A Book a Week #2 - Bali Sketchbook

I have fallen a little behind with my Book a Week project. Have had a mountain of work to do (all enjoyable however) but finally have chosen my next book.

 

These are not necessarily reviews, just books I have in my collection I would like to share with you.

 

I go to Bali every year, and have my own Sketchbook of Bali, but not so long ago I purchased a beautifully presented publication. It is quite large 28.5cm wide x 25.5cm high and the pages resemble cold pressed watercolour paper. The captions for the sketches are in "handwriting", like on cover of the book, so you feel you are really looking at a sketchbook.

 

The Bali Sketchbook is illustrated by Graham Byfield and the text written by Diana Darling.

 



 

There is a series of these books, and I also have Provence Sketchbook and London Sketchbook. I like to collect sketchbooks when I travel. They are my souvenirs. 

 

This book is better than a travel guide. Anyone interested in the Balinese culture would love it. A very comprehensive Introduction explains the various areas of Bali and the background of the island. It mentions how the rice paddies have been irrigated and cultivated for generations, the origins and beliefs of the Hindi religion, the hierachal system and about Balinese life in the villages - and more.

 

Tenganan Village

 

The book contains three main parts, so it is concise and easy to follow: Part 1 - The World of Origins about villages and temples, Part 2 - The Hand-Made World covering rice growing, village life, cremations (and more) and Part 3 - The Sea Coast: The Edge, the Future which includes topics and sketches regarding tourism, farming the sea and the importance of the sea.



  

 



I love to pick this book up from time to time and read a little more about life in Bali, and look at the lovely sketches, which are really more detailed drawings and paintings than spontaneous sketches.

 



In Septemebr I am taking another sketching art group to Bali, and will add to my personal sketches and share my knowledge and love of the island. I leave the busy towns and head into the mountains then along the east coast, where time has almost stood still, although tourism is fast encroaching. My fabulous guide Suki, who I have been doing these tours with for many years, always has something new and special to show me when I return.