Fun Things for Creative People

Sign In

  • Archive
  • About
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Advertise

Random post

  • MoreMore
  • Interviews
  • Photography
  • Craft
  • Design
  • Art
  • Illustration
  • Animation
  • Science
  • History
  • Food
  • sculpture
  • installation
  • street art
  • video
  • paper
  • painting
  • architecture
  • animals
  • portraits
  • humor
  • nature
  • drawing
  • books
  • birds
  • anatomy
  • light
  • murals
  • landscapes
  • plants
  • ceramics
  • flowers
  • embroidery
  • miniature
  • collage
  • posters and prints
  • glass
  • surreal
  • Home
  • Newsletters
  • Archive
  • Membership ❤️
  • Print Shop
  • Events
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise

Advertise on Colossal with Nectar Ads.

Editor’s Picks: Art

Highlights below. For the full collection click here.

A Menagerie of Contemplative Animals by Mila Zemliakova Weave Textile Traditions and Nature

A New Book Explores the Practices of 38 Black Ceramicists Working Across Generations to Define the Medium

Translucent Textile Sculptures by Do Ho Suh Explore the Familiarity of Quotidian Objects

Seth Globepainter’s Imaginative Murals Center Childhood Optimism and Joy

Metaphorical Portraits by Michael Mapes Deconstruct Art History as Collaged Specimens

Ecosystems of Fungi and Coral Inhabit Vintage Books in Stéphanie Kilgast’s Intricate Sculptures

See
the rest of the
Collection
››



Art

#notebooks #travel

Handmade Sketchbooks Teeming with Colorful Calligraphy, Diagrams, Sketches, and Travel Ephemera by José Naranja

April 5, 2018

Kate Sierzputowski

José Naranja creates beautifully detailed sketchbooks by collaging elements of photography, writing, stamps, and his own precise drawings of everything from poisonous mushrooms to a bird’s eye view of his dream studio. The ex-aeronautic engineer began working with sketchbooks after he discovered pocket-size Moleskine notebooks in 2005 and realized they were the perfect vessel to document his daily experiences and develop his wildest ideas. After 13 years of using the same style of notebook, Naranja now crafts his own by hand.

“It creates a special link between my journals and me,” Naranja told Colossal. “Drawings of calligraphy are just useful tools to express ideas They are the visible layer in the whole notebook as a piece, a mandala, and it’s the final artwork. Every detail in the process should be taken into consideration because I give the best effort. At the moment they have given me back only good news.”

The sketchbook artist also sells edited copies of his best work in a compilation called The Orange Manuscript, which you can find on his website. You can see up-to-date sketches and follow his travels (which happen nearly year-round) on his Instagram.

     

#notebooks #travel

 

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. You'll connect with a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, read articles and newsletters ad-free, sustain our interview series, get discounts and early access to our limited-edition print releases, and much more. Join now!

 

Share this story

 

Tweet Pin It

Also on Colossal

Related posts on Colossal about notebooks travel

Stamps, Scientific Charts, and Hand-Drawn Maps Occupy Every Inch of Travel Notebooks by José Naranja
3D Calligraphy Exercises by Tolga Girgin
Temporary Calligraphy Illuminates Historic Sites Throughout Europe
Gloopy Ice Cream Paint Brushes Photographed by José Lourenço
Stunning Arabic Light Calligraphy by Julien Breton

Trending on Colossal









Membership About Archive Newsletters Contact

Newsletter signup:

Join over 185,000 subscribers

Thank you for subscribing!

© 2010-2023 Colossal, all rights reserved. We try our best to attribute images, videos, and quotes to their creators and original sources. If you see something on Colossal that is misattributed or you would like removed, please contact us. Colossal participates in affiliate marketing programs and may earn a commission on sales through links to Bookshop, Society6, and various book publishers. See our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.