In 365 Days of Art in Nature, Lorna Scobie, invites the reader to take a closer look at the natural world - whether that's outside on location, or inside their own home - reminding us all that regardless of whether we live in the city or the countryside, wildlife is just on our doorstep.

Observe the slow, constant pace of the nature that surrounds you every day, and use it to inspire you in your art and creativity. Activities may include visiting a particular tree, four times in the year and drawing it. How has it changed? Study the colours you find in autumn leaves. Explore drawing them in different materials.

Featuring nature-inspired quotes, breakaway activities to get you outdoors and plenty of supportive prompts and tips, this book will spark your imagination and help you to open your eyes and appreciate the natural beauty in our world.

Francis Bacon is considered one of the most important painters of the twentieth century. A major exhibition of his paintings at the Royal Academy of Arts, planned for 2020 but postponed because of the pandemic, explores the role of animals in his work – not least the human animal. Having often painted dogs and horses, in 1969 Bacon first depicted bullfights. In this powerful series of works, the interaction between man and beast is dangerous and cruel, but also disturbingly intimate. Both are contorted in their anguished struggle, and the erotic lurks not far away: ‘Bullfighting is like boxing,’ Bacon once said. ‘A marvellous aperitif to sex.’ Twenty-two years later, a lone bull was to be the subject of his final painting. In this fascinating publication – a significant addition to the literature on Bacon – expert authors discuss Bacon’s approach to animals and identify his varied sources of inspiration, which included wildlife photography and the motion studies of Eadweard Muybridge. They contend that, by considering animals in states of vulnerability, anger and unease, Bacon was able to lay bare the role of instinctual behaviour in the human condition. Images below, left to right: Francis Bacon (1909-1992), Fragment of a Crucifixion, 1950. Oil and cotton wool on canvas, 140 x 108.5 cm. Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven. Photo Hugo Maertens Francis Bacon (1909-1992), Study for Portrait (with Two Owls), 1963. Oil on canvas, 198.1 x 144.8 cm. Private collection. Photo Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd Francis Bacon (1909-1992), Man with Dog, 1953. Oil on canvas, 152 x 117 cm. Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York. Gift of Seymour H. Knox Jr, 1955, inv. K1955:3. Photo Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd All images © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved, DACS/Artimage 2020.

Anyone with a little persistence and the desire can learn to draw well--this is the starting point of "The Fundamentals of Drawing," a practical and comprehensive course for students of all abilities. Opportunities for practice and improvement are offered across a wide spectrum of subjects--still life, plants, landscapes, animals, figure drawing, and portraiture--and supported by the demonstration of a broad range of skills and techniques, including perspective and composition.

Take your art in a bold new direction-go gouache! In Creative Gouache, artist Ruth Wilshaw shares her step-by-step techniques for creating brilliantly vibrant effects with this easy-to-master medium, a perfect companion for transparent watercolor. In this comprehensive guide to gouache, you'll: Get an overview of essential materials and surfaces. Learn basic handling and coloring-mixing techniques, including layering, creating blends, and adjusting opacity, plus troubleshooting tips for common challenges, such as dealing with shifts in color and value from wet to dry. Explore how to paint fun, simple motifs, flowers, butterflies, landscapes, and lettering. Discover fun gouache techniques, such as adding texture and painting gradients and blends. Learn how to incorporate other mediums with gouache, including paint pens, colored pencil, and watercolor. Use what you learn to create inspiring projects such as dimensional artwork, clay decor pieces, and cheerful banners. See what you can create with gorgeous, wall-to-wall color with Creative Gouache! Perfect for creative beginners, the books in the Art for Modern Makers series take a fun, practical approach to learning about and working with paints and other art mediums to create beautiful DIY projects and crafts.

Kickstart or develop your own daily sketching habit with 100 simple and thought-provoking prompts from the creator of the 30-Day Sketchbook Challenge. The huge range of prompts includes found objects such as leaves, clocks, buttons and jewellery, along with more subjective suggestions such as 'something that smells good' and 'items in your pocket', to encourage you to sketch everyday items you may not have considered before. All of the challenges are suitable for beginners and teaches the principles of drawing and art, with the aim of encouraging people to relax, have fun, and get creative! At the start of the book Susan provides an introduction explaining why she has written the book, how to use it, and the benefits and reasons for cultivating a daily sketching habit. There is also a simple chapter on tools and materials, followed by a consideration of mindset and creativity when approaching the 100 prompts. Also included are some warm-up exercises to help awaken the creative brain and inspire you to think more broadly about the prompts that she provides. The book is illustrated throughout with Susan's own responses to the prompts, in a mix of black and white sketches in pen or pencil, plus coloured illustrations, paintings and even collage - all intended to add interest, to inspire, and to enliven the reader.

