An interesting piece in the New York Times: Unearthing Rick Barton, a Boho Bard of North Beach, about a Beat-era artist whose work is now on view at the Morgan Library in NYC. Rick Barton was a somewhat obscure artist who lived in San Francisco in the late 1950s and early 1960s, often sketching in … Continue reading Rick Barton’s Sketchbooks
It’s that exciting season again, when next year’s planners are announced by Nolty. This year there are a few changes to their product line-up– a couple of discontinued versions of the diaries, and some new formats. Fans of B6 size planners will find some new products. There are also some new notebook/diary options where you … Continue reading Nolty 2023 Diaries Now Available
I’m continuing to make my way through my backlog of notebooks to review! I ordered this Talens Art Creation Sketchbook from Blick in January 2021 after seeing a few mentions of them online. The prices at Blick start at $7.25 for this pocket sized sketchbook, less than half what many competing brands are charging these … Continue reading Talens Art Creation Sketchbook Review
I can’t believe I bought this Herisa notebook on Amazon in July 2020 and am only now getting around to reviewing it! Such is life these days… but let’s take a long overdue look at this notebook. I would guess that the Herisa notebook is kind of a generic item, perhaps marketed under a variety … Continue reading Herisa Notebook Review
I happened to notice an Instagram post from Printed Matter about a facsimile book of artist Jimbo Blachly’s notebooks. (Available on the Printed Matter website.) The activity of drawing is primary to Jimbo Blachly’s work. In addition to individual drawings and watercolors, he has kept daily notebooks and sketchbooks which make up a large visual … Continue reading Jimbo Blachly’s Notebooks
I took screenshots of these wonderful notebook images about a month ago. I think they are from a book about the French film director François Truffaut, but I somehow managed to lose track of the link back to the page where I found the images. If anyone recognizes the pages, please let me know so … Continue reading Truffaut’s Notebooks
Several years ago, I linked to an article about the history of an iconic Japanese notebook: The Tsubame Fools Notebook. It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally managed to buy and review one! I don’t know what took me so long. They’re not that hard to find, and they certainly aren’t expensive. This notebook … Continue reading Tsubame Fools Notebook Review
In this past weekend’s New York Times there is an article about the new Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, OK, where all his archives are stored. The collection includes a variety of artifacts, including Bob Dylan’s notebook shown below, in which he made notes for lyrics, many of which evolved into the final version known … Continue reading Bob Dylan’s Notebook
I recently went to the Morgan Library in New York City, primarily to see the Holbein exhibition that’s currently being shown there. (Well worth seeing and it closes soon, so go if you can!) The Morgan is also currently showing an exhibition about Woody Guthrie, which happens to feature quite a few notebooks! This composition … Continue reading Woody Guthrie’s Notebooks
I was browsing eBay recently and came across a very odd Moleskine planner. I searched for it on Moleskine’s own site but found nothing. The only other listing I found was at Target: Digging still further, I found another Target listing for a beige version, which was also listed on the website of Sandman Books. … Continue reading Weird, Ugly Moleskine Planner