|
Books > Arts & Architecture > Art forms, treatments & subjects > Art treatments & subjects > Iconography, subjects depicted in art > Nature in art, still life, landscapes & seascapes > General
Elizabeth Sutton, using a phenomenological approach, investigates
how animals in art invite viewers to contemplate human
relationships to the natural world. Using Rembrandt van Rijn's
etching of The Presentation in the Temple (c. 1640), Joseph Beuys's
social sculpture I Like America and America Likes Me (1974),
archaic rock paintings at Horseshoe Canyon, Canyonlands National
Park, and examples from contemporary art, this book demonstrates
how artists across time and cultures employed animals to draw
attention to the sensory experience of the composition and reflect
upon the shared sensory awareness of the world.
In 1975, David Shepherd wrote The Man Who Loves Giants - an
autobiography. Even though he was only forty-four, he had already
achieved more than most could have in three lifetimes. In the
intervening years, until his death in 2017, he painted a huge
variety of subjects; founded the David Shepherd Wildlife
Foundation; renovated and restored everything from steam engines to
dolls' houses; and appeared on both radio and television. 'Being
the extrovert I am,' he once said, 'I like things large and
exciting ... especially elephants ...' However, this enthusiasm
wasn't restricted to animals; it extended to his love and ownership
of several full-sized steam engines, including locomotive number
92203, otherwise known as Black Prince. David's friends ranged from
showbiz celebrities to well-known sportsmen and women; and British
and European royalty to internationally influential politicians and
presidents. He was awarded the Order of the Golden Ark by Prince
Bernhard of the Netherlands for his services to conservation in
Zambia, and the Order of Distinguished Service, First Class, by
President Kaunda. Her Majesty The Queen presented David with the
OBE and CBE. David's first gallery successes were not of the
African wildlife for which he is now best known. London scenes,
planes, boats and trains have long featured in his portfolio - as
do English landscapes and bygone rural life. Since David's
autobiography, no book has dealt so comprehensively with his life,
painting, and conservation work as this biography by J. C. Jeremy
Hobson, professional author and David's youngest son-in-law. With
access to family archives and photographs, private diaries and
reminiscences, this is a unique portrait of a remarkable man.
Explore the deserts, mountains and souks of the Middle East, with
best-selling author and artist David Bellamy. Following on from
David's highly acclaimed Arctic Light, this book provides an
intriguing and often entertaining insight into South Arabia and the
Swahili Coast, Jordan, Lebanon and Oman. It describes the history,
culture, customs and geography of the region and the daily life of
its inhabitants, as viewed through the eyes of a world-renowned
watercolour artist and life-long adventurer. Filled with personal
anecdotes and humour, David Bellamy's unique account shines a light
on the Middle East and highlights the incredible beauty and
fascinating culture of this much-neglected region. David's stunning
artwork, that he painted during his various expeditions, features
throughout the book and captures perfectly the diverse and majestic
nature of the region. Watercolourists will be inspired by the
author's awe-inspiring ability to depict sweeping vistas and create
a sense of space in his paintings, and to capture the very essence
of a place through his art.
From the rabbit-sized Black-footed Cat of southern Africa to
bear-killing Amur tigers of the Russian Far East, the 38 members of
the Cat Family include some of the world's most fascinating and
magnificent species on earth. Supremely adapted for the kill, all
cats are obligate carnivores; they survive only by preying upon
other animals, and they have become one of evolution's most
successful predatory lineages of mammals. Wild Cats of the World
explores the spectacular Cat Family in unprecedented depth. Drawing
on thousands of scientific papers and direct observations in the
field, each species is profiled at length, covering all aspects of
felid behaviour and ecology. The book is profusely illustrated with
colour plates, black-and-white sketches showing important aspects
of cat life and accurate images of every species' skull. Over 400
spectacular photographs are included, many of them showing
extremely rare and little-known cats published here for the first
time. Each profile includes an up-to-date range map and explains
the most current science on how cats are classified and related to
each other, including some very recent, surprising discoveries.
Despite their great evolutionary success, the challenges facing
felids in the modern world are profound. Only one, the ubiquitous
domestic cat, does not require dedicated conservation action to
ensure survival for the next century. The book also explores the
current conservation issues facing wild cats, the increasingly
perilous status of many species and how they can be saved.
