The Kew Sketch Journal
To order click on the button or any of the images
I thought it might be interesting to let you see some of the pages from the inside of my new book, The Kew Sketch Journal.
It was published by Kew Publishing and printed in Italy by L.E.G.O. The quality of the paper and the printing is just about the best I’ve seen. It would sit very comfortably on any coffee table.
As you may know, this is my second book. The first, Barnes, Mortlake and Sheen, was produced during lockdown. I set myself a challenge to draw every day and to post the drawings as a way of keeping myself regular and consistent. It started as a 30-day challenge, and has now reached about 500 days. I hadn’t intended to go to print with all the sketches, by thanks to the lovely people on the Nextdoor App, I was persuaded to collate all the sketches into a book. It was self-published and self-marketed.
Introduction Page
I realised that, Barnes Mortlake and Sheen, a sketch journal, would probably make an excellent Christmas present, if printed in time. So I printed 150 copies with local printer, Blissetts, thinking that that would be sufficient. The whole process from completion of sketches to publishing was 8 weeks. Apparently, this is incredibly quick, for the publishing world anyway. I am sufficiently ignorant not to know this (or believe it).
Within two weeks of announcing the forthcoming publication I realised that I would need to order more copies. Within the last year, since that date, I have sold nearly 1000 copies just through my own website and the local bookshops.
First draft samples
It was my good fortune that the book was gifted to someone at Kew Gardens who showed it to their publishing department and in January 2022 I had a book commission from the world renowned (and World Heritage site) Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Sometimes you just get lucky.
This was my introduction to the world of (professional) publishing. Where I thought that things can happen at the speed of thought, I was informed that that thought travels a little slower in publishing. Things take a long time. Months, sometimes years!
Persistence often prevails. The official launch for Kew Gardens is April/May 2023, but I managed to convince the team that the book should be in our hands in time for Christmas 2022. In other words, by November 2022. Thus we agreed a program; all 120 sketches completed by July.
Gates
At the end of January I began sketching seven days a week. The majority of my time was spent in Kew Gardens from early morning till afternoon, then back to the studio to tidy the sketches and apply colour. I haven’t yet really mastered painting “en Plein-air”, but I made a lot of progress.
Weather is a major factor if you’re trying to paint outside. In this I was fortunate, it was a mild spring and glorious summer.
Inevitably people come to see what you’re doing and usually comment. If you’ve ever done any drawing or painting, you will know that all sketches go through the crappy stage. However, the better you get at sketching the more you trust yourself to be able to bring things into line with the image you have in your head. You have to accept that it’s a battle to stop a sketch drifting off to follow it’s own agenda rather than yours.
There is a very famous film of Picasso painting live. About halfway through creating an effortless masterpiece he says “ Ca va tres mal” (it’s going very badly). Even someone like Picasso struggled to get a painting to go where he wanted it to go. It’s his self-belief, confidence and self-trust that allows him to work through the “bad” stage and experience that tells him that he can make it right. I’m certainly not in that league, but that helped me to understand that I should push through (although sometime you can try too hard and take a sketch too far) and trust my instinct.
Herbarium
With my sketches more or less complete I had to focus on the words and the research. All along the way I took copious notes spoke to people and dug into the stories buried within the iconic buildings. Armed with all my notes, both personal and researched, I began writing.
The most difficult thing, I think, to find in writing, is tone. Balancing what you know and have found out with your own, natural voice. I struggled with this more than producing the sketches.
Having completed the writing in one continuous period, I transferred the file to Kew publishing. They came back to me within a couple of weeks to say their copy editor had checked the writing and they would not publish my writing. It was all plagiarised!! What!!!
For someone who struggles with writing this was devastating. I had blown my chance, how could this be. Yes, I had used many sources for my research, but had written everything in my own words.
The reality, I had sent them my research file and had accidentally deleted all my own writing. I could not seem to retrieve my written file. Having had the file open for days (and not saved as I went along) I had accidentally (I assume) closed without saving and, of course didn’t check what I was sending.
Three days (and nights) of writing, I re-wrote all the narratives. Thank goodness there wasn’t too much of it.
The Hive
Through fact-checking, copy editing, graphics, final proofing, and printing the book was born and I could hold it in my hands. Better still, delivered ahead of schedule.
The book itself will never make me a wealthy man, but it’s quality, the joy of the sketches and the stories are a massive milestone and will become my calling card. It is a beautiful thing to behold. I have a slight disconnect. Did I really do that!
If you’d like to order your copy of the Kew Sketch Journal, click on the link below, the buttons or any of the images.
Christmas delivery dates
UK - Outside London - Friday 16th December
London wide - Monday 18th December
Kew, Barnes, Richmond Sheen & Mortlake (by hand) - Wednesday 20th December
