Schetsboek met 20 bladen c. 1930

This is Carel Adolph Lion Cachet’s sketchbook, made around 1930. It’s humble, in a way – just a brown cover, spiral bound, with “Skizzen” – sketches – printed on the front. When I look at this, I think about the life of a working artist. Sketchbooks are where ideas begin, where the messy, uncertain process of artmaking takes shape. The color is like worn leather, suggesting use, like a well-loved tool. See the small imperfections on the cover, the little scratches and marks? It’s all part of the story. The sketchbook reminds me of artists like Cy Twombly, who embraced the raw, unfinished quality of sketches in his large-scale paintings. Art isn’t just about the final product, but the journey, the conversation between the artist and the work, where mistakes and accidents can lead to unexpected discoveries.