An amazing image from the notebook of a Sudanese political prisoner in the 1970s: Trained as an artist and photographer in Khartoum, London and New York, El-Salahi began documenting the experience he and other prisoners — including university professors, labor union heads, lawyers, scientists and media figures— underwent, drawing on shreds of cement bags. Fearing … Continue reading Ibrahim El-Salahi’s Sketchbook from a Sudanese Prison
I found this photo on my computer– I saved it over 3 years ago and never got around to writing about it! A notebook belonging to the artist Robert Rauschenberg: I managed to track down the source– I had photographed a page in the New York Times Magazine, from this article: Robert Rauschenberg’s Endless Combinations. … Continue reading Robert Rauschenberg’s Notebook
I learned about the artist Charles Ritchie from James Lancel McElhinney’s talk about the Painted Book. The image below is from Ritchie’s website, which is quite extensive. The website even has a whole category for Journal Keeping, among other aspects of the creative process. And on this page, you can see more about Ritchie’s sketchbooks, … Continue reading Charles Ritchie’s Sketchbook Journals
I don’t remember how I came across the website of artist Gordon Powell, but I loved this photo of his work space, with a composition book in progress: Gordon Powell, Visual Artist drawing table 2013 My studio drawing table with assorted tools and one of my “Composition Books” Powell has published a facsimile book with … Continue reading Gordon Powell’s Composition Book
There is currently an art exhibition on view in Australia featuring a work called “Chinese Bible” by Yang Zhichao. It is a “monumental installation of 3000 notebooks and diaries inscribed between 1949 and 1999. These small books were collected by the artist from Beijing markets from 2005 to 2008 and ritually washed before presentation. Once … Continue reading Scanned Notebooks From Yang Zhichao’s Chinese Bible
I purchased The Perfect Sketchbook as part of a Kickstarter in 2015. It was in my “to be reviewed” pile for quite a while, and I even did some pen tests but then it somehow fell off my radar. I recently came across it in my to be reviewed box and realized I’d never written … Continue reading Review: “The Perfect Sketchbook”
A gorgeous, dense sketchbook spread by artist Sterling Hundley, drawn with Blackwing pencil, in what appears to be a Moleskine. This is the kind of sketchbook page I can get lost in. The observational sketchbooks of Sterling Hundley. With a focus on time as a central theme, these journals are filled with “compression portraits”, which … Continue reading Sterling Hundley’s Sketchbook
This week’s addict is a designer and illustrator who has filled a nice row of Moleskine journals: What’s inside is even better: beautiful travel collages! For the past several years, I’ve keep a sketchbook that I use for everyday notes, ideas, lists, sketches, as well as travel collages. I carry it with me everywhere and, … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: Naomi Leeman
I came across these images while searching for “Clipper” sketchbooks, after finding out that Richard Diebenkorn used them. The Clipper Sketchbooks below are from the website of Albert “Abby” Sangiamo, an artist who taught at the Maryland Institute College of Art for 50 years. He unfortunately died a few months ago. You can see all … Continue reading Abby Sangiamo’s Sketchbooks
A notebook belonging to artist Larry Rivers illustrates an essay by Nicholas Martin about Rivers’ 1961 painting “Parts of the Face: French Vocabulary Lesson.” Rivers responded to the prospect of making paintings for a living by skipping town to Paris in 1950 for ‘a half year of deliberating whether I should continue a life devoted … Continue reading Larry Rivers’ Notebook