To date, Two books have been published, a Third coming soon.
Below are examples from each book, giving an idea of how the books work.
Sue illustrates each of her books with her own paintings in various mediums, watercolour, pastel, oil paints, pencil, etc.
Book One. 'The Artist and the Gardener', a large informative book, with numerous Paintings and information on plants.
Book Two. 'Vegetables'. The second a smaller but just as useful and interesting read, Vegetables is also a mix of paintings and text.
Book Three, 'A Year in My French Garden' will be published soon, and will describe Sues' garden over the course of a year in both paintings and text.
Book One.
The Artist And The Gardener
381 pages (A4) of text and stunning paintings describing how to grow, look after and paint each of the plants in the book.
SNOWDROP
Galanthus nivalis, 'gala' meaning milk and 'anthos' flower, nivalis which means 'of the snow'
The Painting
Watercolour is generally a transparent medium and transparency can depend on the amount of water used. The dilution of pigment with water enables the whiteness of the paper to show through and in doing so lightens the tone of the pigment. Snowdrops are predominately but not exclusively white with green. To paint white flowers, the white of the paper is most important but attention must be given to observing shadows and subtle changes in tone. The spaces between the flowers, leaves and stems are as important as the flowers themselves. They are referred to as 'negative spaces' and can provide sparkle and interest. There are many whites and they affect one another, as do all colours.
Painting from light to dark means properly relating one colour or value to another and not being confused by the white of the paper. I like to place an area of the darkest value so as to relate the lighter tones to it as I paint. Once the larger areas are painted it is easier to assess the values and concentrate on the details. There is simplicity in the sense of clarity, of thought and content, and this close connection with the subject gives a sense of intimacy. Even the most complicated compositions with enormous amounts of detail originate from a simple idea.
The Gardener
As in painting, white gardens needs careful planning as one white may make a neighbouring white appear grey or washed out.
The common snowdrop was given its title, galanthus nivais, by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus in his 'Species Pantarum' of 1753. Galtonia is the snowdrop named in honour of Francis Galton 1822-1911, who advanced the fingerprint of snowdrop identification. Once a new breed of bulb was sold for £725.
They are closely related to Hyacinths. Fragrances range from honey through almond to violet. They can be differentiated in three main ways; by their foliage which is applanate, plicate or convolute, by their flower form, which may be single or double and by distinctive markings on their outer and/or inner petals. Snowdrop leaves contain an antifreeze so their cells do not collapse when they thaw after severe cold. The delicate looking but weather-hardy snowdrops are one of the few plants that flower in winter indifferent to bleak surroundings and represent hope as they are the first to announce the coming of longer and warmer days. They are natural plants of mountain and woodland and thrive in cool, moist conditions and cannot be coaxed to grow unless it chooses but once settled will flourish and multiply.
Book Two Vegetables
130 pages (A5) of text and stunning paintings describing how to grow, look after and paint each of the plants in the book.
KALE
The Painting
A painting is a journey into the unknown. To begin with is the artist's response to the subject, then the information available and lastly the demands of the painting which culminates in the resulting painting. This painting was great fun as I used my favourite colour, purple. This against the yellow green was on purpose to create maximum impact and the tonal contrast of the light on the upper and outer leaves of the plant against the darker interior, played a large part in the drama. To make a colour seem brighter I thought carefully about the surrounding colour rather than the colour itself.
I kept in mind that texture can be forgotten in shaded areas, so the texture ran from the light into the shade, knitting the two areas together. A sense of light, form, space and movement, as well as colour, tone and texture came about as a result of fine observation and love of nature.
The Gardener
Kales are easy to grow, exceptionally hardy with even a harsh winter doing no harm. They are not exacting in their soil requirements so long as there is good drainage and no waterlogging. Also they are resistant to club root diseases unlike other brassicas. There are two main groups, curly and plain leaved. The curly kales are referred to as 'Scotch' kales and the plain are best known as 'cottager's' kale and 'thousand headed' kale. If the centre of these is harvested they will produce tender young shoots, providing continual pickings of leaves. Flat leaved kales such as Red Russian, are among the sweetest and most tender, with Black Kale good for slow cooking. To prevent young plants becoming leggy, they can be grown in the shade. They need to be firmly planted and if interplanted with nasturtiums insects can be distracted. There is a hybrid between the two called 'Pentland brig', which is hardy and heavy cropping. The leaves and shoots of kale should be gathered while still young and small. It is the large leaves which are unpalatable.
The navy blue kale looks stunning when under planted with marigolds.
Book Cover - Runner Beans
SNOWDROPS and PRIMROSE,
The Painting
This painting has a very complex arrangement which meant making the most of tones rather than colour. I first drew the snowdrops and primrose in pencil. If the sketch captures something of the feelings of the original visual image, then it is a success. I felt a bit hesitant about starting to paint as I wanted a loose, open feel accented with the flowers. Once I started with a large brush and broad strokes using limited colours, mostly greens and Violet de Mars, I felt the love of light, the joy of colour and the celebration of nature. The first brushstrokes of a painting are important, especially when using watercolour, as these affect the development thereafter. The snowdrop flowers were the white paper which I toned with light green and the shadow side of the stems were darkened with the other colours. The primrose was Winsor Yellow and leaves Sap Green with Hooker's Green in the indentations of the leaves. The cyclamen leaves were violet and the darks between the leaves a mix of violet and green. As Vincent Van Gogh said "Great things do not just happen by impulse but are a succession of small things linked together." I don't propose that my paintings are 'great things', but the process of actually doing things whether it be painting, writing or gardening, continuing to learn, progress and persevere combined with passion, hopefully, results in success.
The Gardener
Watching plants come into flower is exciting, a pleasure and once the snowdrops appear I feel spring is on the way and the winter is shortened. The snowdrops, galanthus, or 'Candlemass bells' is an old English name originating from monastery gardens when they were used for rituals. The name refers to the season in which it flowers and also from the teardrop shaped pearl earrings popular in the 16th and 17th centuries. They have small, single white nodding flowers with greenish inner petals. They are one of the first flowers to bloom in winter and spring, signalling hope and the promise of spring, new life ahead, exciting and pleasurable as winter shortens. I prefer to grow single blooms as they are important to early bees who can access them easily. The petals move upwards and outwards, opening for the insect. Snowdrops are woodland plants growing when the trees are leafless, so they need good light early in the year, where they grow best but not in hot, dry places. Some plants, including the snowdrop, contain 'anti-freeze' proteins which inhibit ice crystals forming and so protect them from cell damage. Sometimes the frost lays them low, the stems bending down and looking as if dead but, with a little warmth, they rise again looking healthy and beautiful. The leaves have hardened tips which help them break through frozen ground. Some varieties flower early in December whilst others bloom in spring. Snowdrops contain galantamine used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. This can be synthesised artificially but is difficult and expensive, so it is mainly sourced from plants. Snowdrops are the most traded of all ornamental bulbs with millions exported each year from Turkey. In the garden in the shelter, the clusters of primroses flower a lot earlier than those in the wild. I have two types of primula flowers in the front of the border. Primrose are the traditional symbol of spring, the common name from the Latin prima rosa meaning the first rose.