A revelatory study of the importance of nature in Van Gogh's art
throughout his life in Holland and France The celebrated painter
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) had a lifelong fascination with the
natural world. He spent his youth in rural Holland, and the
country's flat landscapes, trees, flowers, and birds would feature
in his early art. After he moved to Paris, he encountered new
radical thinking about art and humanity's changing relationship
with nature. Later, in Provence and Auvers, he discovered
unfamiliar terrain, flora, and fauna that further influenced his
artistic ideas and subject matter. Van Gogh's images of such
diverse environments reflect not only his immediate surroundings
but also the artist's evolving engagement with nature and art. Van
Gogh and Nature is an eye-opening and beautifully produced
catalogue, which accompanied the best-attended special exhibition
in the Clark Art Institute's history. It chronicles the artist's
ongoing relationship with nature throughout his entire career.
Among the featured works are Van Gogh's drawings and paintings,
along with related materials that illuminate his reading, sources,
and influences. Vivid color photography and explanatory texts based
on new research by the authors clarify a central theme of Van
Gogh's oeuvre. Distributed for the Clark Art Institute Exhibition
Schedule: Clark Art Institute (06/14/15-09/13/15)
Now available in a paper-bound edition Nearly a century ago, a
group of artists travelled into northern Ontario and farther afield
to capture the raw, terrible beauty that lay just beyond the
outskirts of Canada's cities and towns. Armed with sketchbooks,
brushes, and paint boxes, they set off into the heart of the
wilderness with the singular purpose of interpreting the landscape
in a modern mode of artistic expression. In July 1977, Jim and Sue
Waddington set off on their own expedition to discover the places
that inspired these artists. Determined to locate, document, and
photograph the actual landscapes that inspired A. Y. Jackson,
Franklin Carmichael, Arthur Lismer, Lawren Harris, A. J. Casson, J.
E. H. MacDonald, Tom Thomson, and Frederick Varley, the Waddingtons
began a thirty-six-year journey - tracking down clues, deciphering
bits of information, tracing ancient portage routes, and exploring
hidden inlets - all with the purpose of finding the very spots that
gave birth to the work of the Group of Seven. The result was an
amazing story of discovery. In this paper-bound edition of their
bestselling book, in which original paintings are paired with
contemporary photographs of the locations where the original works
were created, Jim and Sue Waddington invite their readers to come
face to face with the elusive muses that enlightened and enriched
this renowned group of artists.
This connect-the-dots coloring book features images from around the
home, in the garden, and from nature. Steve Duffendack has
developed a unique approach to connecting the dots that allows for
more diversity in how a page can be completed. Instead of only dots
there are various shapes to connect. Find the same shapes, then
connect the numbers within that group. After all the groups are
connected, color the scene!
A gorgeously illustrated volume devoted to the natural history
drawings and watercolors of Leonardo da Vinci and other outstanding
artists of the Age of Discovery From the fifteenth century onwards,
as European explorers sailed forth on grand voyages of discovery,
their encounters with exotic plants and animals fanned intense
scientific interest. Scholars began to examine nature with fresh
eyes, and pioneering artists transformed the way nature was seen
and understood. In Amazing Rare Things, renowned naturalist and
documentary-maker David Attenborough joins with expert colleagues
to explore how artists portrayed the natural world during this era
of burgeoning scientific interest. The book focuses on an exquisite
selection of natural history drawings and watercolors by Leonardo
da Vinci, Alexander Marshal, Maria Sibylla Merian, and Mark
Catesby, and from the collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo-works all
held in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. Attenborough and his
coauthors offer lucid commentary on topics ranging from the
30,000-year history of human drawings of the natural world, to
Leonardo's fascination with natural processes, to Catesby's
groundbreaking studies that introduced Europeans to the plants and
animals of North America. With 160 full color illustrations, this
beautiful book will appeal to readers with interests that extend
from art and science to history and nature.
Over the summer of 1821, a cash-strapped John James Audubon worked
as a tutor at Oakley Plantation in Louisiana's rural West Feliciana
Parish. This move initiated a profound change in direction for the
struggling artist. Oakley's woods teemed with life, galvanizing
Audubon to undertake one of the most extraordinary endeavors in the
annals of art: a comprehensive pictorial record of America's birds.
