Accomplished carver and teacher Cleve Taylor takes to the hills, carving mountain men of years gone by. With clear, concise instructions-illustrated with over 225 color photographs, Cleve guides wood carvers through every step and tool needed to make these popular figures from the past. Once the basswood figure is carved, instructions are also provided to paint and antique the completed figure. Patterns are included with the instructions to carve both the mountain man and his long rifle. The mountain man presented here is a challenge for the carver with a course or two under the belt and a delight for the more advanced wood carver.

Readers will learn three distinct painting methods: water-soluble colored pencil; wax and oil-based colored pencil with solvents; and wax-based colored pencil used with a heated surface. (Using a heated surface is an exciting new technique that softens wax-based colored pencils and other wax-based media to a viscous consistency, similar to traditional opaque painting mediums.) Readers will discover an unlimited variety of creative possibilities, from the painterly style of acrylics and oils, to the loose watercolor look of water-soluble colored pencils, plus everything in between. Easy to follow step-by-step demonstrations, teach different techniques and subject, and include specific materials lists and color pallets. The final chapter will include demonstrations combining the three methods.

A wonderful introduction to drawing moving people, shown in very simple step-by-step stages. Susie Hodge includes a wide selection of ages and activities, from adult dancers to young footballers. Both beginners and experienced artists will learn and be inspired by these illustrations inside.

Would you love to take your art in a new direction? In Abstract Art Painting, you will enter a realm of tactile, intuitive excitement, combining pastel and acrylic to achieve results as unique as you are. You'll learn how to explore the use of color theory in abstraction and to use underpainting to bring structure and depth to your art. In addition you'll begin to understand how to work in a series and how this can help you develop your own personal style. A sampling of what you'll add to your creative toolbox: Pastel and acrylic techniques to use to complete your own paintings The benefits of expressing your ideas abstractly How to loosen up by using your nondominant hand and drawing to music Ways to express emotions through mark-making Using color and symbolism for expression Working with photos for inspiration Tips for using color studies Step into your own abstract frame of mind today!

Having trouble drawing a nose that looks like a nose? In this step-by-step guide, Lee Hammond will teach you how to draw realistic-looking portraits of your favorite people-more easily than you ever thought possible. Really! The secret is in the blending: With pencil and paper, Lee shows you how to create gradual, smooth shadings of light and dark to replicate the subtle contours of skin...and how to use these simple shading techniques to make any shape look three-dimensional. After you've got the basics down, you'll see how to draw every part of the face. It's made easy by looking at each feature as simple, interlocking shapes, then adding the right highlights and shadows. In no time, you'll be drawing realistic noses, mouths, eyes, ears...even facial expressions. Then you'll see how to put all those features together to create an expressive portrait that actually looks like your subject! Step-by-step demonstrations guide you all the way.

What does an idea look like? And where do they come from? Grant Snider's illustrations will motivate you to explore these questions, inspire you to come up with your own answers and, like all Gordian knots, prompt even more questions. Whether you are a professional artist or designer, a student pursuing a creative career, a person of faith, someone who likes walks on the beach, or a dreamer who sits on the front porch contemplating life, this collection of one- and two-page comics will provide insight into the joys and frustrations of creativity, inspiration, and process - no matter your age or creative background.

Drawing is not only a relaxing and enjoyable pastime, but also one of the original mindfulness techniques, being a great way to be in the moment and observe your surroundings. Despite the common assumption that the ability to draw is a skill you either possess or you don't, it can be readily learnt with the right teacher guiding you. Christine Allison fulfils that role with her expertise and friendly, encouraging approach. With 10 step-by-step tutorials, Christine helps beginners navigate a range of subject matters and drawing media, providing them with a thorough grounding in the basics of this satisfying art. In addition to the tutorials, Christine provides advice on tools, materials and techniques, gives plenty of tips throughout and presents ideas on how to take each tutorial a step further. There's also a special focus on noticing the things around you that can make interesting subject matters, practising a drawing a day, and gathering a collection of reference material to inspire you - each explored in a feature spread, setting them apart from the tutorials.

Aspiring artist Sara Zin turned 30 and hit a wall. She was hungry-starving-to find meaning in her art. And she really wanted one of her grandmother's famous oatmeal cookies. Zin didn't know how to make them; she never learned how to cook. She decided it was time. This stunning cookbook is the result of that year's journey, with basic recipes.

An indispensable guide to painting 40 popular flowers in acrylics, perfect for flower artists. This beautiful book is a illustrated directory for acrylic flower artists, revealing how to paint 40 floral subjects, from agapanthus to zinnia, with plant-specific instructions for capturing the unique beauty of each species. All the techniques you will need are clearly explained and demonstrated, from analyzing the shape and structure of flowers to mixing and blending rich luminous colours, laying washes, creating textured effects, and adding highlights. Each featured flower includes information about its distinguishing characteristics, detailed step-by-step instructions, a complete colour palette, mini demonstrations showing special techniques and a stunning full-colour image of a finished painting.

