In art school we were encouraged to keep a journal. It was an exercise to help us develop as artists. This guy’s journal IS the art.
He travels and draws.
It makes me want to hit the road with some blank books, a Rapidograph and some watercolor.
You can see more HERE.
My mouth is still wide open, and I’m stunned. Amazing talent !
Wow! I can only dream of doing this. Personal art. Absolutely wonderful. Thank you for sharing this. I love IOTW.
That is gorgeous. As a person with absolutely no artistic talent, I am in awe.
Fascinating on so many different levels. I tend to think visual artists would prefer a large canvas but it’s especially interesting to see how the smallness of a notebook could unleash creativity and perhaps increase output, as it seems to have done for Jose Naranja. Brilliant and deeply engaging. Even the way he travels, ultralight packing, is an art form with him. Thank you for the post.
I guess I can throw away my collection of stick people art…..
Meh. He can’t hold a candle to DeNiro’s daddy.
Nice, the calligraphy alone is worth noting
Sometimes the best art never sees a gallery wall
I thought you did hit the road a while back, BFH… then parked yourself in a new state. Whatsamatter? Nothing to draw there? Bet it looked exotic when you arrived. Blank books work at home too… get you some!
Thanks for posting. The journals are intriguing, as is the concept of a nomadic artist.
Oh my! His work is awesome. Go for it now Mr. Hat.
The last time I opened my Rapidograph box was over thirty-five years ago. I put it away in anticipation of having time when we retired. No one told me that my hand would not be steady enough, at my age, to ever draw a straight line again. Unfortunately, I’d now be relagated to drawing crooked old trees and creaky old barns.
That dragonfly of his makes me still want to do an acrylic transparent build-up of an awesome photo DH took of a dragonfly sunning himself on our lilies. I doubt I could represent God’s architectural genious of His magnificent creaturre.
This is wonderful! I saw a similar notebook last summer when our friend (our former pastor) and his daughter walked the El Camino de Santiago. He is also an artist and I was stunned at how he captured the journey on the pages of his notebook — it felt like we were there with him to see all the realistic sketches of landmarks and people along the road. The ability to draw well is such a gift.
I never knew there was such a thing as an artist’s journal. Wonderful!
Cripes. I have a few Moleskines and a set of Rapidograph pens, too. Don’t think I’ll ever get that good. @ mrhanoverfist, my collection can join yours.
That is talent practice and diligence of the sort I cannot even conceive.
We all have talents but I have never been so driven to develop mine in such a way.
His end result is incredibly refined. Those books are amazing specimens of mixed media; ultimate diary scrapbook illustration journals. He’s an absolute one-off talent whose earlier versions must be something to see before they evolved into what they are today.
Alphonso Dunn – How to Draw Everyday! | 7 Simple Tips
Tip2 : have 2 sketch books: one for experimenting / brainstorming, drawings just for you. The second book for the polished perfect drawings. (I’m pretty sure it remains blank) You might like Part 2 too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51_39lqZuJc .
A superb illustrator. Very talented. The calligraphy is magnificent. A bit envious that I didn’t spend some of my time travelling the world when I was young and keeping an illustrated diary. However, as an artist myself I know everyday is filled with artistic oppotunity.
All of my daughters are very artistic, but my youngest has this level of talent and attention to detail.