DRAWING PRACTICE FROM A COUNTRY DIARY
Since our outing to the village fete on Saturday, I have been feeling very tired, and after I’d compled my necessary domestic tasks, there was nothing left in the energy bank for studio time. After a few days of this I was beginning to feel a bit frustrated, because I wanted to get back to my book binding.
In the end I decided to do some drawing instead, from the comfort of the recliner.
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady
Many years ago, when this book first came out in the 1970s, I bought a copy. Somewhere along the line it disappeared – perhaps with some downsizing in preparation for a house move. I recently bought myself another copy – a second-hand one from Ebay at a very reasonable price. The book is in excellent condition.
For anyone unfamiliar with this book, it is a facsimile of an original diary by a lady called Edith Holden, written in 1906. This lady was not only an accomplished watercolour artist, but a naturalist too. She takes us through the year, choosing seasonal subjects for her paintings, and adding favourite poems, mottoes and sayings appropriate to the seasons, as well as her journal of outings and experiences. The whole book is written in her beautiful lettering, and the entire diary is an exquisite work of art.
The original book remained hidden for decades, until her great-niece discovered it and arranged to have it published as an exact facsimile. It is an absolutely charming book, full of information about our local UK flora and fauna, and a little snapshot into a bygone age. Those of us who have known and loved this book for many years are so grateful to Edith Holden’s relative for making it available for us all to enjoy. I wonder what Edith would think, if she knew how widespread her journal had become, and how much loved and treasured by so many.
It became a best-seller and many of the images found their way into other areas – mugs, tea towels, aprons, you name it! I have a jug with some of the images on it.
Sketching the paintings
I didn’t have my proper graphite pencil set to hand, so I used my everyday mechanical HB pencil to do a page spread in my sketch pad. I chose a “January” page at random and selected some of the bird and leaf paintings to copy.
I shall definitely be doing some more drawings – and perhaps paintings – using this beautiful book as inspiration.
