July 27, 2015
Every creative swears by their notebook, even in these days of technology and smartphones. We know we do! It’s somewhere to capture ideas, to take notes when inspiration strikes and make a quick sketch creating ‘Notebook Art’
The same Stephen reading the same Plata Quemada. 8th May 2014.
We noticed a growing number of artists taking this one step further, using the humble notebook to create beautiful pieces of art. Beyond just doodles or scribbles, these artworks are striking and boldly stand up against art on canvas.
We are featuring a different ‘notebook artist’ each month over six months and for this second feature we talk to Brooklyn based Artist, Sharon Frost. Sharon has retired from her curatorial day job in photography and spends her time creating beautiful sketches and watercolours in her notebooks.
Her early sketches were produced on small notebooks such as a Moleskine and she typically completed one drawing a day, creating a daily narrative. As her works became more complex the thought process behind them extended and she now begins a sketch and finishes it whenever it reaches an eventual conclusion, meaning she often works within several sketchbooks on different projects at the same time.
Her works feature wonderfully detailed anatomical drawings and moments captured from real life in a variety of settings around the globe. The captions in her works are more than often featured in Spanish.
Renfe Alvia – train from Madrid to Gijón. It’s better to read. 24th June 2015.
We are featuring a few of our favourite images by Sharon and asked her about her favourite notebooks and why she uses them to create her unique works of art.
My favourite notebook.
Right now my notebook of choice is Stillman & Birn Zeta which feature a heavyweight (270gsm) paper. I started out with Moleskine, but the quality of their paper seems to have slipped, or maybe my requirements have escalated. I do still like to use Moleskine Cahier notebooks because they’re so light weight. I can slip one in my bag and take it everywhere.
Why I use a notebook over canvas or other mediums.
My husband and I travel about half the year. It’s simply not feasible to lug larger media around Spain and Latin America (where we travel), and I don’t like having to switch formats because of location. Notebooks seemed like the natural choice for me. I started working with them over 10 years ago.
Why are notebooks are more than just a jot pad.
I think notebooks can be whatever you want them to be. That’s the beauty of the format. If you want to jot you can jot. If you want to do something of substance they work for that as well.
Why should people customise their notebooks – is it an expression, identity or something quite personal, therefore should it be personalised.
I put a sticker with an image on my covers, mostly so that if I lose one it might find its way back to me. I also generally attach a clear plastic envelope inside for holding whatever stuff I want to take with me (sometimes a postcard of a location we’re staying in). I don’t have rules about it though. I just let that kind of stuff happen.
You can see more of Sharon’s beautiful work at http://sharonfrost.typepad.com/day_books/
Tell us what you think of notebook art?
Do you create notebook art, If so we would love to see your works!
Buenos Aires. Back on Billinghurst. It’s not Boogie Street. It’s not a banjo. But there is a traffic jam. August 2014.
Back to front: winging it. Processing the coracoid. 13 June, 2015.
Because I kneed it. 10 August, 2013. Spread in a Moleskine Cahier.
