A Personal Journey from 6H to 6B
It may seem hard to believe, upon looking at my current bloated form, but there was a time, years ago, when I went to the gym and lifted weights every day. Seven days a week for over a year,...
The Giant Sketchbook
Art-alternatives.com sent me the biggest sketchbook I have ever seen. It is almost 700 pp. long, weighs 8 lbs, and is quite spectacular. We made a little film to show you what an effect it had on my family....
New color
For the past couple of years, I have used a fairly good set of Grumbacher "Deluxe" watercolors in a big plastic box. They have served me well all over the world,and I have grown quite used to their slightly...
Notes to Myself
I've used every sort of journal-book over the past decade, but the one I've returned to the most was the pocket-sized, drawing Moleskine. The paper is a little odd; it has a water resistant treatment designed, I guess, to...
Wisdom
Art supply junkies, take heed: an epiphany from Trevor...
Change of scene
When I was drawing with my pal Roz Stendahl, I was amazed to see that certain pages of her journals were randomly pretreated before she turned to them. She might have a fat, wet brush stroke across a spread...
Danny's not got a brand new bag
Thursday, 8:10 a.m. Getting ready to leave the house and start the frigid, two-and-a-half-mile walk to my office, I suddenly realize I don't have the bag I use to tote my pens, paints, and my journal. I feel my...
Pens of the Moment
These days, I have quite a nice little arsenal of pens (here each presents a self-portrait), and they are influencing how and what I draw more and more. First off is (1) my trusty nib holder. It's a General's...
Going to van Gogh
On Friday, Jack and I headed up to the Met to check out the The van Gogh drawing show.
Mother Nature didn't get the e-mail
When I walked Joe at 8:30, all indicators pointed to 'go' so I threw on a couple of layers, picked up my folding stool and drawing bag and at 9 I was standing under the Washington Square Arch. By this point, not a single cloud was left and the sky was completely, achingly blue. I sat in the park and did a bad drawing, hoping against hope that some one might not have read my cancellation memo and would show up but, no, I was alone.
Drawing fire
I wrote about Steve Mumford last year when his work was only available on Artnet. Now he has published a sumptuous book collecting all of the watercolors and observations he made during his visits to war-torn Iraq. He told...
Slow=Know
Basic advice to someone who draws but wants to do it better.
Just shoot me
For many reasons, I am a big advocate of drawing in one's journal. It is a meditative practice. It helps one to deepen one's appreciation and count one's blessings. It is a good impetus to draw often. It looks...
Art supply porn
I didn't even know I had a great aunt Greta (twice removed). But I was happy to take the call from her lawyer, the executor of her estate. Now I am the lucky owner of a 5,000 square foot...
Booking a vacation
I dream very intensely on the first few days of a vacation, as my brain reorganizes its hard drive. Weird hallucinogenic dreams feather into each other, dredging up dramas, ancient and new. Old bosses, old addresses, old mistakes, reappear in...
Jammin' good with Weird and Gilly
So I've mentioned here before that Jack, my boy, 9, good, handsome, smart, got into his skull that he just had to become a rock 'n' roll drummer and, despite my attempts to dissuade him, has been taking lessons...
Thinking on paper
My mum taught me to appreciate paper early. To riffle through blank journals and pinch the sheets between my finger pads. To consider pulp and fiber. To notice how a pen flows smoothly here while it bucks and protests...
The Old Bamboo
My passion for my Rotring rapidoliner deepens. Unlike any other technical pen I've used, it is always on the ready, never clogs or sticks or leaks and I've never even had to shake it one time to force ink...
Unplugged
I got my first mouse in 1983. It was attached to an Apple IIC, the grooviest PC to come along, a 9" monitor, a carrying handle, white like the current Apple design standard. There was a program called Macpaint...
My Name is Mud
Alfred Hitchcock meticulously planned out every shot in his films long before he set foot on the set. Then he waddled on with precise storyboards, his angles, lenses, lighting directions all completely worked out. Most artists aren’t so controlled....
Marching to the beat of your own drummer
Jack's been fairly adamant about it since last summer. He wants to learn the drums. I suggested the harmonica, the ukulele, the Jew's harp, but he won't yield. I point out that we have an apartment and neighbors, that...
Help from Roz
Today's going to be a rare day. I am going to introduce you to one of the most inspiring journal artists in the world. Roz Stendahl is the master of many media: the image above is from a journal for...
Dear Danny:
I've been lucky enough to get lots of email from visitors to this journal. These are some of the interesting questions I received over the past month: When did you start to draw? I mean, did you ever draw when...
Bookbinding 101
I have bound many of my journals myself. I learned how at a fantastic place called The Center for Book Arts, here in Manhattan. It was a lifelong dream come true, learning to make my own hard cover books. I...
It's not easy being chartreuse
I start most days by choosing a palette. It's often a fairly subconscious process as I flip through my pants, shirts, sweaters, etc in the semi-darkness of my closet. I have a lot of drab, typically male colors: khaki,...
Mother Nature
Flowers, leaves, and ferns can be beautiful reminders on your journal page. I'm not too fussy about how I preserve and mount them — I press them between my journal pages, folded in a paper towel if they're very...
Write on!
A minor question to ask your self on this Martin Luther King's Day: are you having enough fun with the lettering in your journal? Study magazines, old books, the fonts on your computer for inspiration. Try brush pens, calligraphy...
A record of my exploration into all aspects of drawing, illustrated journaling, creativity, and the inspiring aspects of art. By the author of "Everyday Matters," "The Creative License", and "An Illustrated Life" and other books.