On:
In: art

Sarah Simblet’s concentrated work drawing tree leaves and fruits for The New Sylva was interrupted this week with the invasion of hundreds of young toads (Bufo bufo) hopping past the open door of her Oxfordshire studio. This time of year the young toads leave their watery birthplaces to start a terrestrialContinue Reading

On:
In: book development, news

Today the authors held a meeting with editors at Bloomsbury to discuss book design in detail. Editors Richard Atkinson and Natalie Hunt were joined by Peter Dawson of Grade Design Consultants (www.gradedesign.com) who has been appointed as Book Designer. Sarah Simblet also handed over the first batch of 30 completedContinue Reading

On:
In: art, quote, woodland visit

Earlier this week the authors visited a very unusual and special woodland. Lying at the heart of the UK Prime Minister’s official country residence at Chequers is a woodland of box Buxus sempervirens. Box is known to many as a small shrub that is used in finely clipped hedges andContinue Reading

On:
In: art

Regular readers to this blog will have noticed that we have not posted for a while. Gabriel Hemery has been immersed in writing, while artist Sarah Simblet has been working flat-out trying to keep pace in drawing the dozens of species coming into leaf and flower during April and May.Continue Reading

On:
In: book development

This week we held our first full editorial meeting with editors from Bloomsbury. It is still two years until The New Sylva is published, and probably nine months before the editorial, design and marketing teams ‘launch’ the book within Bloomsbury. Between now and then some critical decisions need to beContinue Reading

On:
In: art, woodland visit

The authors visited Devon recently on the search for a number of trees and forestscapes for The New Sylva. Followers of The New Sylva on Twitter (@newsylva) will know that our first stop was the ancient oaks of Wistman’s Wood on Dartmoor, followed by a successful search for one ofContinue Reading

On:
In: photo

High up in a Dartmoor valley, at the upper limit of tree life, I discovered these two rowan trees clinging to the granite clitter (the debris below a tor). They were among a group of scattered rowan trees growing in one of my favourite places, known as Tavy Cleave. IContinue Reading

On:
In: news

The authors have started detailing the contents of The New Sylva. An important part of this work is presenting initial ideas for layout; both of the text and the illustrations. The New Sylva will be lavishly illustrated with over 100 stunning pen and ink drawings made by Sarah Simblet especiallyContinue Reading