José Naranja had a successful career as an aeronautical engineer, but it wasn’t until he left his job to travel the world that he found his true calling!
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The Spanish artist has spent the last 15 years filling Moleskine notebooks with beautiful illustrations of his ideas and observations. He first discovered his passion for turning his travel experiences into visual diaries in 2005 and has since published two volumes of his sketches, “The Nautilus Manuscript” and “The Orange Manuscript.”
Prepare to be incredibly satisfied as you check out 15 of his stunning masterpieces below!
1. If aliens visited earth.

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2. “Collection of new beings.”

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3. “Drawing of my second ‘home’ in Bangkok.”

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4. A route map of José’s trip through the Americas.

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5. “This artwork itself is a love letter to notebooks, a flight of fancy, and also a part of me,” José wrote. “A holder to keep ideas and experiences with full passion and dedication.”

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6. To call these pages pleasing to the eye would be an understatement.

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7. In fact, it’s hard to believe they’re drawn by hand!

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8. José clearly has an eye for beauty – not to mention a gift for capturing details!

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9. “The smell of Thailand. I’m always surprised how small details define our life stages.”

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10. The O-KOKO, an imaginary life-form that explores new worlds.

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11. José’s memories of Thailand…

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12. And Vietnam.

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13. “Bye bye old world.”

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14. “The Hypnotizing Planet.”

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15. A dragon’s eye in brilliant detail!

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Happy travels, José! We’d happily flip through your mesmerizing notebooks any day. You can find more of his imaginative sketches on Instagram and his blog.
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