there’s an ever so pleasant chill in the air as i sit down to tap out today’s dispatch. it’s eveningtime in los angeles and a delicious 63 degrees, which may not sound cool to you, but with our dry air it can require a light cotton sweater. which…i am wearing! it’s been like one long hot summer since july, so these seasonal temps are making los angelenos sigh with pleasure.
i believe i mentioned feeling bereft after finishing the susan branch trilogy. i just love reading handwritten & illustrated journals about ordinary things. well, i was determined to find more. and i did! 2 vintage nature journals which i’ll share with you once they arrive. in the meantime i visited my own bookcases and went through my piles searching for a suitable replacement for susan’s tales from martha’s vineyard.
i found dear dan price’s moonlight chronicles. remember those from a decade ago?
i unearthed edith holden’s country diary. this has been in my library for 15 years or so and i never get tired of going through it. this may be the first time though that i read the book jacket which tells of her drowning while collecting chestnut blossoms on the bank of the thames when she was 49 years old. oh edith!
i am going to have to take it upon myself to retrace her footsteps one day. clamber over hill and dale in search of flora, fauna, and fungi to paint into my sketchbook. i will do my best not to die in the process, but as my dear sister knows i do love to sample various berries and fruit i find while on walkabouts.
i will certainly not bite into any red mushrooms. you can be sure of that!
oh just look at the pages in this diary!
to think this sketchbook was found after 70 years and only published as a facsimile in 1977.
not only did i find edith’s journal on my shelves, but also a sketchbook of birds that belonged to charles tunnicliffe
the work inside spans nearly 30 years and was taken from dozens of his 1934 – 1962 sketchbooks. it is an absolute treasure. you can pick up a copy easily & inexpensively on amazon’s used lists.
i still haven’t found the time to take photos of the second magnificent sketchbook belonging to harriet hunter that i procured on etsy earlier this year. it’s also vintage and i’ve been meaning to share it with you. i wrote about the first one here. and HERE. i do solemnly vow to get my tuchus into motion photographing that second sketchbook of harriet’s sooner rather than later.
it’s Divine with a capital “D”.
here are a few of my own nature studies from a few years ago. as i often do when i look back into my old sketchbooks, i wonder why i’m not doing thus and such anymore.
i’m headed up north to spend a week by the ocean with my sister dottie on saturday.
7 days of sunrise/sunset walks.
and of course plenty of time to record all findings into my sketchbook. i look forward to my weeks by the shore so much. autumn & winter on the california coast with its crystalline, blazing skies, and navy water is sublime.
thankfully, the cat posse will be looked after the entire time by a live-in cat sitter. getting daily emails & photos of their shenanigans makes me worry much less while i’m away.
hope you’re good… dreaming up recipes for thanksgiving dinner, going for sleigh rides, tapping maple trees, and settling in each evening by a warm fire with a cat.
you’ll let me know.
I just discovered Richard Bell and his online nature journal http://wildyorkshire.blog . Tiny eveyday observations, from 1998 till now. Ordered his facsimile journal about the nature in his garden, can’t wait for it to arrive, and let you know if it’s a great addition to your library.
I love Edith Holdens journal, full of inspiration!
And if you have some spare money, I absolutely love “The Orange Manuscript” by José Naranja. A stunning facsimile of journal pages, handbound by him. It’s expensive (got it for my 40th birthday) but worth the money. Mostly written in spanish, and I don’t understand a word. But I don’t mind. Check his instagram account to see some of his work!
You may enjoy these:
“Paris in Winter, an Illustrated Memoir” by David Coggins has ink drawings and watercolors.
“Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores” by Bob Eckstein. Delightful illustrations, and quirky comments and anecdotes about the bookstores.
“Dogs as I See Them” and “Dogs Rough and Smooth”, both by Lucy Dawson, with informal portraits of dogs, with some comment (not a memoir). The drawings are beautiful.
most excellent. love having all these selections to explore. thanks lili!
Hi Mary Ann,
I thought you might like this blogpost about all sorts of traveling sketch books
http://parisbreakfasts.blogspot.nl/
mmmmmmmm so good!
