A guide to landscape painting for complete beginners with simple exercises. Hazel Soan is a hugely successful painter and an outstanding teacher and author of art books, which have introduced the wonders of art to a generation of amateur artists. In this book she teaches you how to get to grips with watercolour landscapes in the space of an afternoon. The book explores the basics of watercolour landscapes with lots of simple exercises and step-by-step demonstrations that are perfect for beginners. That life-long ambition of painting somewhere that is important to you can become a possibility with the help of this nifty little book. Topics covered include creating space, composition and focus, light and shadows, colours of the landscape and the mixing of watercolours. Watercolour painting techniques such as painting en plein air, brushwork, creating texture, wet into wet and wet on dry are explained. The book also explores specific landscape themes such as skies, foliage, forests, gardens, seascapes, wilderness, sunsets, urban landscapes, panoramas, sunsets and many more.

Brimming with over 300 botanical motifs, this wonderful resource will provide inspiration and instructions for embroidery artists and flower ladies everywhere. This collection features designs including flowers, ferns, succulents, leaves, bees and garden scenes. The books includes basic embroidery instruction for stitches and transferring designs onto fabric. Original designs and clear instructions make this book a must have for any embroidery enthusiast's library.

100 Japanese Gardens is an ambitious attempt to profile the finest gardens in Japan, while also highlighting lesser known, but equally accomplished landscapes in less-visited parts of the country. A celebration of Japanese landscape design, this book features gardens from Kyoto and Tokyo, as well as from the sub-arctic island of Hokkaido and the semi-tropical islands of Okinawa. Author Stephen Mansfield travelled the length and breadth of Japan on a quest to identify the most impressive gardens in this vast and culturally varied archipelago. His erudition and love of the Japanese garden shines through on every page, making this the perfect primer for travel to Japan or an enjoyable armchair read for gardening enthusiasts. Mansfield's insightful descriptions of each garden examine design concepts and principles, space management, compositional elements, and the iconographic and metaphysical role of Shinto and Buddhist influences. Through his exquisite visuals and engaging stories, we experience Japanese garden designs not merely as landscapes, but as large-scale art installations.

From domestic cats and dogs to wild lions and giraffes, best-selling artist and author Jean Haines shows the reader how to bring a vitality of life to their animal artwork. Known for the vibrant colours and exciting, innovative painting techniques that she brings to her work, Jean's latest book invites beginners and more experienced artists alike to share a journey through painting animals from around the world. Painting animals requires a delicacy of touch. Jean starts with simple monochrome artworks and progresses on to more vivid paintings that incorporate exciting textural effects. Using lessons from nature to help bring the reader closer to the animals, Jean shows how to portray the animal's spirit and bring vitality to the reader's artwork. Suitable for all abilities, from first-time painters to experienced artists, Jean shares all the materials and unique techniques she uses, and provides a wealth of expert tips and advice inspired by the animals themselves, helping the reader to progress and find their own path. Scattered throughout the book are dozens of Jean's wonderful paintings, showcasing a veritable Noah's Ark of different animals to inspire the reader on their artistic journey.

'The beginnings of a bitter-sweet commission: a mistle thrust's egg, heralding a brief but very welcome return to spring... This year has been in such a hurry, at times almost tripping over itself in its keenness to reach autumn, and now she's here.' Highly respected illustrator Anna Koska is best known for her drawings of fish and fruit and is widely celebrated by food journalists and restaurateurs. In this mindful, artistic journal, Anna celebrates the natural world; the changing of the seasons, the blossoming of flowers and the ripening of fruit. Working in watercolour, pen and ink, oils and luscious egg tempera, Anna's illustrations are reproduced in beautiful detail and they are accompanied by her musings and observations of objects, engaging us in the everyday realities of her artistic practice. Anna sources inspiration from the flora and fauna in the fields and forests surrounding her home in East Sussex. Her illustrations root us in nature, allowing us to pause to admire and appreciate the beauty and significance of everyday occurrences - whether she is drawing wasps feasting on apples fallen in the orchard, or trying to capture the cerulean blue of a winter sky. In this book, image and narrative text are wedded to create a beautiful journey through the seasons, taking time to appreciate our surroundings. 'It started with my favourite fish, a red mullet, all bronze, copper, gills and scales. Then mackerel, coloured like a Scandi sky. Soon enough, I was seduced by a sketch of figs and Anna's alluring tones.' Allan Jenkins, Observer Food Magazine.

