I recently posted about artist Betye Saar’s sketchbooks. The article linked below from Hyperallergic is a great exploration of her work, with lots of sketchbook images. The sketchbooks reveal how Saar’s practice has evolved over time, and how time itself is a major thread in her work. Read more: Betye Saar’s Never-Before-Seen Sketchbooks Offer Deep … Continue reading More on Betye Saar’s Sketchbooks
I must have missed this Brainpickings article when it was originally published in 2014, but I’m glad I discovered it via Pinterest! Artist John Vernon Lord created amazing illustrations to accompany James Joyce‘s Finnegans Wake in a collectible edition published by the Folio Society (now out of stock, alas). The illustrations are stunning, but of … Continue reading John Vernon Lord’s Notebooks
Betye Saar is a 93 year old artist I hadn’t heard of until reading about her in the New York Times Fall Preview. She is getting a lot of attention right now, with two major solo exhibitions this fall at MoMA and LACMA. Betye Saar’s sketchbooks play an important role in her work: Everywhere she … Continue reading Betye Saar’s Sketchbooks
Isn’t this flower stunning? I love sketchbooks that surprise you with big spreads of saturated color! The painting is by artist Dasha Egudkina, who says: I carry about three sketchbooks with me at all times. For the rare occasion I am not, I have a pocket sized Moleskine. Besides a few exceptions, often made for … Continue reading Dasha Egudkina’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
Whenever I see stories like this, I cringe! As far as I can remember, I’ve only lost one notebook in my life, a rather cool one I was using in 7th grade that was probably stolen rather than lost. I never did find another one like it, and it’s haunted me ever since! So I … Continue reading Artist Loses Sketchbook
I love the luscious colors and texture of these sketchbook pages! New York-based print designer and illustrator Sara Boccaccini Meadows has made it a habit to take her sketchbook everywhere she goes, taking inspiration from her everyday surroundings…. This artist also has a 35-minute online class to help you paint beautiful botanicals. Read more: Artist Shares … Continue reading Sara Boccaccini Meadows’ Sketchbooks
…or perhaps this post’s title should be “Sketching Skulpture,” because my inspiration comes from a blog post at Sketchbook Skool. The sketch below by Jonathan Twingley really caught my eye– such a cool mix of color, texture and light and dark shading with fine cross-hatching. It was done on location at MoMA, as part of … Continue reading Sketching Sculpture
This is my latest favorite find in the “Artists’ Facsimile Sketchbooks” category: Hilma Af Klint Notes and Methods. I saw it for sale at the McNally Jackson bookshop in NYC and it’s full of lots of great reproductions of full notebook spreads. I saw the Hilma Af Klint exhibition at the Guggenheim a few months … Continue reading Hilma Af Klint’s Notebooks
I love coming across other people’s art journals, especially presented in spreads of thumbnail pages: This is from Wings of Judas, the website of Judas Bardon. You can click to zoom in on each page via this link. The home page seems to be down so there isn’t a lot of other info about the … Continue reading Moleskine Monday: Wings of Judas Art Journal