The Bottom Line
- packed full of drawings and sketches
- insightful observations of nature
- informal, personable style
- you can request signed copies
- self published - you can't buy it on Amazon
- English - some animals and plants may be unfamiliar to American readers
Description
- The text is in readable, hand-written print, like a cartoonist's lettering.
- Most drawings are black-and-white, with some watercolours brightening the book
- Chunks of text share the pages with loads of drawings, from quick ink jottings to detailed studies.
- Reproduction quality is excellent, with slightly glossy white paper and a heavy coated cover.
Guide Review - Richard Bell: Rough Patch - Sketching Nature and the Garden
If you enjoy gardens and nature, you'll find plenty of interest in 'Rough Patch'. I imagine that experienced gardeners will share some of Bell's experiences, smiling as they recollect their own adventures in the garden. I don't have much of a garden, but hope to one day, and immensely enjoyed the imaginary visit to his little corner of England.
As an artist, I found the exploratory drawings, the sustained life studies of plants and sketches of wildlife inspiring. Too often we struggle to find 'Big Things' to draw, when wonderful subjects are right under our noses. 'Rough Patch' shows us that not only can we find worthwhile subjects in the everyday, but also that sometimes, its the small things that really matter. The philosophy that infuses 'Rough Patch' is captured, I think, by a quote that Bell makes of John Ruskin, from 'Elements of Drawing':
'I believe that the sight is a more important thing than the drawing, and I would rather teach drawing that my pupils learn to love nature, than teach the looking at nature that they might learn to draw.'
