Category Archives: creativity

Bob Dylan’s Notebook

In this past weekend’s New York Times there is an article about the new Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, OK, where all his archives are stored. The collection includes a variety of artifacts, including Bob Dylan’s notebook shown below, in which he made notes for lyrics, many of which evolved into the final version known … Continue reading Bob Dylan’s Notebook

Woody Guthrie’s Notebooks

I recently went to the Morgan Library in New York City, primarily to see the Holbein exhibition that’s currently being shown there. (Well worth seeing and it closes soon, so go if you can!) The Morgan is also currently showing an exhibition about Woody Guthrie, which happens to feature quite a few notebooks! This composition … Continue reading Woody Guthrie’s Notebooks

Notebook Addict of the Week: chamo_san

This week’s addict is chamo_san, an artist from Barcelona who I’ve been following on Instagram. A lot of the work he shares is done in sketchbooks, and they all look rather lovely piled up like this! The work he’s creating inside them is quite stunning too! Here’s just a sampling: You can see more here: … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: chamo_san

Stanley Whitney in the New York Times

Back in 2017, I posted about artist Stanley Whitney and his sketchbooks. I hadn’t heard of him before reading about an exhibition and book featuring his sketchbooks, but I remembered him well when I saw his name on the front page of the NY Times Arts section this past weekend. Stanley Whitney Dances With Matisse … Continue reading Stanley Whitney in the New York Times

Oscar’s Sketchbook

This is a really interesting sketchbook, now part of the collection of the National Museum of Australia. It belonged to a young Aboriginal man named Oscar. The article is a bit vague about the circumstances of Oscar’s life– it sounds like he could have been a slave, or indentured servant, or at best an orphan … Continue reading Oscar’s Sketchbook

Architects’ Sketchbooks as Visual Conversation

Architects’ sketchbooks are always some of my favorites to look at. And having worked with an architect and contractor on a renovation of my own home, the quote below really resonated with me, as I found myself frequently pulling out my own notebooks to draw ideas that I couldn’t otherwise explain! From architect to contractor, … Continue reading Architects’ Sketchbooks as Visual Conversation

Salvador Dali Notebook

I recently came across this 2016 Huffington Post article about the auction sale of a Salvador Dali notebook via Pinterest, and thought “How on earth did I miss this?!?” This is one of my favorite glimpses of an artist’s notebook! Here’s A Rare Glimpse Inside Salvador Dali’s Unpublished Diaries Salvador DaliĀ­, the great Surrealist painter … Continue reading Salvador Dali Notebook

The Godfather Notebook

I get some great tips from readers, especially David B., who shared this one recently: “Fresh Air” on NPR today reran Teri Gross’s interview with Francis Ford Coppola from 2016 when his Godfather production notebook facsimile was published. I don’t remember ever hearing about this book at the time but it sounds like a fascinating … Continue reading The Godfather Notebook

Gerard’s Visual Journals

Gerard McNeil was featured here as a Notebook Addict of the Week over 10 years ago. In that post, we saw some photos of the notebooks he uses to capture creative ideas, and a few interiors. Recently he got back in touch and shared a link to his website, where you can get a more … Continue reading Gerard’s Visual Journals