|
Books > Arts & Architecture > Art forms, treatments & subjects > Art treatments & subjects > Iconography, subjects depicted in art > Nature in art, still life, landscapes & seascapes > General
A charm of goldfinches, an ascension of larks, a school of
dolphins, a cloud of bats, a murder of crows. All these and more
are portrayed in this enchanting new book by much loved artist Matt
Sewell, playing on the theme of collective nouns for animals.
Illustrated with Matt's inimitable watercolours, and imbued with a
love of his subjects that will resonate with people everywhere and
of all ages, this book is a great gift for nature and art lovers.
Accompanying each illustration is a playful, quirky description of
each groups' personality that readers cannot help but smile at.
Sewell's unique witty take on the subject, and delicately vivid
illustrations make for a lovely addition to his collection of
pocketable books.
|
Palm
(Hardcover)
Fred Gray
|
R574
R472
Discovery Miles 4 720
Save R102 (18%)
|
Ships in 9 - 15 working days
|
|
The extraordinary palm: diverse, prolific, essential, symbolic and
often sacred, exotic - and at times erotic - exploited and
controversial. The signature plant of the tropics and subtropics,
these record-breaking botanicals produce the world's biggest and
heaviest seed, the longest leaf and the longest stem. Over
thousands of years, palms sustained rainforest communities and were
bound up with the development of ancient civilizations. They gained
mystical and religious meanings and became a plant of abstractions
and fantasies, a symbol of being at leisure, away from civilization
and closer to nature - and at times of danger and devastation. In
the nineteenth century capitalism used palm products to lubricate
industry and cleanse empires. Iconic palm houses put on show this
exceptional vegetative performer. Far from its natural homelands,
it nowadays clothes and glamorizes an astonishing diversity of
landscapes. Today oils from palms are consumed daily by millions of
people worldwide. The plant is embedded in modern consumer
societies, but mired in environmental controversy over the
destruction of rainforests. In Palm Fred Gray portrays the cultural
and historical significance of this iconic and controversial plant
over thousands of years. Superbly illustrated, this lively and
engaging book is the first of its kind.
June grass at sunset, Indian grass at sunrise, hawk moths and
monarch butterflies nectaring on purple fringed orchids and rough
blazing star, little bluestem and saw-tooth sunflowers and
butterfly milkweed in hill prairies and sand prairies, and blue
skies and one bright rainbow arching over them all. Bill Witt has
been photographing Iowa's wild places for more than thirty years,
and the result is this collection of splendid images that reveal
the glorious beauty and diversity of the state's prairie remnants.
Witt gives us close-ups of pasque flower shoots covered with ice in
spring, coneflowers dancing in a summer breeze, and prairie
dropseed in its autumn colors as well as such prairie companions as
sandhill cranes, northern harriers, and bison. His panoramic
visions of prairie landscapes in all seasons focus on the personal
pleasure and spiritual sustenance that connecting with prairies,
even small and neglected ones, can bring us. Osha Davidson's essay
compares today's prairie remnants with yesterday's expanses and
calls for us to restore balance to this damaged landscape.
Altogether, ""Enchanted by Prairie"" celebrates today's prairie
landscape and encourages us, in Davidson's words, to restore its
'beauty and scents and textures and sounds'.
|
|