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
You wouldn’t think this would be major news, but I realized that I hadn’t bought a notebook in quite a while! Since 12/30/22, to be exact. My stash is well beyond what I will probably ever need and I haven’t seen anything new and exciting that I just had to try, so I’ve actually been … Continue reading I Bought a Notebook Today
I just saw the incredibly sad and shocking news that Chandler O’Leary died suddenly a few days ago. I did not know her personally but she has been one of my favorite notebook/sketchbook artists for years. I thought for sure I had done a post about her, but I guess I never did. I know … Continue reading R.I.P. Chandler O’Leary
Anyone who’s followed this site for a while will have seen quite a few photos of notebooks stored in various ways: piles in cabinets, piles in drawers, wicker baskets, under-bed boxes, plastic sweater boxes, white cardboard banker’s boxes, moving boxes, and lots and lots of shoeboxes. Of these storage methods, a couple of favorites stick … Continue reading Notebook Storage Boxes
I usually think of artists who draw and paint as having the most beautiful notebooks and sketchbooks, but photographers keep some intriguing notebooks too: my latest “other people’s notebooks” fascination is with Diane Arbus. I’ve always found her quite interesting, since discovering her photographs when I was in high school, to more recently reading Patricia … Continue reading Diane Arbus Notebooks
I’ve written various reviews of Nolty planners and notebooks, but I don’t think I’ve gone into too much detail about how I use my Nolty planner. These lovely Japanese diaries have some features that make planning, habit tracking, and list-keeping very convenient for me. The Nolty Efficiency Notebook has various page layouts. It starts with … Continue reading How I Use My Nolty Planner
This book sounds fascinating! It was just reviewed in the New York Times: Rome, 1950: The diary begins innocently enough, with the name of its owner, Valeria Cossati, written in a neat script. Valeria is buying cigarettes for her husband when she is entranced by the stacks of gleaming black notebooks at the tobacco shop. … Continue reading The Forbidden Notebook
If you’re not familiar with the term “mudlark,” it means someone who digs around in a riverbed at low tide to see what sorts of treasures they might find. I felt like I’d found some treasure when I discovered Johnny Mudlark’s diary! I first saw some of these images on Pinterest, and was led to … Continue reading A Thames Mudlarker’s Notebook
I shared a photo of this notebook on Instagram recently and a lot of people seemed to love it. I realized it’s quite unusual for me to show off a notebook that is this beat-up and battered! Most of my notebooks are pocket size journals and sketchbooks. I tend to go through them fairly fast, … Continue reading My Messy Cooking Notebook