The meticulously hand-drawn notebooks of José Naranja call to mind the rusticated, penned scribings and illustrations of Leonardo da Vinci. Detailed sketches, diagrams, and hand-penned cursive writing fill the journals of Naranja—who is also an airplane engineer, not unlike that Renaissance inventor-artist. Consciously or unconsciously, Naranja follows in the footsteps of that master draftsman.
Or it could be coincidence.
Naranja is a fan of Salvador Dali, actually, whose surrealism seems infused throughout those tedious notebook pages. “I’ve been writing in journals all my life, but I didn’t consider it art or even a practice for art,” he told The Epoch Times. “Things changed in 2005 when I discovered Moleskine notebooks.” Ditching his office job, Naranja, 43, born in Madrid, now spends much time traveling, and particularly loves Asia. Lively fountain pen markings and watercolors spill across textured paper, detailing his globetrotting exploits. That fountain pen (and the occasional Micron marker) illustrates pagodas from Thailand; tidily accurate, rustic looking maps of his destinations; industrial freightliners; ancient Buddhist temples; as well as more modern tourist spots. Rather than snapping selfies of his food—all the rage on Instagram—Naranja washes in watercolor bowls of ramen….