You might enjoy “Muriel Foster’s Fishing Diary.” She was trained as an artist but belonged to a class of Englishwoman who was not expected to work, and started sketching and writing in a printed diary for fisher-people to record their successes and lures. Here’s a link to it on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Muriel-Fosters-Fishing-Diary-Foster/dp/067086868X
I wondering if you’ve read any of Vivian Swift’s books? When Wanderers Cease to Roam? Le Road Trip: A Travelers Journal of Love and France, and Gardens of Awe and Folly: A Travelers Journal on the Meaning of Life and Gardening. She paints miniature watercolors the size of a Triscuit! She also has a blog (Vivian Swift) where she gives tutorials on her process and techniques of painting in small format. She’s got a biting wit and will crack you up. I’ve been fortunate to win several prints of her mini paintings which I treasure. She posts her blog on Fridays, if you catch her she leaves comments open for a few days. She’s very accessible and answers questions. BTW, her first book is handwritten and all are illustrated by her. I know you’ll love her books and blog. Treat yourself with a visit and get her books.
Your posts are always such a delight! Dug through my books and discovered I had Edith Holden’s diary also. You might like these: Janet Marsh’s Nature Diary; True Nature by Barbara Bash; Remembering Paris by Denis Tillinac and Andre Renoux; and The Country Diary Book of Creating a Wild Flower Garden by Jonathan Andrews. Okay, that does it for my bookshelf survey. Enjoy your vacation!
Mary Ann, I was so surprised – pleasantly indeed – to see the cover of a book that my mom had so loved. When she passed, the book passed to me. I love having things in my possession now that she adored. We had so very much in common. You have a way of finding and appreciating the little things just as my mom did…..you’re good people that way.
I hope you have a vacation that makes you feel more thankful than you could ever imagine!
Surprised another reader has not pipped me to the post on mentioning this one, so yay, I can! Have you seen “When Travelers Cease to Roam”, “Gardens of Awe and Folly” and “Le Road Trip” by Vivian Swift. She’s a watercolorist and traveler, and her books are in a similar vein to what we’re discussing here. Handwritten lettering, paintings, personal observations (many of them quite amusing). “When Travelers..” is my favorite. She has a blog too, in which she sometimes shows her paintings in progress – the interesting thing is that they are highly detailed and about the size of a triscuit cracker (in real life); they look large on the pages. No high powered microscope needed.
Hi, wow enjoy your time at the beach. We are also going to the beach but in Florida. I miss the ocean on the western side of the states. This blog brought back so many memories. I “learned” of Susan Branch at the start of her career. But as years moved on, I missed the trilogy. So thank you. I also recognized many books, that are also on my shelves. Thank you for your diverse, high quality and amusing/informative blog postings.
I wanted to share a few authors with you, just in case you might be interested in these illustrated books.
1. Anything Beatrix Potter: The Journal of Beatrix Potter, The Magic Years of Beatrix Potter, The Art of Beatrix Potter.
We have been to the Lake District of England several times. A thought for future trips. Beautiful area, her home open for visiting and tons of books.
2. For gorgeous illustrations there are a number of books by Maryjo Koch. I had most of them at one time, but gifted them to others. Some are in paperback.
3. Tracy Porter lives in California and is quite the entrepreneur I became aware of her at the beginning of her career when we lived in Chicago and she was in Wisconsin. I hand painted furniture and did murals for years…till the legs gave out…a piece of her work was in a store I had work in. Then she started publishing all sorts of items. GORGEOUS layouts combining painting with photographs and quotes. She has large coffee table books, small gift books, tons of designer goods…she has remained consistent through out her career. She has a website. Not sure about Maryjo Koch
Well this is a starter, IF you are not aware of them. But then you are so well read that I can’t imagine you not being aware.
have a great trip. warm smiles from north carolina…sharon
Have fun at the beach, Mary Ann! It is my favorite time of year to go, and I love it best if there are wild and gnarly storms, and a cozy cottage with a fireplace! Take me awayyyy!
Love all of the various artists up top, especially my fave, YOU. Writeabook! I patiently await photos and your impressions of Harriet’s other journal. I still watch for more of her work, on etsy and ebay. Nothing yet…
I hope you will take many photos and do mucho art and share with us!