That summer, Audubon began what would eventually become his
four-volume opus, Birds of America. In A Summer of Birds, Danny
Heitman recounts the season that shaped Audubon's destiny, sorting
facts from romance to give an intimate view of the world's most
famous bird artist. A new preface marks the two-hundredth
anniversary of that eventful interlude, reflecting on Audubon's
enduring legacy among artists, aesthetes, and nature lovers in
Louisiana and around the world.
**Winner of the American Horticultural Society Book Award**
Japanese gardens are rooted in two traditions: an ancient one in
which patches of graveled forest or pebbled beach were dedicated to
nature spirits, and a tradition from China and Korea that included
elements such as ponds, streams, waterfalls, rock compositions, and
a variety of vegetation. This book traces the development and
blending of these two traditions, while also providing insight into
modern Japanese gardening trends. The Art of the Japanese Garden is
a comprehensive collection of the most notable gardens in
Japan--including graveled courtyards, early aristocratic villas,
palace gardens, esoteric and paradise gardens, Zen gardens, warrior
gardens, tea gardens, and stroll gardens. With an impressive amount
of new content, including more than 30 images, this updated edition
offers inspiring ideas for your own trip to Japan. If you're just
dreaming of traveling to Japan, there is also a section on Japanese
gardens in other countries--get a taste of Japanese culture and
tradition closer to home. Japanese gardening has reached new
heights of sophistication, and serves as garden design and
landscaping inspiration all over the world. The Art of the Japanese
Garden introduces readers to the history, culture, and design
behind these large-scale works of art.
Cats were just as favored in ancient Egypt as they are today.
Egyptian paintings of domesticated cats date back 3,600 years, and
animal cults included worship to the cat goddess Bastet. This AUC
Press Nature Foldout explores wild and domestic cats of Egypt:
large cats like the Cheetah, the Leopard, and the Caracal, which
are all extremely threatened or near extinction within Egypt; and
smaller cats including the African Wild Cat, Swamp Cat, Sand Cat,
and Egyptian Mau. Whether wild or household pets, cats have long
been beloved by people. - Each species described and illustrated,
alongside examples of their natural prey in the wild - Map of Egypt
describing the various habitats of wild cats, as well as locations
of ancient Egyptian sites where the cat was worshiped and mummified
- Noted appearances of felines in hieroglyphs and reliefs -
Conservation efforts for threatened cat species About the series:
The AUC Press Nature Foldout series combine, in beautifully
practical form, a wealth of information written by leading experts
with striking full-color illustrations on the flora and fauna of
Egypt and the Middle East. Designed for nature lovers and outdoor
adventurers, as well as for indoor use, the foldouts come in an
easily foldable format, at once compact, waterproof, and portable,
making them durable and convenient travel guides. Size is 23 x 8.5
in. / 58.5 x 21.5 cm unfolded.
"Object Lessons ... is a grand tour of the latest obsession of an
indefatigable collector. For the last decade ... George Loudon has
gathered some 200 extraordinary natural-history specimens,
scientific models and botanical drawings from the Darwinian age.
And the Boston photographer Rosamond Purcell has documented every
last one of them in this thoughtfully compiled, scrapbook-style
compendium." - The New York Times Style Magazine Assembling nearly
200 pieces from the collection of George Loudon, this volume
encompasses a vast assortment of objects relating to
nineteenth-century life sciences. Originally designed to capture
the complex structures of nature, they range from books and
illustrations to botanical specimens and anatomical models. Having
lost most of their original pedagogical function over time, the
objects are now open for contemporary reappraisal - acquiring new
values that can inspire, seduce and even disorientate today's
viewer. Offering a unique perspective on the intersection of art
and science, the historic curiosities in this collection reveal
their creators' remarkable capacity for artistic expression.
Alongside new images by celebrated photographer Rosamond Purcell,
explanatory texts on the objects by Loudon, an essay by Robert
McCracken Peck, and a conversation between Loudon and art historian
Lynne Cooke together offer insight into the objects' original
context and potential for new perspectives.
