Months ago, when I first heard that Maine artist Jada Fitch was releasing a book about her nature observations, I was giddy with anticipation. I’m a huge fan of her work, and this book, in particular, seemed to be especially special.
Released in September, “The Forest Revealed: An Illustrated Year” by Jada Fitch, with text by Kateri Kosik, is a celebration of all the things in the Maine wilderness that I find so fascinating — the fungi and flora and fauna — even the slime mold and spiders.
The large, beautiful, hardcovered book (measuring 11 by 15 inches), now holds a place of honor on my coffee table. Often, as I sit relaxing on the couch after a long day of work, I’ll pick the book up, balance it on my lap and flip to a random page to admire one of Fitch’s detailed watercolor paintings.
To share this book with BDN readers, I decided to send Fitch a few questions about the project. Here’s the email exchange, edited for brevity:
Aislinn Sarnacki: This isn’t your first book, but it feels special. I’ve followed your work over the years, and this book is so … you. Like it’s a culmination of a body of work that was important to you. Am I reading this right?
Jada Fitch: Yes, this is a project I first started working on just for fun in my free time. I wanted to showcase not only our area’s charismatic megafauna, but also the organisms we often overlook, or never even see.
One of the best things about living in a climate with extreme seasonal changes is observing how all the outdoor life adapts to temperature shifts. Plenty of plants and animals disappear and reappear for months at a time. I wanted each of these 12 paintings to highlight some of my favorite things to look out for every month. I also wanted a tree stump to be the centerpiece of all the paintings, celebrating the importance of decomposition and regeneration. There are a lot of ideas crammed into each month.
AS: This book includes many incredibly detailed illustrations. It seems like a lot of work. What was the creative process like?
JF: It was a lot of work. Before I even started sketching, I had to put together the lists of which species to include each month, and which type of tree stump would be the focus. Some choices were easy, the wild turkey in November, lady slippers in June, snowshoe hare and snowy owl for December. But deciding where everything belonged meant flipping through field guides, revisiting my nature observation journals and combing through the thousands of photos I’ve taken on walks.
Once I’d decided what to feature in each painting, I made a dozen small rough sketches, then a dozen slightly larger, more detailed sketches, and finally a 30-by-22-inch sketch for each month. I scanned and colored the final sketches digitally to guide me through the painting process. From there, I traced each large sketch onto heavy watercolor paper and, in between freelance assignments, slowly brought the plants and animals to life with watercolor and a little gouache.
Sometimes the hardest part was putting down my brush for months at a time to work on bill-paying projects, but every time I finished one painting, it felt like a big accomplishment.
AS: This illustrated year is accompanied by written descriptions by Kateri Kosek. What was it like working together, and how did that partnership come about?
JF: I’m not really a writer, so Storey [Publishing] brought in Kateri to put words to my illustrations. She drove up to Addison for a visit and some birdwatching. While we walked through the forest and along the beach, we discussed which species would be the most interesting to highlight. Kateri’s poetic words do such a wonderful job of explaining why every species is special and worth noticing, even the ones that don’t look very interesting at first glance.
AS: For me, it’s like opening up a book filled with friends. I’m continually saying things like, “Oh she included a crab spider!” and “Look, it’s a ghost pipe!” The nature of Maine is so diverse. How did you decide what would make it into the book?
JF: That makes me so happy! It really is a book of friends. Each page has a handful of species I knew I wanted to include, but the tricky part was deciding which month they belonged in. My favorite wildflowers had to go in the spring and summer to show off their blooms, and the winter finches belonged in the colder months for obvious reasons.
I wanted every painting to be packed with life, so many of the species were ones I had never heard of until I went looking for more to fill the artwork. For example, I read that the green long-jawed orb-weaver lived in my area, but I had never seen one. After including it in the January painting, I found one in my kitchen and recognized it immediately! My husband wasn’t as excited as I was, and the spider was promptly escorted outside.
AS: In the book’s introduction, you say that you hope this book inspires readers to take a closer look at the way nature unfolds all around them — whether they live in the country or a city. Do you have any nature observation tips?
JF: Just spend extra time looking at the things that catch your eye. Look a little closer, and you might notice a detail that makes them even more fascinating. I have a ton of field guides I use for reference, but these days when it comes to identifying a plant or insect, I often use an app called iNaturalist. It makes it easy to figure out what you’re looking at, and if you want, you can document when and where you saw it.
Once I learn the name of a species I didn’t know before, I’ll do a quick search to learn more about it. Every species has at least one fascinating fact, and those little discoveries often stick with you. You might even find yourself sharing them with a hiking partner the next time you encounter that species in the wild.
AS: Lastly, what was it like to finally hold the book in your hands?
JF: I got my first copy in the mail a couple of months ago, and it was so satisfying to hold all those hours of work in my hands. I love how big it is. It really allows the reader to disappear into the forest while the book rests in their lap.
“The Forest Revealed: An Illustrated Year” is available at many local bookstores and online. To learn more about Jada Fitch and where to purchase her artwork and books, visit jadafitch.com.