By day Percy Monkman (1892 to 1986) worked in the same Bradford bank for 40 years, ending up as chief cashier. Everything else about Percy was totally unconventional. By night, at weekends, on holidays he transformed himself into an entertainer, actor, artist and cartoonist whose work was regularly acclaimed by the public and held in great respect by colleagues. Percy was highly creative, talented and energetic, a man who achieved high standards in all his artistic activities. The eldest of five boys, he was born into a humble working-class family and attended school until he was nearly 14. After a couple of office jobs, at 16 he passed a banking examination and started to work at Becketts Bank (later acquired by the Westminster Bank). Unexpectedly, the First World War gave Percy an opportunity for a new life that he grasped firmly with both hands. He spent much of the war as a comedian in an entertainment troupe that ran concert party shows for soldiers just behind the front line. Back in civilian life he continued his entertainment career with great success throughout the interwar years. In the Second World War he was back at entertaining the troops, this time groups of returning servicemen across Yorkshire. In 1935 Percy joined the Bradford Civic Playhouse and became a fixture in the cast for over 20 years. Here, in one of the best amateur theatres in the country, he played in many diverse productions, usually in comic roles. Alongside entertaining and acting, Percy developed his third creative passion of watercolour painting. He took advantage of every opportunity to paint, usually landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales. When he retired from the bank in 1952, he was able to devote all his time to this passion, which he described as 'fanatic, dedicated and impulsive'. Largely self-taught, he believed strongly in being part of a community of like-minded painters so that he could learn from them. The Bradford Arts Club gave him this network for all his adult life. He exhibited widely and sold most of his paintings. When the mood took him, he was also a talented cartoonist whose works were sometimes published. A committed family man, Percy also built a large number of life-long friends, who were a fascinating mixture of people from all walks of life, with similar passions for entertaining, acting and painting, often eccentrics and sometimes very well connected in Bradford society. His most significant friendship was with JB Priestley, his exact contemporary and England's most famous man of letters in the 20th century. Percy's extraordinary life of achievement is a unique record of social history, reflecting life in 20th century Bradford. Sadly, this is now largely a lost world. This affectionate and comprehensive biography by his grandson, illustrated with over 90 images, is both a visual delight and a joy to read, including high quality reproductions of some of Percy's most famous paintings.

Artist and pyrographer Lora S. Irish walks you through all the basics of woodburning. You can learn about using temperature, time, layering and texturing to create artistic tonal values. Nationally recognized artist and pyrographer Lora S. Irish makes it easy for beginners to learn the creative craft of woodburning in Pyrography Basics. All that aspiring beginners need is this book and an inexpensive woodburning tool to start adorning wood, gourds, leather, paper and more with beautifully burned images and patterns. The author provides a thorough introduction to basic tools, materials and techniques. Readers learn how to set up a practice board to experiment with strokes and settings before moving on to working projects with confidence. Seven skill-building projects provide step-by-step exercises in using temperature, time, layering, and texturing to create artistic tonal values.

Ireland and the Irish identity have been shaped by migration. People left and still leave the island for many reasons, some pushed by circumstances at home, others pulled by opportunities abroad. No two stories are the same, but many emigrants are linked by common motivations and shared experiences. Today these emigrants and their descendants number over 70 million people. They can be found in all four corners of the globe. Published with EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, this book tells their stories.

Part of an exciting series of sturdy, square-box 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles from Flame Tree, featuring powerful and popular works of art. This new jigsaw will satisfy your need for a challenge, with Marianne North's Amatungula in Flower and Fruit and Blue Ipomoea, South Africa.. This 1000 piece jigsaw is intended for adults and children over 13 years. Not suitable for children under 3 years due to small parts. Finished Jigsaw size 735 x 510mm/29 x 20 ins. Includes an A4 poster for reference. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous centre for botanical and mycological knowledge. Kew has a gallery dedicated to the paintings of the remarkable Victorian artist Marianne North, who had a great eye for botanical detail. She set out in 1871 on a painterly progress through world flora. North's journey to South Africa was among her last, along with trips to the Seychelles and Chile.

Exploring some of the world's eeriest places, Abandoned Islands features American civil war forts, Europe's last leper colony and South Atlantic whaling stations, along with once grand mansions and colonial settlements and churches, and much more. Arranged geographically, the book takes us from New York's East River to islands off Alaska, from a French Napoleonic-era fort off the coast of Normandy to deserted villages on remote Scottish isles, from Venetian sanatoria to Croatian penal colonies, Japanese mining colonies to Sudanese deserted ports and abandoned atolls in the Indian Ocean. Leafing through these pages, the reasons for abandonment are revealed: climate change sealing off fresh water or river channels, shifting economic forces making life too hard, religious conflict, or wars disrupting daily life - or the absence of war rendering a military settlement unnecessary. With more than 180 outstanding colour photographs and fascinating captions, Abandoned Islands is a brilliant pictorial exploration of lost worlds.