In the era of the Anthropocene, artists and scientists are facing a
new paradigm in their attempts to represent nature. Seven chapters,
which focus on art from 1780 to the present that engages with
Nordic landscapes, argue that a number of artists in this period
work in the intersection between art, science, and media
technologies to examine the human impact on these landscapes and
question the blurred boundaries between nature and the human.
Canadian artists such as Lawren Harris and Geronimo Inutiq are
considered alongside artists from Scandinavia and Iceland such as
J.C. Dahl, Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Toril Johannessen, and Bjoerk.
A survey of 21 contemporary artists who specialise in painting
gardens. The artists come from the United Kingdom as well as Europe
and the United States. They work in a wide range of media including
watercolour, acrylics, oils and tempera. For each artist, there is
a brief biographical thumbnail sketch, reproductions of a variety
of their work, and comments from the artists on their painting
styles and working practices. The result is a intriguing look at
this fascinating subject. A beautiful book with a foreword by Sir
Roy Strong.
'Think of this atlas as the beginning of a journey and a kind of
island guidebook, a rough guide to far-flung places, a Baedeker of
make-believe, and a new page waiting to be filled. The cycle of
Crusoes continues' Huw Lewis-Jones A new atlas of imaginary islands
conjured up by an international gathering of illustrators,
including work by Coralie Bickford-Smith, Bill Bragg, Marion
Deuchars, Chris Riddell, Maisie Paradise Shearring, Herve Tullet,
Ausra Kiudulaite and more. Islomania is a recognized affliction.
But what is it about islands that is so alluring, and why do so
many people find these self-contained worlds completely
irresistible? Utopia and Atlantis were islands, and islands have
captured the imaginations of writers and artists for centuries.
Venetian sailors were the first to make collections of them by
drawing maps of those they visited in their isolari - literally the
'island books'. Then in 1719 Daniel Defoe published his tale of a
castaway on a desert island, Robinson Crusoe, one of the first
great novels in the history of literature and an instant
bestseller. Defoe's tale combined the real and the imagined and
transformed them into a compelling creative landscape, establishing
a whole literary genre and unleashing the power of an island for
storytelling. To celebrate the tercentenary of Robinson Crusoe's
publication, a truly international range of leading illustrators
imagine they too have been washed up on their own remote island. In
a specially created map they visualize what it looks like, what
it's called and what can be found on its mythical shores. In a
panoply of astonishingly creative and often surprising responses,
we are invited to explore a curious and fabulous archipelago of
islands of invention that will beguile illustrators, cartographers
and dreamers alike.
Bring the magic of the rainforest to your doorstep by drawing this
collection of colourful animals and birds. Prolific author and
artist Susie Hodge teaches you to transform simple shapes into
mysterious jaguars, shy butterflies or endangered orangutans in
easy-to-follow stages. Choose from a sleepy sloth, a noisy toucan
and much more. There are 28 different animals to create, in a
variety of poses and styles. Each project starts with a few basic
outlines and progresses into a finished tonal drawing, and a final
coloured version shows you how to develop your drawing even
further. Perfect for beginners, as well as budding artists, you'll
be amazed how easily you too can draw rainforest animals with this
inspiring guide.
Award-winning artist Angela Gaughan shares with you a life time's
worth of experience in art. This book provides an insight into the
distinctive techniques Angela Gaughan uses to achieve her amazingly
detailed, life-like wildlife paintings. It is an inspirational
guide to painting in acrylics; both for experienced artists who are
interested in Angela's methods, and those wishing to improve their
skills. Sumptuous colour is at the heart of Angela's vivid,
beautiful art work. Her unique techniques combine the advantages of
acrylics and oils. In this inspirational book, Angela shares with
you a lifetime's worth of experience in art. Learn her unique
approach to using acrylics to produce depth and character in your
own wildlife artwork, and follow the step-by-step demonstrations as
you build up your skills. The book begins with detailed coverage of
the materials, tools and media Angela uses. Chapters on colour and
light, gathering reference, and composition build upon Angela's
working method guiding you through her stages of working, from
using photographic references, through completing a tonal drawing,
to using transparent washes and opaque colours to create a full
painting. The instructional techniques then connect into
substantial chapters on colour, composition and finish off with
masterwork techniques to help more advanced artists push their
artwork further.
|
|