The first in a series of seasonal watercoloring books based on artist Kristy Rice's cutting gardens, this book celebrates spring's profuse blossoms such as peonies, magnolias, pansies, and Eastern bluestar. Her easy-to-learn, joy-driven approach includes simple tutorials on how to use watercolor and where to find affordable materials. A stationery-industry tastemaker, Kristy believes that making art, regardless of skill level, has the power to reconnect us to each other and ourselves. Touching brush to paper with water and color releases an inexplicable calm that so many of us long for, and making art, even in short bursts, brings us back to ourselves by slowing time.With 25 detailed, yet whimsical illustrations, artists are invited to continue the journey begun in her first watercoloring book series, Painterly Days.

A revised edition of the classic drawing book that has sold more than 1.7 million copies in the United States alone.

Translated into more than seventeen languages, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" is the world's most widely used drawing instruction book. Whether you are drawing as a professional artist, as an artist in training, or as a hobby, this book will give you greater confidence in your ability and deepen your artistic perception, as well as foster a new appreciation of the world around you. This revised/updated fourth edition includes: a new preface and introduction; crucial updates based on recent research on the brain's plasticity and the enormous value of learning new skills/ utilizing the right hemisphere of the brain; new focus on how the ability to draw on the strengths of the right hemisphere can serve as an antidote to the increasing left-brain emphasis in American life-the worship of all that is linear, analytic, digital, etc.; an informative section that addresses recent research linking early childhood "scribbling" to later language development and the importance of parental encouragement of this activity; and new reproductions of master drawings throughout

A life-changing book, this fully revised and updated edition of "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" is destined to inspire generations of readers to come.

This is a unique system for jump-starting artistic creativity and encouraging experimentation. It contains tips for creating marketable work and increasing sales for artists of all levels. The author is among the best and most celebrated daily painters. Too many artists find themselves in a frustrating rut: unable to sell paintings hanging in galleries, bogged down by projects they can't finish or abandon, and using any excuse to avoid working in the studio. Author Carol Marine was herself suffering from painter's block, until she discovered 'daily painting'. The idea is simple: do art (usually small) often (how often is up to the individual) and if you desire, post it and sell it online. Today Marine is among the best and most celebrated daily painters, and the curator of the popular online gallery dailypaintworks.com. In her debut, Daily Painting, Marine reveals the tips and tricks that helped her and other daily painters pick up the paintbrush and start creating beautiful, bountiful, marketable work.

Experience spiritual calm with the first adult colouring book to focus on the Rosary as you colour and reflect on the traditional Catholic prayer. Renowned artist Daniel Mitsui provides exquisitely detailed illustrations of the Glorious, Joyful, and Sorrowful Mysteries, suitable for meditative colouring and for reflecting on the lives of Jesus and the Blessed Mother. Just as repetition of the Hail Mary during the Rosary can create a contemplative awareness of its mysteries, careful attention to colouring these captivating illustrations can open your heart to a deeper awareness of the Rosary's truths. This unique colouring book contains thirty illustrations -- fifteen full-page drawings of the mysteries of the Rosary, each one beautifully bordered by traditional images of animals and flowers; twelve vignettes featuring prophets, evangelists, and Fathers of the Church; and three larger drawings with the artist's commentary. It also contains descriptive copy written by the author for the three sets of Mysteries.

The adventure continues as author/illustrator Chris Ayers adds another 365 animals to his zoological menagerie with The Daily Zoo: Year Three. The series began as a personal project in 2006 as a means of art therapy for Chris as he recovered from acute myelogenous leukemia, a cancer of the blood. The premise was to draw one animal each day. In this latest installment, Chris - still going strong in terms of his health and his art - brings us such whimsical characters as koala gymnasts, tigers in tuxedos, and golfing frogs (who cheat!). Accompanying the images are the author's continuing reflections on his cancer experience and his artistic processes, as well as fun animal factoids.

This is the book that can teach anyone to draw (yes, even you )

If you're not getting the kind of true-to-life results you want in your drawings (or if you can't even draw a straight line), Carrie and Rick Parks can help. As award-winning teachers, they have a proven game plan for helping artists of all levels overcome common problems and see immediate improvement in their work. As professional composite artists, they know the tricks and tools for achieving incredibly lifelike results. In this friendly, foolproof guide to drawing, they share it all:

• Easy-to-master techniques for achieving a convincing sense of depth
• How to draw challenging textures like metal and fur
• Putting personality into your portraits
• 40+ step-by-step demonstrations featuring a variety of people, animals and nature

A guided sketchbook with templates for telling stories like a graphic novelist, with tips and tricks from ten comic artists. This guided journal is both template and mini-course in graphic storytelling. The notebook includes 160 pages of comic templates and is filled with exercises and insider tips from ten established comic artists. With differing styles and backgrounds, the artists offer illuminating and insightful ideas to expand anyone's drawing and storytelling skills. The book includes funny & engaging exercises for how to convey emotion, time, and perspective through drawing, sequencing and storytelling.

