A Book a Week #3 -A Painter's Year in the Forests of Bhutan

I can only imagine what it would be like to take a year off and trek into the wilds of the Bhutan forests. The author Dr A.K. Hellum originally travelled to Bhutan, which is between China and India, to consult on a forest management project in 1988 for an international aid agency and spent two years helping with forest research and reforestation.

 

 

 The drawings and paintings were initially completed in the field for meditation and concentration. Some fantastic stories were also recorded of various situations when painting - the people he encountered  and made contact with and events that became integral to his life in Bhutan. He was able to meet the "real" people of Bhutan.

 

This book is organised around the seasons, which are so integral to a tropical climate and the plants he discovered in the various seasons.

 

For two years almost every weekend was devoted to illustrating about 150 species and varieties of tropical forest plants, mainly from the northwest of Bhutan in the valleys and in the high passes. He painted through sun, rain, humidity and freezing temperatures and only occasionally added finishing touches inside of an evening.

 

 



 

The stories in this book are all true. "All were happenings that filled my days with gentleness, so many miracles large and small, and so much human sharing". Wonderful words.

 

I tell my students that botanical art is a meditative process, and Dr. Hellum has proven this through his Bhutan paintings.

 

There is a lot of information about the flora, some of which have rarely been seen, and their importance and richness to the local people.

 



 

This is such an easy and fascinating book to read, and to almost feel you are with Dr. Hellum and experiencing the extremes of temperature, the joy when discovering a new plant and the peace when drawing and painting it.

 

I love his Reflections at the end of the book. This is part of it: "Above all, my two years in Bhutan taught me about silence and listening. My life before Bhutan had been so busy, so crowded with duties, passions and noise.......If one word describes life in Bhutan for me it is silence. It took a long time for this silence to find passage into my subconscious".

 

For the author, Bhutan was a land of hundreds of Shangri-Las where every alpine meadow, every rocky trail and every forest was a Shangri-La and every human encounter a new adventure.

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.

 

A Book a Week - 1. 'Botany for Artists - Lizabeth Leech

I have some wonderful and varied books in my collections. Some I just "had to have" and glanced through, promising myself I would return to them and luxuriate at leisure in the information and wonderful paintings and photographs.

 

I am sure many of you will relate to this. So I have decided to take a book a week, read and enjoy it, and pass my information on to you. I certainly have books for everyone.

 

The first book in this series I would like to share is very scientifically botanical. But remember, in the many weeks to come, there will be a book to whet everyone's appetite.

 

 BOTANY FOR ARTISTS

by Lizabeth Leech

 

 



 

A member of the Hampton Court Palace Florilegium Society (HCPFS), Lizabeth Leech is also a botanist and a renowned botanical artist.

 

This user-friendly book has over 350 informative photographs, paintings and line drawings by both Lizabeth and members of the HCPFS and is an accessible introduction to the wonderful world of plants. It was written in response to students and artists' questions regarding botanical aspects of various subjects, in order to confidently produce a botanically accurate painting.

Malus domestica 'Discovery' apple - Beth Phillip
Chapter 5 - Fruits and Seeds
 

Flowers, fruits, seeds, roots, stems and carnivorous plants, as well as cacti and succulents, cone bearing trees, ferns, mosses, fungi and lichen are some of the chapters covered.

 

The book includes Helpsheets for most plant groups, helping the artist recognise and develop their observational skills. It is also a guide to plant identification and recognising their important and unique features by understanding their structure.

 

It is targeted to anyone interested in plants and flowers and those wishing to draw and paint them, by marrying technical accuracy with aesthetical representation.

 

The chapter of Topics of Interest incorporates the correct botanical Latin names, choosing a typical representative specimen, keeping the specimen in good condition, photographic information and much more.

 

This fascinating book would be a valuable tool in any botanical artist's collection. 

• Published by Crowood Press, Marlborough, Wiltshire UK. The Australian distributors are Peribo Pty Ltd, Mt Kuring-gai, NSW. www.peribo.com.au

As I look over shelf after shelf of books, I am quite excited about what I will choose for next week's review. It will have a botanical flavour, but will be very, very different and will appeal to a much larger audience. Have I whetted your appetite?