Paris and Rome

dannygregory43 Comments

My boy Jack and I had a fantastic time in Paris and Rome. We saw every inch of both towns and took a night train in between. Eight days of croissants, pasta, art, sunshine, laughter, and lots of drawings:


I didn’t really think before I left and just took my book and a fountain pen. Fortunately, Jack remembered to pack my old Windsor Newton watercolor set. I haven’t used these paints in ages and seeing them on the page made me feel like I had stepped back a decade. My colors look faded and dull after a couple of years under the care of Dr. Martin and his wee bottles of transparent technicolor magic. I pushed them and the Niji waterbrushes as hard as I could but they don’t have that gem-like pizzazz I yearn for.

Anyway, it  was still loads of fun and Jack was an awesome travel companion and even more fervent a devotee of the travel sketchbook than his old man. You can read all of my ramblings on the pages below — just click the thumbnails and they’ll spring into big images.

I’ll post some scans of Jack’s pages soon.

Welcome to Paris 
Notre Dame in the rain
Touristas Eiffel
Parisian critters
Aphrodite
Blind Contours
Louvre courtyard
Sleeping boy
Last day in Paris
Mes Pieds
Train to Rome
Piazza Navona
Domes of Rome

The Art of Breakfast

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Watch this film in HD and full screen for maximum pleasure.

I have long wanted to make higher quality films that would show the process of illustrated journaling. I’m not a huge fan of detailed step-by-step instruction because I think everyone finds their own way to recording their lives in a journal. But I do know that seeing good films about how people make things is always inspirational to me. I love the videos Etsy posts periodically as well as small documentaries about how people make artisanal foods.

Jack shot this film with our new Canon 7D. He has an amazing ability to make images in any medium and picked up cinematography right away — insisting that we rent certain lenses and keeping my most commercial instincts at bay. Thanks to him we ended up with a slick film that still has some artistic merit.  Tommy Kane, my long-time drawing buddy, and master of his own video domain, was on hand to make suggestions and climb ladders. We shot over one weekend, then spent a couple more weeks putting it all together.  We all learned a lot during this process and can’t wait to make the next film.

Here are some of the videos that inspired our film:

Progress Report

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I know I have developed an annoying new habit of teasing you with vague announcements of upcoming projects. So here’s a status update on a few of the pots bubbling on the stove.

• My next book, currently known only as “The Patti Book” is coming along very well. I have shared the first draft with my editor Bridget and she has had a lot of useful input. The second draft is almost finished and I will soon start polishing it for final transmission to San Francisco. I’ll probably do a third before I officially submit it bto Chronicle — my deadline is in the early fall. I am struggling with the best title for the book — that’s always the hardest part of the process for me.

• I have received lots of spectacular suggestions for artists to include in my book on travel journaling. Thanks so much to everyone who sent in submissions and refferals. If you have any other ideas, I am a still wide open, particularly for journals that include both great drawings and writing. Even if all of the artists don’t end up in the book, this list of travelling journalistas as a wonderful resource that has already inspired me a great deal. Post your suggestions here in the comments section; I check it regularly.

• We had a sneek screening of the first drawing film this week. Everyone seemed to like it a lot and we got lots of suggestions that will serve to make it even better. We’re heading back into the editing suite and hope to have a world premiere very soon. Here are stills from a few of my favorite scenes:

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• My travel schedule continues. I will be taking a quick jaunt down the C&O canal, cycling 100 miles or so in what may prove to be debilitating heat. Then Jack and I head to Paris and Rome for a brief sketching interlude. I’ll be shooting in California in September and may or may not go to Indonesia and Kazakhstan in the fall as well. I think I will have circumnavigated the globe (or the equivalent) three times by year’s end!

• Cathy Johnson’s book is #1 on Amazon’s Drawing best steller list! Wahoo!

• I have been invited to apply to speak at the HOW design conference in Boston next spring. I had a great time when I did it last time, addressing thousands of designers and encouraging them to draw. I really hope I get to go again.

A new film in the works

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We are near completion on a major new drawing and watercolor film, the most ambitious one so far, raising the bar for what I hope will be a slew of new films on illustrated journals and the people who fill them.

