The Journal | Tyler Galpin

Filling in the Blanks

I was chatting with my friend Jay Schaul yesterday about how much fun it is getting new print supplies - pencils, pens, sketchbooks. If I had all the money in the world I would manufacture my own line of super-high-quality notebooks. I think there are two different types of notebooks: those you ramble in, and those you write in with great purpose. 

My two favourite notebooks both have different purposes and places in my life. The first is Field Notes, which I have a deep adoration for. They fit perfectly in your pocket, your jacket, your backpack - not to mention the paper quality is fantastic and the more they age the better they look and feel. You can snag three notebooks for around $10. 

The other is a Düller Sketchbook - made in Japan, it’s a ringed notebook with thick stock paper. You can write and draw on both sides of each page without worrying about bleed or any show-through. They’re not cheap: at $22 a piece for only 24 sheets of stock, you can easily blow through one pretty fast. 

But something occurred to me that I hadn’t even considered before. Despite the difference between the two notebooks, I did one peculiar thing in both of them. When I prepare to write/draw in a fresh book, I always skip the first page and start on the next. It’s this rooted fear of starting a book on the wrong foot - writing or drawing something so non-profound, so stupid that it somehow ruins the rest of the book. As if some silly idea is going to spoil the potential creative ideas that haven’t yet touched down on the remaining pages. 

I store all these books in a drawer at my house. Going through them, this pattern appears in every single one. 

I’ve made it a habit to go through these old books of mine and sit down and leaf through the entire thing. Sometimes this takes a few days, sometimes a few hours. At the very end of each book, I go back to the first page and write a single word that comes to mind after absorbing the pages that follow. And for some crazy reason, it’s a way for me to let go of the hype of the first page and have a little laugh at myself.

Big Sur Expedition

Rented a car and drove down the Pacific coast Highway to Big Sur this past Memorial Day weekend. One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.