Rough Patch
October 13, 2005
I believe that the sight is a more important thing than the drawing; and I would rather teach drawing that my pupils may learn to love nature, than teach the looking at nature that they might learn to draw."
John Ruskin, The Elements of Drawing, 1857
John Ruskin, The Elements of Drawing, 1857
"Compared to the macho 'Saturday Night Fever' of the frogs, the newts' approach to mating is more like dancing a tango."
Last year, I had a lovely time visiting my friend Richard Bell and his wife Barbara in Yorkshire, England. We spent a lot of time in their little garden and I learned an important lesson about drawing and life � you don't need to look beyond your own backyard to find enough enough subject matter to keep occupied full time as an artist. Now Richard has come out with what I think is his finest book yet. Rough Patch is a study of the wildlife, the flora, the seasons, and the passage of time in the 500 or so square feet of his garden.
RIchard has been drawing and journaling since he was a boy and he has developed enormous sensitivity and clarity as a result. Richard simply sees more than the average person. He can penetrate the thickets of what seemed an undifferentiated clump of weeds behind his house and pull out stories of adventure, practical advice, recipes, poetry, wisdom, comedy, and life and death struggles to rival Jerry Bruckheimer, And of course loads of inspiring, moving art.
Rough Patch contains drawings worthy of Da Vinci or Durer, studies of clouds, hogweed, knapweed, and rotting rhubarb leaves, of foxgloves, earwigs, onions and bluebell seed pods. He paints field mice and voles like Beatrix Potter, and his flowers kick 'Country Diary of Edwardian Lady' squarely in the bustle.
Richard's writing is funnier and more gripping than ever before.
He describes epic battles of nature between spiders and ladybugs, lettuces and slugs. I was moved by the plight of robins trying to raise their fledglings in a teapot, by border disputes between blackbirds and the marital squabbles of fantails. Richard records minute observations of fly mating in an essay called 'Duckweed Disco'. In 'Brick Pile: the movie', he uncovers celebrity lookalikes among the slugs, newts and spiders.
There's another lesson in this book for all aspiring artists and authors. Richard not only wrote, illustrated and designed "Rough Patch' but after decades of being annoyed by traditional publishers (despite his bestselling epic sketchcrawl, Britain), he has now started his own publishing house, Willow Island. He has had great success with his 'Sushi' series of book, freshly packaged minibooks of his sketchcrawls through England, and Rough Patch is the biggest and boldest venture yet.
I urge all lovers of drawing and contemplation to order a copy of this book through the Willow Island site � you can use Paypal and postage is free if you order 3 or more copies. I've placed a big order so I am set for Christmas.
A record of my exploration into all aspects of drawing, illustrated journaling, creativity, and the inspiring aspects of art. By the author of "Everyday Matters," "The Creative License", and "An Illustrated Life" and other books.
Comments
This looks like a book worth getting... and talking of books worth getting I was given Everyday Matters today as a birthday surprise!!!
Posted by: Caroline | October 13, 2005 12:58 PM
I'm putting one on order when I get a chance, it looks like a really cool book.
Posted by: mac | October 15, 2005 06:22 PM
I am extremely impressed that Richard Bell formed his own publishing company. I would love to learn how to do that. I checked out the link, and the book is impressive. He sure does know how to publish beautiful works. Good for him!!!
Posted by: Lainey | October 15, 2005 08:17 PM
This work is lovely. Have you also seen or read Frederick Franck's book "Zen Seeing, Zen Drawing"? Fantastic stuff. I am happy that Mr. Bell decided to go publish his own work.
Posted by: Lainey | October 15, 2005 09:19 PM
Thanks for the tip. I know what I want for Christmas! (if I can wait that long before buying it!)
Posted by: ecritures | October 16, 2005 09:29 AM
Frederick Franck's 'Zen of Seeing' and 'The Awakened Eye' have been a big influence on me since I came across them in the late 1970s after my stint at art college and after I'd settled into illustration. I'd gone through the 'how to do it' stages and, as I found my feet as an illustrator, I found Franck's gentle but visionary explanations of WHY we do it a tremendous encouragement, making me feel there was something deeper than the bread-and-butter work I did to make a living. I go back and read them again every five years or so.
Posted by: Richard | October 17, 2005 07:30 AM
I have just been reading Richard Bell's "Rough Patch" which Danny
reviewed on his blog. It is fantastic. It's visually beautiful,
filled with Richard's delightful sketches backed by his lifetime of
observation, and it is engagingly written. Who else could make wood
lice interesting?
My only quibble with the book is that it doesn't have page numbers so
I can reference my favorite images, but there is one tiny drawing of
a black bird on green grass that so totally nails "birdness" with
just a few strokes (and that's just my favorite among many delightful
bird drawings); and then there are the luscious bunches of onions;
the delightful hedgehogs (imagine having a garden where you have
hedgehogs!).
Richard has turned having a garden into a metaphor for life. When
writing about an abandoned corner of his garden he says:
"Doesn't every garden have a corner like this? Don't we all have lost
dreams, abandoned ambitions and once fresh, blossoming projects that
have withered in the tempest and frosts of the passing seasons of our
lives?"
Instead of being a maudlin or negative observation, however, he shows
how the creatures (like a frog "who sits like a celebrity in his
private pool") who visit this area and the items that are found there
(old bricks, a crumbling peat pot) are filled with life and beauty.
Every page connects you to the eye and mind of the author and reminds
you what it means to be fully present in life, how actions have
consequences, and how there is a natural cadence to life.
I think this is one of the loveliest books I've ever seen. I can't
imagine a gardener or nature journaler, or anyone who sketches not
enjoying this book. I can't bear to put my copy on the shelf because
I want to keep looking at it; I walk by the table several times a day
and pick it up again and again.
Roz
Posted by: roz stendahl | October 20, 2005 01:26 PM