Category Archives: Sketchbook

Are You “SABLE” on Notebooks?

I’d never heard this term before until reading a post at The London Parchment: I am SABLE (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) on almost all stationery products, particularly with Field Notes. What a handy abbreviation! I myself am probably not SABLE on notebooks, though I may need to reassess since I’ve lost track of where … Continue reading Are You “SABLE” on Notebooks?

Carl Titolo’s Sketchbook

I found this image on the School of Visual Arts website, as part of a feature on artists’ journals. Carl Titolo teaches at SVA and has been keeping sketchbooks for over 50 years. I love the dense pages full of patterns and details. It’s also interesting to see that at least in this case, he … Continue reading Carl Titolo’s Sketchbook

Macha Selbach’s Travel Sketches

I don’t remember how I came across the website of Macha Selbach. She has posted lots of images from her travel sketchbooks, as well as other artworks. Some are bright and colorful, and others are simple monochromatic ink sketches that nevertheless capture beautiful light. Lots of different styles, and all beautiful! See more at: books … Continue reading Macha Selbach’s Travel Sketches

Ibrahim El-Salahi’s Sketchbook from a Sudanese Prison

An amazing image from the notebook of a Sudanese political prisoner in the 1970s: Trained as an artist and photographer in Khartoum, London and New York, El-Salahi began documenting the experience he and other prisoners — including university professors, labor union heads, lawyers, scientists and media figures— underwent, drawing on shreds of cement bags. Fearing … Continue reading Ibrahim El-Salahi’s Sketchbook from a Sudanese Prison

Robert Rauschenberg’s Notebook

I found this photo on my computer– I saved it over 3 years ago and never got around to writing about it! A notebook belonging to the artist Robert Rauschenberg: I managed to track down the source– I had photographed a page in the New York Times Magazine, from this article: Robert Rauschenberg’s Endless Combinations. … Continue reading Robert Rauschenberg’s Notebook

Charles Ritchie’s Sketchbook Journals

I learned about the artist Charles Ritchie from James Lancel McElhinney’s talk about the Painted Book. The image below is from Ritchie’s website, which is quite extensive. The website even has a whole category for Journal Keeping, among other aspects of the creative process. And on this page, you can see more about Ritchie’s sketchbooks, … Continue reading Charles Ritchie’s Sketchbook Journals

Gordon Powell’s Composition Book

I don’t remember how I came across the website of artist Gordon Powell, but I loved this photo of his work space, with a composition book in progress: Gordon Powell, Visual Artist drawing table 2013 My studio drawing table with assorted tools and one of my “Composition Books” Powell has published a facsimile book with … Continue reading Gordon Powell’s Composition Book

Bindewerk Linen Journal Quality Control

As I’ve mentioned several times on this site, the Bindewerk Linen Notebook (officially known as the Bindewerk Linen Flexible Cover Travel Notebook) is one of my most exciting finds for alternatives to Moleskine notebooks in the 9×14 cm hardcover format. I have bought 10 of these so far because I love them so much. I’ve … Continue reading Bindewerk Linen Journal Quality Control

Notebook Addict of the Week: e2g4

This week’s addict is another Reddit user, who posted the image below of his tidy and consistent collection: Notebooks. It’s not fancy, but each month I put it on the shelf and grab a new one. I used to have nice notebooks, but then I tried to standardize and reduce the barrier to drawing. I … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: e2g4