Spoke NYC is pleased to present The Moleskine Project VII, a group exhibition curated by Ken Hashimoto and Rodrigo Luff featuring over 60 international contemporary artists. SIXTY! Here’s a quote from Rodrigo:

“The show is a tribute to how artists have developed and grown by using sketchbooks to dive deeper into the personal realms that fuel their artwork, exploring new ideas, concepts and even experimenting with different media and styles. An energetic visual dialogue of imagery flows from frame to frame, forming a collective sketchbook that allows us to appreciate the radically individual approach taken by each artist.”

The opening reception is this weekend – Saturday, August 4th from 6 – 8pm {210 Rivington St, NYC}. For more info, you can email them at nyc@spoke-art.com.

{Artists shown above: Travis Louie  /  Michael Reeder  /  Matt Ritchie  /  Alex Garant  /  Alessandra Maria  /  Daniel Bilodeau}

Oh, I am so doing this. In fact, my little sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project just arrived in the mail from the Brooklyn Art Library yesterday! Wanna do it too? Yes! We just missed the 2017 cut off, but I’m all in for 2018. Here are the ins and outs of this very cool project (est. 2006):

Artsy experiments literally jumping out of the sketchbook! This is the work of North Carolina based artist Eva Magill-Oliver. Her portfolio is full of gorgeous paintings {both abstract and landscape}, but these frame-worthy “sketchbook” pieces, from her inspiring Instagram feed, grabbed me and would not let go. Those pink leaves… ♥

{via Brown Paper Bag}

I love it when you’re looking through an artist’s polished portfolio… and then you stumble onto their loose and lovely sketchbook! Yep, this is a peek into the sassy sketchbook pages belonging to London based artist/illustrator Alexandria Coe. Such simple, elegant, lovely lines.

So sweet, so pretty! This is the work of Montreal based artist/illustrator Isabelle Arsenault. The first two pieces are in her regular portfolio, but the last four pieces are from her sketchbook… sketchbook?! I love it when I find sketchbooks that could be framed and hung! Gorgeous!

ps. It happens to be my birthday today, so I have to include this piece too… that’s going to be me all day!!!

Pickles, ponies, and party dresses!! Now THAT is a sketchbook! And the creator of these amazing “sketches”… Brooklyn based artist, illustrator, AND designer Danielle Kroll. Now, if this is what her unfinished work looks like, just image the finished pieces! She has done all sorts of things for clients like Anthropologie, and Land of Nod just to name drop a couple of biggies.

One of my favorite things, aside from that fab sketchbook of course, is this personal project:

“In August 2012 I backpacked through the John Muir Trail. These photos are some of the sites I saw along the 200+ miles. There’s a lot of time to think while hiking and a few images really stuck in my mind – like what if the trail was rainbow colored? It certainly would be easier to follow.”

Sigh.

You have probably seen this gorgeous work by American artist Andy Curlowe before. He’s been featured on lots and lots and lots of sites, and clearly, I couldn’t resist either. The colors, the precise architectural lines combined with the loose work… and the mountains… ah, the mountains! I thought my post was finished, but then I found his sketchbook. Yep, I have a thing for fun, simple sketchbooks… Get ready, because it’s pretty different than what you just saw:

Ah-haha! I love it all… and what a perfect way to end the week… Dancing!

a quick post about something i’ve been thinking about a lot lately:

“NO”. it’s the new black.

i am a people pleaser. i always have been. i’m also super-duper type A so i never want to miss an opportunity… of any kind {i’m told that i suffer from FOMO – fear of missing out}. granted, the result of this condition has been lots and lots of amazingly cool things that i am so blessed to have been part of, but … i’m tired … the weird thing is, i didn’t even realize it. that’s just how i operate – a zillion things in my head at once, heart racing, go go go, etc etc. it wasn’t until this summer that i made a conscious choice to start saying that scary little two-letter word… no. i felt a lot of guilt the first few times i tried it out, but miraculously the world didn’t fall apart! no one was mad at me either. weird. not what i was expecting. once the guilt faded i actually felt a huge sense of relief. i’ll get back to my regular life come september, but i am definitely going to throw my new favorite word into the mix a lot more often! you should give it a whirl… it’s fantastic.

{art from the sketchbook of martha rich}

Yep – I think a combo of sushi, pizza, pretzels and tacos {with faces!} would conjure up a few unicorn sightings FOR SURE! Wash it all down with some milk, and I can guarantee a night filled with bizarre dreams, brought to you by the sketchbook of UK born, Brooklyn based artist Julia Pott. Love. So much.

Oh, I love a good sketchbook! I think it’s so amazing to be given a sneak peek into the process, and thoughts in an artist’s mind. Unfortunately, this is all I’ve been able to find out about artist/illustrator Dadu Shin… “I like making pictures, looking at pictures, thinking about pictures and eating ice cream.” All good things, of course! I tried to find out a little more info for you, but alas, nothing. However, in all of my searching I did find these little gems on Dadu’s fashion illustration blog {named i don’t like clothes}:

Well, I DO like clothes… especially that eyeball dress. Love, in fact.