I’m very fortunate to have friends in Paris and Amsterdam that I’ve been able to visit a few times. I went in 2014 and bought quite a few notebooks. This past year, I went again, and also included Belgium on my itinerary. I wasn’t expecting to buy as many notebooks this time, but I ended … Continue reading Notebooks from Europe
One thing I have been bad about on this site is following up on my notebook reviews to see how notebooks perform and hold up after being used daily til they are complete. My “everyday carry” notebook habits are pretty consistent and skew heavily towards the older Moleskines I’ve stockpiled over the years, but I … Continue reading My Daily Notebooks: Moleskine Alternatives
Last week’s post about new Moleskine products for Spring 2019 got me looking back at my various posts over the years with ideas for what I thought Moleskine should be doing. They’ve sort of done a few of them, but here’s my current favorite ideas I think they should try. Moleskine Daily Art Journal Notebook … Continue reading Moleskine Monday: More Thoughts on New Products
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
I am always inspired by artists working in sketchbooks, so it was a treat to attend a talk by a master of the form. At the Ridgefield, CT Library, the artist James Lancel McElhinney spoke on “Painted Books: From the Age of Exploration to the Digital Era.” McElhinney traced the history of art created on … Continue reading James Lancel McElhinney on Painted Books
I have quite a collection of books about sketchbooks and notebooks and stationery. Here are a few of my favorites that you might want to consider as a gift for the notebook lover who has everything… for yourself, that is!
Thanks to a tip from reader Raymond, here’s another World War I diary story. What a treasure for a family to have. “The old cloth-covered book hardly shows its age — at 100, it betrays only the most modest of frayed edges. But to the family of the 24-year-old soldier who recorded history with a … Continue reading Joe Rodier’s World War I Diary
Seawhite of Brighton is a British brand of art supplies targeted at the educational market. I’ve only seen their products in stores once, when I was in London. But I did find this sketchbook available on Amazon, and decided to give it a try.. As noted in my post Size Matters: When A6 Isn’t A6, … Continue reading Review: Seawhite Travel Journal
Here’s something to add to my wish list! A $200 limited edition set of facsimile sketchbooks by Françoise Gilot. I highly recommend her book Life with Picasso — it’s a fascinating look not just at Picasso and his work but at Gilot’s own life and thoughts about art. Françoise Gilot, now 96, is best known for … Continue reading Françoise Gilot’s Travel Sketches
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this site, I thought I’d revisit some popular posts from the past. This one is from 2014. In it, I talk about an important shift in my notebook usage habits– from being fickle and switching notebooks before finishing them, to filling every page. You can see the comments on … Continue reading Revisiting the Past: More on Finishing Notebooks (2014)