Pick Up Nature Journalling

As an escape from the internet-overload world.

Many would be surprised to know that I did a major in illustration when pursuing my undergraduate Design degree at the University of Nairobi.

However, when I hit the job market, it was a different story. I was really stressed at how publishers spent their sweet time paying illustrators. One would wait months on end for a pittance of a commission. So I quickly pivoted. I went back to my true love, graphics. I’ve worked as a graphic designer, senior creative, art director and now creative director. Little did I know that 2 decades later I’d go back to drawing.

For the past 6 years, I’ve also been running an e-commerce gardening shop. Selling plants, fruit trees and gardening accessories which is a fulfilling business and I have delighted in watching my clients’ plants grow and thrive.

Innately this love for nature has steered me to go back into free hand drawing. It’s been years since I sketched, let alone drew. I’ve recently just started journaling my drawings and I’ve loved every single bit of the experience.

Breaking away from the computer is so therapeutic, the simple pleasure of walking in the garden looking for native/ indigenous plant twigs, flowers, seeds or leaves to draw has been such a delight.

Study of the Frangipani, a beautiful flowing plant with a stem that when cut oozes a poisonous milky sap. In the Aztec Empire, the plant symbolized elite status and was planted in the home of nobles.

Starting with some Artline fine liner pens and a few notebooks from Kulula, I have been dedicating 30 to 90 minutes illustrating some of the amazing botanicals found in dad’s and my own garden. It’s amazing to note how rich Kenyan flora and fauna are.

Surprising, hardly do we see Kenyan designers draw inspiration from their organic shapes and symbolism. As I went on doing my illustrations, I also did a little research and realized that very few Africans have made successful if any scientific or otherwise illustrations that draw from botany. Coming from a design and advertising background (with a good dose of curiosity and time) has probably led me to this path where I strongly feel that it would be lovely to start a small journal of botanical hand-drawn illustrations. Here is the first illustration I did once the idea came to mind. (Excuse the typo)

First attempt at botanical Illustration. Courtesy of the author

I’ve made it my mission for the next one year, to daily document, my botanical illustrations on teresa_kila_siku sharing something interesting about the plant as I post it; educating whoever bumps into the illustration some interesting titbit about these plants found in Kenya.

With a somewhat shaky and forced hand that has been used to typing rather than drawing, I am drawing naturalistic illustrations of found plants. One at a time.

I have learnt a lot and here are some tips that may guide someone who wants to know a little about the work;

• I’ve noticed that people make a full-time living off botanical illustrations; Ryn Frank comes to mind. I admire her work, I have an artboard on Pinterest that is dedicated to her simplistic yet beautiful line work. One day, I want to live on a farm, draw and sell some of my work internationally — just like her!
• To be honest, there is perhaps a lack of knowledge and appreciation of the use of botanical illustrations; as photography seems to be the norm here. But I think with time, people will appreciate botanical illustrations a little better over time. It’s just a lack of exposure to it.
• There is also a huge opportunity for designers in Africa to look at some of these plants, their rich symbolism, their characteristics such as herbal, medicinal value and use these attributes to inform new and novel ideas! I think botany’s influence to inform design innovation has largely been untapped in these parts. It’s ironic that that is the case as Africa and Kenya in particular had an abundance of unique and beautiful plants; our country is also well known for agriculture. Just to highlight how artists celebrate botany in other parts of the world; I know some designers/farmers who commercially sell native English wild flowers and weed seeds from the UK. Now imagine if we Kenyans who have even richer biodiversity of plants were just to package a few of our indigenous plants and flowers seeds (or even illustrations) and sold to the global market a piece of Kenyan botany?
• There are very few native Africans who are doing botanical illustrations in an editorial, advertorial or even scientific form. Most African illustrations lean more along the lines of the comic or human character stylization. However we are starting to see interest in botanical illustrations in Kenya, case in point; I love the work of the artist and designer, Kanyi Ohawa. Her beautiful floral handmade gift cards are exquisitely painted and crafted.

Hand Painted Floral Card by Kanyi Ohawa. Source: www.shopnanjala.com

• There is this indescribable fascination I have to represent nature in a linear, black and white botanical illustrated stylization. There is something holy about stripping the colour from the work and just working with lines to draw the organic shapes from nature. One appreciates Mother Nature’s marvel even more. In black and white, one sees each element in its singularity — from the outline of the petal, leaf, seed, or stem, the texture, the form, the delicate detailing.

As I draw everyday, I realize that perhaps this is something I should explore commercially. Enriching the illustrated contribution to the botanical field. Perhaps even going beyond that and trademark some of my work for consideration for use in the design of wallpaper, fabric, textiles, or even introduce some of the drawings into customized ceramics, linen or products. Well, who knows…

I’m just at the beginning.

I’m allowed to imagine.

*Do follow my Instagram handle teresa_kila_siku to see more of such works. Contact me on teresa.lubano@gmail.com for botanical illustration work or design collaborations.