We have completed principal filming and are now deep in post-production. We hope to premiere here in the next week or so. Stay tuned!

Looking for travel journals

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I am excited about the many travel journals I have already assembled, but am always eager to see new ones. If you have any artists you’d like me to consider for inclusion in my new book, An Illustrated Journey, send me information and links or post them here under comments. I am mainly interested in journals that include both drawing or painting and writing too.  Thanks!

A hearty recommendation

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I am very proud to be included in Cathy Johnson’s newest book, “Artist’s Journal Workshop: Creating Your Life in Words and Pictures” I have to say it is the most lovely and inspiring book I’ve contributed to — I have spend an awful lot of time going back and forth through it. It’s chock-a-block with great pages and tips from old friends and new discoveries. I urge you to learn more about the book and grab a copy of your own.

Another new book: An Illustrated Journey

dannygregory28 Comments

My favorite travel companion is a nice, fresh sketchbook. I can see my new environment with more depth and perspective when I record scenes from the journey in ink and watercolor. Sitting with a pen or brush in my hand sears the sights and sounds into my memory and into the pages of my book. While I love recording the bits and bobs of my everyday life, my richest journals are the ones I filled when traveling to new places.

Which brings me to the subjects of my newest book, to be published in 2013 by HOW Books. HOW did a wonderful job with my last book, An Illustrated Life, and they are as excited as I am about bringing out another compendium, this time entirely focused on the art of illustrated travel journals.

I am just at the beginning of the process of compiling this book and am still assembling an incredible roster of artists from all corners of the world. I intend to include people who have visited exotic places as well as those who  just travel to the mall.

I also plan to create a video podcast with interviews with my contributors so we can all see them at work and learn first hand how they make their art. It will be fantastic!

I’ll be busy with two books in the works. I will be finishing up the first draft of my next book for Chronicle this fall and then continue sifting, gathering, visiting and interviewing people for An Illustrated Journey. I’ll keep you updated on my progress — I hope you’ll come along for the trip.

Dubai Journal Pages

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Some of the things I made on my recent trip to Dubai:

Click on journal pages to enlarge.

High in Dubai

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Barj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, stands across the road from my hotel. Last night, as I was on my way to the hotel gym, my colleague waylaid me and insisted I come to the top for a sunset cocktail.

Minutes later, we were at the foot of the building, the sun bobbling on the horizon.

Our friend had made reservations at the bar, Atmosphere, and we were ushered into the express elevator. Seconds later, ears popping we were on the 123rd floor.

We descended a flight of stairs and got our first glimpse of the view.

The city stretched before us. Zillions of wild skyscrapers, all lit up. It was like looking out of the window of a plane, too high to even trigger my vertigo.

Many of the buildings are still under construction. Their windows are dark but cranes are strung with lights.

After a martini and some snacks, we paid an exorbitant bill, and descended to reality again.

At the foot of the building, a crowd of thousands watched computer-controlled fountains dance to the theme from Bonanza and Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

Hours later, as dawn broke, we began our next day of filming.

We had to start early before the sun grew unbearably hot.

Our cast and crew worked together to make swift progress.

By 9:30 a.m., the sun was baking down. We had to take a break till mid-afternoon; we’ll return to shoot into the setting sun.

Desert diary

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I am in Dubai for ten days, shooting in the desert and other parts of this exotic, peculiar place. Late June is probably not the optimal time to visit this corner of the planet — I have never experienced the sort of oven-heat that suffocates the place over after 9 a.m.

I’m making commercials that will be shown here and around the world. We are shooting in English and in Arabic. We are also making a film about the shoot itself. It’s all quite complicated.

90% of the people in Dubai are not from here. They come in search of opportunity and a piece of the oily pie. Our crew is English, American, German, Pakistani, Indian and me.

A horrible accident. I somehow sprained my pinky. Forty eight hours late, I was miraculously healed.


My journal looks a little more austere than usual. I only brought my trusty Lamy Safari fountain pen with me and a Q-tip made a serviceable brush. If you click on this picture, you can see a blowup of the page and read my most intimate thoughts.

Some thoughts on my neighbor, the world’s tallest building.

I’ll try to post some more notes over my remaining days in Dubai.