Books

A Field Guide to Small Things

Forty-two plates for a children's guide to the plants that grow between paving stones.

Client

Maison Verte Books

Medium

Gouache on paper

Year

2025

The brief

The publisher wanted a field guide that a seven-year-old would carry outside, not leave on a shelf. Every plant had to be recognisable, but none of it could feel like a textbook.

How I made it

I walked the same three streets for a month and painted what I found at actual size, then simplified each plant until it still read from arm's length. The palette is five paints, so the printer could match it on uncoated stock.

the client said

Ines found a whole book in a crack in the pavement. Children read it standing up.

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