Sketch designs for Knole - Historic Garden Conservation

Last Thursday we spent a lovely afternoon sketching. So nice to be back with a pen and paper instead of stuck to the computer.

Below are the sketches I did for my work on Knole. We are creating a Conservation management plan for Knole Park and Gardens.

We needed to show the original garden designs. Then an example of the part of the garden we would re-instate. Then a sketch of a new design idea for the garden.

Sketch showing part of the garden in 1709. The area is the front lawned area in front of the house in the walled garden.

Sketch showing part of the garden as it was in 1714. The is the area in front of the house in the walled garden. This is the part I would re-instate.

This is a sketch for a new design for the garden based on the garden design shown above. Instead of a sloping lawn ( as it is now) I would put in curved stone steps leading up to a circular lawn enclosed by a hedge.

This shows the details of the stone steps. The steps would have raised flower borders on either side.

This is a very brief sketch of the back of the lawn, showing the curved hedge which would have 'windows' cut in to it for the family to see the views out. However the hedge would keep the area very private for the family.

Linking to the steps at the front

The Red House - a poem

The Red House

garden & woodland walk

Quiet space in suburban jungle

Dappled sunlight reaching through

Sound of birdsong, flight of wing

Chatter within old garden walls

Who lived here, what happens now

Does this group of students know?

Treading lightly on the ground

Ghosts of the past follow the sound

Meandering pathways

Shady places

Somewhere to save for new faces

colour swatches

Water colour, pen and watercolour pencil swatches. Scanned and printed to check print colour against the original.

Eye level perspective drawings

These were two minute sketches. This is a belated piece of homework, finally done but not great, I need drawing classes.

First attempts at photoshop

In this first one I tried to cut the girl out from a very light background so the lasso tool didn't work well and I had to try other methods. The edge is very mottled but its a first attempt so I've put it up.












This one Iv'e turned the model into a kind of boat but it doesnt have any shadow so I don't think it really works. More to follow!

Trace of my paper model

This is a trace of the digital print of my paper model. It looks very unexciting as just an outline and needs the interior detail for interest. I scanned the tracing using 400dpi and black & white setting.

sequential sketching

These are sequential sketches we did extremely quickly. I decided after this exercise that I need to concentrate on doing one line instead of several as I sketch.

My initial sketch design

This is my first sketch. I took into account the space, use, planting, heights etc. I was quite pleased with the overall design. A covered walkway and pergola would have had climbers over them to create a quiet, private space. Bamboo in the beds in front would have given privacy from the path and a gentle sound. 

But unfortunately this was followed by several terrible attempts to show what this would look like from above and in detail.

This was supposed to show two people sitting in a lovely covered pergola! A 'refuge' from the world.

First day of final year BA Garden design at Greenwich University

What a day! I found this first day really hard. My initial sketch was o.k and I felt my design was good on plan. BUT trying to turn my design ideas into 3D sketches was terrible. I don't have the artistic skills necessary at all. Something to work on big time.