Now, off you go little sea urchin,..
Dear Ms Mam. I hear you are heading North but sadly not north enough.. When you posted about the Pacific Northwest and Emily Carr..It reminded me of my favourite painting of hers..Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky. if that doesnt tell us something, what else does?
This lovely lady at Dahlia Papers posted three of them for our enjoyment. They are so so west coast I can feel the wet caress of firs as I push my way into the forest..
https://thedahliapapers.com/2015/02/08/a-winter-journey-to-painswick/
Enjoy
Anje
I love Edith Holdens books and treasure my copies. I must find the book about birds. Thanks! I have been catching all your post via my iPhone as my computer died and has left the planet. 🙁 But 🙂 I now have a I Mac and am loving it. :-)))). SO I SHALL BE ABLE TO COMMENT MORE SOON. Have fun at the ocean, I am so jealous.
i love your comments so that is peachy!!! xo
You have a copy of Muriel Foster’s Fish Journal don’t you? It is just up your alley!
XO
back from south africa i see!
i just ordered the fish journal having never heard of it before!
I love your nature sketches. Now I must search out my copy of Edith’s journal. Have had mine 30+ years and I too missed the sad tale of her drowning.
I share the same fascination. Susan Branch’s books – many of my friends dismiss them as “twee” but I’m absorbed by them. I study her lay outs and her techniques – I think she is extraordinary. I don’t think I could ever replicate life in such detail as she does. Have you seen Paris in Winter? A must have.
If you don’t have it, you would enjoy ‘muriel foster’s fishing diary’….discovered a ratty copy in an antique store one day…enjoy your trip… 😎
oooooo thanks for the lead!
mam
are you familiar with Gladys Taber? 59 books to her credit. I have loved her for years and years.
Hi Mary Ann,
I too have treasured my copy of Edith Holden’s “Country Diary” since it was published. Are you aware that “The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady” was also published? Probably out of print but you might be able to track a copy down. I love mine 🙂
just ordered one the other day can’t wait till it arrives!
Hi Mary Ann
I also have and love Edith Holden’s country diary. Keep a look out for The Edwardian Lady the story of Edith Holden compiled by Ina Taylor first published in 19 80. This book tells Edith’s life story and is beautifully illustrated with photographs, and Edith’s postcards, letters, sketches and paintings. The introduction sets the tone” It is ironic that Edith Holden’s fame rests not in the several books she illustrated in her lifetime, nor on the fifty or so oil paintings she exhibited, but on a private note-book she never intended to publish.” It is a gorgeous book which I’m sure you would absolutely love!
surely you will know how delirious i am upon finding out about this?!!!
thank YOU
You probably already know about Sara Midda’s beautiful,whimsical journals and books. I think you would love her South of France Journal. Enjoying your posts!
if only i didn’t need a high-powered magnifying glass to read them …
I suspect that you know Susan Branch writes a blog, so it doesn’t have to be “cold turkey” once you’ve read all her books. It was your post that introduced me to her, and I thank you for that. You, by the way, are instrumental in my sharpening my old Prismacolors and drawing again, after a very long time. Chalk it up to your encouraging writings and photos. Have a great trip.
hey thanks paulette. you know i haven’t given colored pencils much of a try, but one day i intend to.. love susan’s blog!
Another author you might enjoy is Maira Kahlman. She’s an artist and illustrator who lives in New York. You may even recognize her art.
I think you would find her books so enjoyable. To me, they are like opening a Christmas present. Check her books out at the library or at Amazon.
The one I’ve just finished reading is, My Favorite Things.
Fondly,
Sharon
P.S. The kids in your class are so lucky to have you as a teacher.
yes indeed maira is fab!
Such a wonderful post! Made my day!
oh, I just read too about Edith drowning. Poor Edith. I never read the jacket either. Golly, I am glad I am reading your postings.
I am so thrilled to discover that we have something in common! I too have a copy of Edith Holden’s Diary and have treasured it for years and years. Recently I neglected it and added it to my books to use for a journal perhaps? Now that I see your beautiful pages here, I am thinking twice about doing so. You, Mary Ann, are a great inspiration and I am so thankful.
i find something new everytime i look at it 🙂