Draw with Confidence and Creativity! New in paperback! Creativity occurs in action. It is not a trait; it is something you do. To be creative, you need to engage in the art-making process. When you are "in the flow," you shift out of the future and into the present, making connections, generating variations and surrendering to the process. This ten-year edition of Keys to Drawing With Imagination is a course for artists in how to take something, do something to it and make something new. Bert Dodson, author of the best-selling Keys to Drawing (more than 250,000 copies sold!) presents fun techniques and mind-stretching strategies to get you drawing better and more imaginatively than you ever have before. In every section, he offers you basic guidelines that help you channel your creative energies in the right direction. Before you know it, you'll lose yourself in the process, enjoying the experience as you create something gratifying and worthwhile. The subjects covered in this hands-on book are as vast as the imagination itself. Through 58 strategies, 36 exercises and 13 step-by-step demonstrations, you'll explore how to: Take your doodling from mindless to masterful Create your own reality by crumbling, melting or breaking objects Flip the familiar on its ear to create something utterly original Experiment with visual paradox and metaphor Tell vivid stories through the details in your drawings Play with patterns to create captivating compositions Build your drawings by borrowing ideas from different cultures Develop a theme in your work Along the way, Dodson offers you priceless advice on the creative process culled from his 70 years of drawing and teaching. For additional inspiration and encouragement, he includes the work of 30 other outstanding artists, including R. Crumb and Maya Lin. So what are you waiting for? Grab this book and start drawing! You'll be amazed at what you can create. *Note to readers: This book is a 10-year anniversary paperback reprint of the Keys to Drawing with Imagination hardcover edition (2006).

Learn to paint beautiful watercolor flowers in simple steps with this free and easy approach to watercolor painting for beginners. Marie Boudon's beautifully presented creative course will give you a good grounding in this new-to-you medium and teach you all you need to know to get started with painting flowers in watercolor. Find out about paper, brushes and paints, color mixing, wet and dry techniques, blending and gradients, contrast and even how to digitize your work. Then learn to paint roses, peonies, carnations, dahlias, anemones, poppies, leaves, details and textures and how to bring all of these together into beautiful compositions which make lovely art pieces, journal pages, handmade stationery and greetings cards, inspirational quote frames, personalized gifts and more.

In Chibi Art Class, renowned anime artist Yoai teaches you the art of chibi, step by adorable step. Chibi is Japanese slang for "short," and chibis are mini versions of Japanese anime and manga characters defined by their large heads and tiny bodies, both of which contribute to their kawaii, or cuteness, factor. Now, you too can learn to draw these adorable doll-like characters. Here, you'll learn how to create chibis' signature bodies, facial features, and props, including dreamy eyes, fun clothes and shoes, vibrant hair, colorful accessories, and lively backgrounds. You'll also learn how to color and shade your vertically challenged characters for optimal cuteness. This book also features: 19 tutorials with simple step-by-step illustrations and instructions for drawing chibis, including a chibi character for every month of the year as well as adorable chibi beasties An inspiration gallery with ideas for eyes, hairstyles, clothing, props and accessories, and ears and tails Blank body bases for you to start your own chibi drawings Uncolored chibis for practicing coloring and shading Thanks to this crash course, soon you will be enhancing your notebooks, stationery, artwork, and more with your own unique chibi world. Chibi Art Class is now in session!

Color has captivated artists, designers, scientists, and philosophers for centuries. From early principles of color theory to color wheels, great thinkers study and use color to explain and illustrate their ideas. Color is a sketchbook with thick, blank pages (140 gsm, ~95 lbs. paper weight) and a full-color appendix with striking vintage illustrations from rare books on color theory. The textured cover features a tipped-in color wheel. Inspired and inspiring, this journal is the perfect jumping off point for creative expression.

A guided journal with a fresh approach to the trendof journal-as-tool-for-self-examination. The journal is delightfully illustrated in the authors' trademark style- accessible, whimsical, detailed. Blending inspiring examples with engaging instruction, this journal asks: What do we learn about ourselves when we measure our gratitude, confidence, and distraction levels? What do our collections say about who we are: our books, music, the clothes we wear? Observe, Collect, Draw! functions as a mini-course in information design, as accessible to beginners as it is engaging to seasoned info designers.

When Danny Gregory's life was turned upside down by tragedy, he learned to cope by teaching himself to draw. The result was a complete transformation of his life, his priorities, his career, and the way he saw the world. In handwritten chapters full of his lush watercolor illustrations, Danny now offers readers a program for reconnecting to their own creative energies, using drawing as an example. He gently instructs us in the art of allowing ourselves to fail, giving up the expectation of perfection and opening our eyes to the beauty around us. The result is the permission to express ourselves fully and take part in the creative process without fear. Artist or not, readers of all stripes will find inspiration in this unique and beautiful book.