josé naranja

June 25, 2015

José Naranja's moleskines


I spent most of my years at Uni filling sketchbooks just like this and for some reason i was simultaneously applauded and admonished for it.
I studied Fine Art, so i guess my tutors were expecting page upon page of preparatory cartoons (in the classic sense), scribbles and notes about future works.
Not moleskines filled with quotes, printed out bitesize copies of other people's work that inspired me, detailed passages on the subject of my work: purgatory/hell/the shades, and only a few intricatel pieces of draughtsmanship scattered throughout the whole notebook.
I did most of my best drawing inside a sketchbook and this wasn't well thought of either.
I don't know why i didn't just tell everyone to go to hell and keep doing what i was doing but i'm kind of an academic pushover.
I was the kid who wasn't a genius but wasn't stupid or average, i kept my head down and worked reasonably hard.
I'm intelligent and really fucking lazy.
But i got good grades. Teachers liked me.
Conscientious was used continuously in my report cards and it's what i was.
But that meant i didn't really strive for anything and i didn't tell my teachers/tutors when i thought they were wrong.
When i thought they were damaging my progress or leading me astray.
Which is probably why my brain imploded and i ended up leaving at the end of 3rd year.
Strange thing is though, my dedicated tutor (i can't for the life of me remember what we called those people) recommended me to a woman putting together a book on sketchbooks from all areas of academia because she thought my sketchbooks were worth seeing.
...
No wonder my brain melted.
If only someone had told me about José Naranja, maybe i would have kept going and flipped everyone off with my mad moleskine skills.
...
Or not, probably not.





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