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From Field & Forest: An artist's year in paint and pen
‘The beginnings of a bitter-sweet a mistle thrust’s egg, heralding a brief but very welcome return to spring… This year has been in such a hurry, at times almost tripping over itself in its keenness to reach autumn, and now she’s here.’
Highly respected illustrator Anna Koska is best known for her drawings of fish and fruit and is widely celebrated by food journalists and restaurateurs. In this mindful, artistic journal, Anna celebrates the natural world; the changing of the seasons, the blossoming of flowers and the ripening of fruit. Working in watercolour, pen and ink, oils and luscious egg tempera, Anna’s illustrations are reproduced in beautiful detail and they are accompanied by her musings and observations of objects, engaging us in the everyday realities of her artistic practice.
Anna sources inspiration from the flora and fauna in the fields and forests surrounding her home in East Sussex. Her illustrations root us in nature, allowing us to pause to admire and appreciate the beauty and significance of everyday occurrences – whether she is drawing wasps feasting on apples fallen in the orchard, or trying to capture the cerulean blue of a winter sky.
In this book, image and narrative text are wedded to create a beautiful journey through the seasons, taking time to appreciate our surroundings.
‘It started with my favourite fish, a red mullet, all bronze, copper, gills and scales. Then mackerel, coloured like a Scandi sky. Soon enough, I was seduced by a sketch of figs and Anna’s alluring tones.’ Allan Jenkins, Observer Food Magazine.
Highly respected illustrator Anna Koska is best known for her drawings of fish and fruit and is widely celebrated by food journalists and restaurateurs. In this mindful, artistic journal, Anna celebrates the natural world; the changing of the seasons, the blossoming of flowers and the ripening of fruit. Working in watercolour, pen and ink, oils and luscious egg tempera, Anna’s illustrations are reproduced in beautiful detail and they are accompanied by her musings and observations of objects, engaging us in the everyday realities of her artistic practice.
Anna sources inspiration from the flora and fauna in the fields and forests surrounding her home in East Sussex. Her illustrations root us in nature, allowing us to pause to admire and appreciate the beauty and significance of everyday occurrences – whether she is drawing wasps feasting on apples fallen in the orchard, or trying to capture the cerulean blue of a winter sky.
In this book, image and narrative text are wedded to create a beautiful journey through the seasons, taking time to appreciate our surroundings.
‘It started with my favourite fish, a red mullet, all bronze, copper, gills and scales. Then mackerel, coloured like a Scandi sky. Soon enough, I was seduced by a sketch of figs and Anna’s alluring tones.’ Allan Jenkins, Observer Food Magazine.
- GenresArtNonfictionNature
132 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 4, 2021
6 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 13, 2024
I will admit I saw this book being referenced on a blog and I was intrigued - a combination of biography, diary and creative journey journal this book captured an idyllic life style (but did not shy away from all the brutal realities as well)
This book charts a year living and working on the edge of a small woodland charting the ebb and flow of the wildlife around them. This book shows a deep love and respect for the wildlife around them - something the modern world with all its distractions and demands seems to at times have lost.
Growing up in a small village there is a lot here I can both recognise and relate to and I think that is where my love for this book lies. For those who have lived (and lost) a more peaceful life this book will hit a chord.
This book charts a year living and working on the edge of a small woodland charting the ebb and flow of the wildlife around them. This book shows a deep love and respect for the wildlife around them - something the modern world with all its distractions and demands seems to at times have lost.
Growing up in a small village there is a lot here I can both recognise and relate to and I think that is where my love for this book lies. For those who have lived (and lost) a more peaceful life this book will hit a chord.
February 9, 2023
Beautiful illustrations. When I was reading this book, it feels like I was reading a private journal with gorgeous illustrations. Nicely written.
January 28, 2022
Ooh what a pleasant read, a lovely book. The perfect balm for these times.
February 3, 2024
Love the color studies and the way she personifies the seasons.
"But this summer has continued to stretch herself out and languish just a little while longer on her beach towel." (p. 123)
"But this summer has continued to stretch herself out and languish just a little while longer on her beach towel." (p. 123)
August 15, 2023
86%
Beautiful, idyllic, and oddly sensual (even sexual? see quote below) at times. Though, it kind of felt like there's not a whole lot of art in it for a book by an artist....
"Straight from the tree, there are really only two ways to enjoy a pear. You can cup its generous bottom, and, with the briefest of crunches, you're straight through and into the flesh - or you can choose the considered and elegant route of plate and knife [...] to pierce the skin at the tip, slip the blade down as the pear widens to its rump, and open out a perfect twin of creamy white, is a joy...and just as messy. That sweet perfumed juice, followed by an unconscious knuckle-wipe of a wet chin."
Beautiful, idyllic, and oddly sensual (even sexual? see quote below) at times. Though, it kind of felt like there's not a whole lot of art in it for a book by an artist....
"Straight from the tree, there are really only two ways to enjoy a pear. You can cup its generous bottom, and, with the briefest of crunches, you're straight through and into the flesh - or you can choose the considered and elegant route of plate and knife [...] to pierce the skin at the tip, slip the blade down as the pear widens to its rump, and open out a perfect twin of creamy white, is a joy...and just as messy. That sweet perfumed juice, followed by an unconscious knuckle-wipe of a wet chin."
January 19, 2024
Beauty lurks…not just in the accompanying artworks and what the narrative conjures but also in the lines…Few are the books that I’ve read thrice, and counting—the likes of Mary Oliver’s Upstream. This will be one of them—too many are the paragraphs to linger over, to magic-carpet me to fantasy island. And what is a library if a copy of this isn’t on its shelf.
December 3, 2025
Lovely little illustrations by the author/artist, although not nearly enough of them, in my opinion. The writing was a bit too flowery for me and thus was sometimes hard for me to stay connected, but the chapters are mercifully short. She lives a lovely life on a lovely property - I must admit I’m a tad envious!
May 15, 2021
A very pleasant read, it was like taking a holiday.
March 27, 2023
Too short! More! More please!
A lovely, gentle wander through the year. Just gorgeous.
A lovely, gentle wander through the year. Just gorgeous.
February 26, 2024
Loved both of this author’s books. Would love to see her write/illustrate more!!
March 14, 2025
Wonderful
September 12, 2021
Lovely book. Enjoyed the beautiful drawings and the changing of the seasons. Really felt like I was living in the forest with her (and she doesn't live far from me!)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews