accompanied with text about the location depicted. Additional material in the book gives some lessons about … Continue reading Christmas Books
Here’s a few things I discovered over the past few weeks, at least one of which I think might be under my Christmas tree already. The rest will be purchased with a gift card I just received! J.M.W. Turner: The Wilson Sketchbook This looks like a lovely facsimile sketchbook to add to my collection. Turner … Continue reading What I Want for Christmas!
A lovely image of a notebook that belonged to Rodin. I found this on the website of an auction house, where it was sold for over 20,000 Euros. A little out of my price range! I guess I’ll have to stick to eBay for buying notebooks that belonged to artists! See the original image and … Continue reading Rodin’s Notebook
I thought this was quite an intriguing presentation of an artist’s sketchbooks– though perhaps frustrating, as you’d want to be able to see more! It’s from an installation of artworks by Antonio Marras, who is best known as a fashion designer. He may have made a name for himself as a fashion designer, but the … Continue reading Notebooks Under Glass
I stumbled across an old article from Wallpaper about a 2015 exhibition of the sketchbooks of British architect Chris Wilkinson, at the Royal Academy. Looks like it must have been a very interesting show! Here is an image from one of Chris Wilkinson’s sketchbooks: I also love this image of his pile of sketchbooks. Almost … Continue reading Chris Wilkinson’s Sketchbooks
Photographer Nigel Shafran‘s “Work Books” were exhibited in 2018 as the first show at a new London gallery, Sion and Moore. Here’s a few photos from a Wallpaper article about the show: Rather than present the photographs he is celebrated for, the work books – part sketchbook, part diary – give a deeper, more intimate … Continue reading Nigel Shafran’s Notebooks
Imagine buying a vintage Hermès address book on eBay and then realizing it belonged to Dora Maar, the artist and poet who is best known for having been Picasso’s mistress and muse! Brigitte Benkemoun, the author of Finding Dora Maar, describes her process of deducing the address book’s origins: A-B: The first entry is illegible … Continue reading Dora Maar’s Address Book