By day Percy Monkman (1892 to 1986) worked in the same Bradford bank for 40 years, ending up as chief cashier. Everything else about Percy was totally unconventional. By night, at weekends, on holidays he transformed himself into an entertainer, actor, artist and cartoonist whose work was regularly acclaimed by the public and held in great respect by colleagues. Percy was highly creative, talented and energetic, a man who achieved high standards in all his artistic activities. The eldest of five boys, he was born into a humble working-class family and attended school until he was nearly 14. After a couple of office jobs, at 16 he passed a banking examination and started to work at Becketts Bank (later acquired by the Westminster Bank). Unexpectedly, the First World War gave Percy an opportunity for a new life that he grasped firmly with both hands. He spent much of the war as a comedian in an entertainment troupe that ran concert party shows for soldiers just behind the front line. Back in civilian life he continued his entertainment career with great success throughout the interwar years. In the Second World War he was back at entertaining the troops, this time groups of returning servicemen across Yorkshire. In 1935 Percy joined the Bradford Civic Playhouse and became a fixture in the cast for over 20 years. Here, in one of the best amateur theatres in the country, he played in many diverse productions, usually in comic roles. Alongside entertaining and acting, Percy developed his third creative passion of watercolour painting. He took advantage of every opportunity to paint, usually landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales. When he retired from the bank in 1952, he was able to devote all his time to this passion, which he described as 'fanatic, dedicated and impulsive'. Largely self-taught, he believed strongly in being part of a community of like-minded painters so that he could learn from them. The Bradford Arts Club gave him this network for all his adult life. He exhibited widely and sold most of his paintings. When the mood took him, he was also a talented cartoonist whose works were sometimes published. A committed family man, Percy also built a large number of life-long friends, who were a fascinating mixture of people from all walks of life, with similar passions for entertaining, acting and painting, often eccentrics and sometimes very well connected in Bradford society. His most significant friendship was with JB Priestley, his exact contemporary and England's most famous man of letters in the 20th century. Percy's extraordinary life of achievement is a unique record of social history, reflecting life in 20th century Bradford. Sadly, this is now largely a lost world. This affectionate and comprehensive biography by his grandson, illustrated with over 90 images, is both a visual delight and a joy to read, including high quality reproductions of some of Percy's most famous paintings.

With hundreds of vivid and detailed color photographs and an easy narrative style enlivened by historical vignettes and images, the authors bring overdue appreciation to a centuries-old Native American basketmaking tradition in the Northeast. Explore the full range of vintage Indian woodsplint and sweetgrass basketry in the Northeastern U.S. and Canada, from practical "work" baskets made for domestic use to whimsical "fancy" wares that appealed to Victorian tourists. Basket collectors may compare four regional styles: Southern New England and Long Island, Northern New England and Canadian Maritimes, Upper New York State, and the Great Lakes. Learn of the craft's key role in supporting many Eastern Algonquian and Iroquoian peoples through generations of turmoil and change. Discover how today's creative young artisans are building upon their legacy. The book's "Resources" section guides readers to relevant websites and publications as well as northeastern Indian basketry collections in more than 30 public museums.

Cleo Mussi is a true original taking an innovative path to expressing her own ideas, by creating gestural, figurative mosaics from repurposed ceramic tableware. Working within the folk tradition, Cleo creates elegant, decorative and political pieces that incorporate the inherent properties gleaned from patterns, marks, forms, colour and text into a world of contemporary narratives. These works reflect modern ideas, with both humour and a lightness of touch. Cleoa s work ranges from small intimate pieces to large scale installations of up to 100, life-size works; her mosaics are in private collections worldwide, as well as in many public spaces throughout the UK.

The 15th- or early 16th-century panels presented here are mostly from northern Europe, or at least within the zone of Netherlandish influence rather than Italian. They are all almost unknown, and certainly none of them have been subjected to modern techniques of investigation-infrared, x-ray, micro-photography. What is important is their quality, even if some are difficult to attribute or can be associated only with other works by this or that 'master of'. This book is an exemplary investigation of a series of, so far, poorly documented works that will prove of great interest to those in the field. Most of the 15th- or early 16th-century panel paintings presented here are northern European, a large number German, which have been neglected in English language studies. They are all almost unknown, and certainly none of them have been subjected to modern techniques of investigation - infrared, x-ray, micro-photography - until now. What makes these works of importance is their fine quality, which is reflected in some of the most spectacular examples such as the beautiful 15th century Dormition of the Virgin by the Master of the Vienna Marienaltar and The Holy Trinity (Seat of Mercy) with saints and donor by Peter Hemmel and his circle from 1479.

Fine Art Screenprinting explains the thrilling process of pushing ink through a mesh to produce large areas of vibrant colour. With step-by-step examples, it explains the many and varied ways of creating your designs as prints. It also encourages you to experiment, to achieve exciting and unexpected results. Written for beginners and enthusiasts, it will inspire and stretch artists to try new techniques and ideas. This new book covers the equipment and materials found in the printmaking studio and explains the screenprinting process and how to use positives with photo-sensitive emulsion. There is advice on printing techniques such as making prints from paper stencils and mono-printing and it also gives full guidance on screenprinting kits for use at home.