An art diary, art journal or visual journal is a daily journal kept by artists, often containing both words and sketches, and occasionally including mixed media elements such as

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

s. Such books will frequently contain rough workings, in

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

form, of ideas later to appear in finished works, as well as acting as a normal diary, by allowing the artist to record their day-to-day activities and emotions. These diaries not only give art historians a valuable opportunity to explore the creation process of these finished works, but they are a useful biographical tool. Many famous artists are known for their art diaries – the

sketchbook A sketchbook is a book or pad with blank pages for sketching and is frequently used by artists for drawing or painting as a part of their creative process. Some also use sketchbooks as a sort of blueprint for future art pieces. The exhibition ...

s of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

are probably the best known example. Other artists to have used art journals include

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...

. The concept of the art diary is also used by people working in related creative fields such as music; musician

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

, for instance, is well known for his use of art diaries, excerpts from which were used in the Eno and Russell Mills book ''

More Dark Than Shark ''More Dark Than Shark'' is a 1986 book by Brian Eno and Russell Mills. It features the lyrics to Eno's songs, each accompanied by an artwork inspired by the song's lyrics by Mills. Most of the lyrics and artworks are accompanied by notes by Eno ...

''.Eno, B. and Mills, R. (1986) ''More dark than shark.'' London: Faber and Faber. Photographers

Peter Hill Beard Peter Hill Beard (January 22, 1938 – March 31 / April 19, 2020) was an American artist, photographer, diarist, and writer who lived and worked in New York City, Montauk and Kenya. His photographs of Africa, African animals and the journ ...

and

Dan Eldon Daniel Robert Eldon (18 September 1970 – 12 July 1993) was a British-Kenyan photojournalist, artist and activist, killed in Somalia while working as a Reuters photojournalist. His journals were published posthumously in four volumes by Chr ...

, and artist Sabrina Ward Harrison are three other people noted for their art journals.

References

Visual arts media Artists' books Art {{book-art-stub

See also

Further reading

References