Delving into Frederick Sandys's unconventional life, Betty Elzea's research reveals much about his complicated and often scandalous relationships. Born and educated in Norwich with an artisan background, Sandys was bohemian by nature, though from necessity, to the world at large, he appeared genteel and respectable. Unfortunately disorganised, un-businesslike and preferring to live alone as a bachelor in lodgings, he struggled to support two growing families of illegitimate children. From youth, developing skills as a draughtsman and painter, he moved to London, meeting Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the Pre-Raphaelites and their associates, while keeping a foothold in Norwich where he maintained friendships and enjoyed the support of the Norfolk gentry and several notable Norwich industrialists. Norfolk landscape painting and nature studies led to commissioned portraiture which became his main source of income. He is known for depictions of beautiful women in legendary disguises as well as meticulously-detailed portraits of elderly women. He also pioneered a new type of large-scale portrait drawing in chalks.

In The Urban Sketching Handbook: Techniques for Beginners, artist and Urban Sketcher correspondent Suhita Shirodkar shares essential skills for sketching architecture, people, and everyday objects on location. You'll learn the basics of value, color mixing, and perspective through helpful studies and exercises, whether at home, in studio, and on location. The Urban Sketching Handbook: Techniques for Beginners is perfect for anyone who's just getting started in this fascinating art form, or who wants to develop their observational and drawing aptitude by reinforcing basic concepts. TheUrban Sketching Handbook series offers location artists expert instruction on creative techniques, on-location tips and advice, and an abundance of visual inspiration. These handy references come in a compact, easy-to-carry format-perfect to toss in your backpack or artist's tote.

There’s no doubt about it: whether you’re a newbie or a dab hand, drawing can often be daunting. That’s why cartoons are the best place to start! From the co-creator of the best-selling Hirameki: Draw What You See comes a stylish yet playful approach to drawing cartoons, designed to excite even the most tentative artists. Over several decades teaching in schools and art colleges, Austrian cartoonist Peng has developed expert knowledge of the building blocks of drawing and sketching. As he shows, creativity can come from anywhere. Entire sketches can spring up from the simplest lines or curves. Even found objects can spark brilliance – who knows, maybe a stone or leaf could provide the next flash of inspiration!

Peng’s easy-to-follow guide inspires confidence and creativity by showing how even complete novices can quickly learn how to draw characters and develop their own individual style. Starting with the basics of figure construction and moving through to expression, movement and animals, the artist conjures up delightful cartoons with wicked humour and a lightness of touch. Simple tips and exercises reveal how anyone and everyone can master the art of drawing, encouraging the reader to experiment with a variety of techniques executed through brush, pencil and pen. Don’t be afraid of drawing, concludes Peng, in this enjoyable and addictive starter book – you make the rules.

Award-winning illustrator Gabriel Campanario first introduced his approach to drawing in "The Art of Urban Sketching," a showcase of more than 500 sketches and drawing tips shared by more than 100 urban sketchers around the world. Now, he drills down into specific challenges of making sketches on location, rain or shine, quickly or slowly, and the most suitable techniques for every situation, in "The Urban Sketching Handbook" series. It's easy to overlook that ample variety of buildings and spaces and the differences from city to city, country to country. From houses, apartments and shopping malls to public buildings and places of worship, the structures humans have created over the centuries, for shelter, commerce, industry, transportation or recreation, are fascinating subjects to study and sketch.

In "The Urban Sketching Handbook: Architecture and Cityscapes," Gabriel lays out keys to help make the experience of drawing architecture and cityscapes fun and rewarding. Using composition, depth, scale, contrast, line and creativity, sketching out buildings and structure has never been more inspirational. This guide will help you to develop your own creative approach, no matter what your skill level may be today. As much as "The Urban Sketching Handbook: Architecture and Cityscapes" may inspire you to draw more urban spaces, it can also help to increase your appreciation of the built environment. Drawing the places where we live, work and play, is a great way to show appreciation and creativity.

In her second book, botanical artist Harriet de Winton shows you how to paint modern watercolour artworks to treasure and share. Picking up where New Botanical Painting left off, this books aims to expand readers' repertoires into fauna as well as flora, with easy-to-follow instructions for a variety of difficulty levels. Through more than 30 step-by-step projects, you'll discover how to paint beautiful butterflies, bumblebees, birds and botanicals from around the world. In the final chapter, you'll find a guide to composing stunning patterns and scenes with your own botanical watercolour creations. Use your new skills to make art for your wall, unique cards, invitations, or simply paint for pleasure. Projects include: Bengal Tiger Chilean Flamingo Prickly Pear Zebra Bumblebee Garden Tiger Moth Peacock White-tailed Deer Polar Bear Arctic Poppy And many more!

Stan Lee, the Mighty Man from Marvel, and John Buscema, active and adventuresome artist behind the Silver Surfer, Conan the Barbarian, the Mighty Thor and Spider-Man, have collaborated on this comics compendium: an encyclopedia of information for creating your own superhero comic strips. Using artwork from Marvel comics as primary examples, Buscema graphically illustrates the hitherto mysterious methods of comic art. Stan Lee's pithy prose gives able assistance and advice to the apprentice artist. Bursting with Buscema's magnificent illustrations and Lee's laudable word-magic, How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way belongs in the library of every kid who has ever wanted to illustrate his or her own comic strip.