Tag Archives: travel

Communicating By Notebook in a Tokyo Bar

Yet another reason why I’m dying to visit Japan! In Tokyo, a bar called Decameron opened recently, despite the fact that other bars in the neighborhood have been closing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In part due to concerns over the transmission of the virus through droplets spread while speaking, and in part due to … Continue reading Communicating By Notebook in a Tokyo Bar

Notebook Addict of the Week: Vanessa Berry

Our latest notebook addict of the week is Vanessa Berry, an Australian writer and artist. In a 2012 blog post, she talks about her collection of 31 diaries, written starting in 1998. The photo of the whole collection is striking: The close-ups of the individual notebooks are also fascinating. She mostly uses old notebooks found … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: Vanessa Berry

When Do You Get Nervous?

Let’s say you’re packing for a short trip. Like, just a long weekend. In your own country, in an area with plenty of stores where you could conceivably buy any of the widely-available brands of notebooks. Maybe even in an area with a few cool gift stores that stock cute upscale Japanese notebooks. And let’s … Continue reading When Do You Get Nervous?

Vacation Notebooks and Art Supplies

I’m enjoying a week at the beach, and thought I’d share what notebooks and pens and art supplies I brought with me. Since I traveled by car, I didn’t have to worry about packing light! First, here’s what is in my bag every day, which of course I didn’t change for my vacation: There is … Continue reading Vacation Notebooks and Art Supplies

Pietro Cataudella’s Sketchbooks

Fun with notebooks and Photoshop! Have you seen the leaning tower of Marge Simpson’s hair? Italian artist Pietro Cataudella takes his sketchbook everywhere he goes, but his drawings don’t just depict of the places he visits—they become part of the landscape. His ongoing project, titled CityLiveSketch, features architectural 3D drawings that seem to jump from the artist’s journals, depicting famous … Continue reading Pietro Cataudella’s Sketchbooks

Lost and Found Sketchbook

Great story about a sketchbook that went astray for 36 years! In 1983, Thomas Thospecken set off on a cross-country journey, intending to document his travels in sketchbooks and journals. He lost one of them along the way, but decades later, the person who found it managed to return it to him! Artist Thomas Thorspecken, … Continue reading Lost and Found Sketchbook

Notebooks from My Cross-Country Road Trip

Loyal readers may remember that last year, I did a cross-country road trip, during which I had hoped to stop at various local independent shops to look at notebooks, including those that were mentioned in your responses to my call for suggestions. The journey was fascinating and fun, and in the end I didn’t really … Continue reading Notebooks from My Cross-Country Road Trip

Travel Sketchbooks by Victor Letonoff

I wish there were more images of these travel sketchbooks in the Cape Gazette’s profile of a local artist in Lewes, Delaware: As Victor Letonoff flips through the pages of a small sketchbook, watercolor paintings remind him of his travels to Paris. As a page turns, a French street gives way to the Golden Gate … Continue reading Travel Sketchbooks by Victor Letonoff

Explorers’ Sketchbooks

This looks like a lovely book, full of travel sketches and notes on flora and fauna found in uncharted places: Explorers’ Sketchbooks. “This remarkable book showcases 70 such sketchbooks, kept by intrepid men and women as they journeyed perilous and unknown environments—frozen wastelands, high mountains, barren deserts, and dense rainforests—with their senses wide open.” Available … Continue reading Explorers’ Sketchbooks

Artists and Their Sketchbooks

Thoughts on sketchbook keeping from various artists: Allen Shaw, Berlin I SPEAK through my watercolour sketches. I often tell people, “I am the sketchbook and you are my song.” It started off with a course at NID called Environmental Perception, which required us to go into villages and sketch. I have done a permanent repeat … Continue reading Artists and Their Sketchbooks