Watercolors are a great companion for many notebooks. If you like to draw or just decorate your pages, adding a splash of color is easy with a pocket size watercolor set. Lately I’ve become a bit of a collector of different watercolor boxes, some of which I’ve mentioned in previous posts where I’ve reviewed watercolor … Continue reading Watercolor Sets
I’ve posted before about Ellsworth Kelly’s Sketchbooks: see A Wonderfully Messy Sketchbook. I had to return to the topic after seeing a wonderful reel of sketchbook images on the Instagram page of EK100.org, which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Ellsworth Kelly’s birth. A couple of screen grabs below: Apparently he kept lots of sketchbooks, … Continue reading Ellsworth Kelly Sketchbooks
Françoise Gilot died recently, at the age of 101. Françoise Gilot, Artist in the Shadow of Picasso, Is Dead at 101 In remembrance of her many talents, here’s an image from one of her travel sketchbooks, reproduced in facsimile in a limited edition set of books published by Tachen, which I posted about back when … Continue reading R.I.P. Françoise Gilot
I happened to notice an Instagram post from Printed Matter about a facsimile book of artist Jimbo Blachly’s notebooks. (Available on the Printed Matter website.) The activity of drawing is primary to Jimbo Blachly’s work. In addition to individual drawings and watercolors, he has kept daily notebooks and sketchbooks which make up a large visual … Continue reading Jimbo Blachly’s Notebooks
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
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
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
These are so simple and beautiful! From My Modern Met: No matter the weather, Azerbaijan-based artist Fidan Zaman takes to the shores of the Caspian Sea to paint the seawater and the sky. From dark, murky waters and gray clouds to turquoise waves and sunlit horizons, Zaman captures the beauty of the beach during all four seasons. … Continue reading Seascape Sketchbooks
Wow, it’s been a while since my last “using now” post. I can’t say I have any totally earth-shattering news to report about the daily carry notebooks I’m using but there is one new item that wasn’t even on my radar at that time. First of all, I suppose the concept of “daily carry” has … Continue reading Daily Carry Notebooks: July 2020
I really miss the “Book by Its Cover” blog, especially the series of posts about sketchbooks. (The blog has been inactive since 2015 but the archives are still viewable.) Here’s a cool post I’d flagged a few years ago: Book By Its Cover » Sketchbook Series: John Garcia. I love this shot of John’s pile … Continue reading John Garcia’s Sketchbooks