The image of the horse is so popular and appears in so many forms that there are literally millions of fascinating equine collectibles to seek out, accumulate, and admire. Collecting them is a passion for thousands of people; this wonderful new second edition was put together with them in mind. With over 500 examples, it covers major toy manufacturers like Breyer, Hartland Plastics, Hagen-Renaker, Marx, Hasbro-My Little Pony, and North Lights, plus a wide range of horse collectibles in a variety of materials and forms, gathered from around the world. All of these have newly revised pricing information to reflect today's market. Horse collecting is a hobby suited to any budget. It's not hard to find horses to buy, and many of them are priced very reasonably, even in antique shops. With the wonderful color photographs and its current price guide, this book will be a useful delight for horse enthusiasts.

The role of the visual arts in the assertion of European colonial power has been the subject of much recent investigation and redefinition. This book takes as a ground for discussion the representation of Indian scenery and architecture by British artists in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

These 580+ juicy images capture the fact that throughout history, artists and artisans have depicted vegetables in remarkable ways. Still lifes, photographs, amusing antique postcards, seed packet art-all sorts of vegetable illustrations have been created to arouse physical and aesthetic appetites, and they are displayed here together with interesting botanical and historical insights. This wealth of vegetable art includes paintings by American artists like Lily Martin Spencer, Ernest Lawson, and Charles Demuth; engravings and lithographs by major printmaking companies like Louis Prang and Company; botanical illustrations; and commercial images drawn from vintage catalogs and seed packets. Vegetables are represented in colorful glory, from the hundreds we appreciate daily-like tomatoes, potatoes, peas, and carrots-to less-familiar vegetables like sea kale, cardoon, and walking onions.

RHS Staff Pick of the Year 2021 Spectator Gardening Book of the year 2021 'A refreshingly insightful history of plant introductions.' - Roy Lancaster Travel the world with extraordinary tales of the botanical discoveries that have shaped empires, built (and destroyed) economies, revolutionised medicine and advanced our understanding of science. Circling the globe from Australia's Botany Bay to the Tibetan plateau, from the deserts of Southern Africa to the jungles of Brazil, this book presents an incredible cast of characters - dedicated researchers and reckless adventurers, physicians, lovers and thieves. Meet dauntless Scots explorer David Douglas and visionary Prussian thinker Alexander von Humboldt, the 'Green Samurai' Mikinori Ogisu and the intrepid 17th century entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian - the first woman known to have made a living from science. Beautifully illustrated with over 100 botanical artworks from the archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, this absorbing book tells the stories of how plants have travelled across the world - from the missions of the Pharaohs right up to 21st century seed-banks and the many new and endangered species being named every year. *** THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW is a world-famous research organisation and a major international visitor attraction. It harnesses the power of its science, the rich diversity of its gardens and collections to unearth why plants and fungi matter to everyone. Its aspiration is to end the extinction crisis and help create a world where nature and biodiversity are protected, valued and managed sustainably.

A woman ahead of her time, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) was an intrepid explorer, naturalist and scholar, as well as a magnificent artist. This lovely, impeccably designed book tells Merian's incredible life story alongside colourful reproductions of her engravings and watercolours of the butterflies she encountered during her lifetime in Germany and the Netherlands and her seminal trip to the Dutch colony of Surinam. The book recounts Merian's monumental expedition, her work as an advocate for the slave laborers of Surinam and her important studies of the anatomy and life cycle of the butterfly. Author Boris Friedewald employs Merian's favourite insect as a metaphor for the artist's own pioneering evolution from budding entomologist to educator, activist and artist. A visual treasure as well as a satisfying read, this exquisite volume is the perfect gift for anyone interested in Merian's amazing life and groundbreaking body of work.

The links between the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and India go back for two and a half centuries. Surgeons who had studied botany at the Garden laid the foundations of western knowledge of the Indian flora. Supplementing their written plant descriptions with botanical drawings, commissioned from Indian artists, they established collections which survive today at Edinburgh, the Natural History Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This book tells the story of these collections, reproducing a selection of 86 exquisite, original drawings - including examples made in all three of the Presidencies (administrative units) of British India (Bombay, Bengal and Madras), between 1770 and 1860.

Cartoonists and animators have given animals human characteristics for so long that audiences are now accustomed to seeing Bugs Bunny singing opera and Mickey Mouse walking his dog Pluto. The Animated Bestiary critically evaluates the depiction of animals in cartoons and animation more generally. Paul Wells argues that artists use animals to engage with issues that would be more difficult to address directly because of political, religious, or social taboos. Consequently, and principally through anthropomorphism, animation uses animals to play out a performance of gender, sex and sexuality, racial and national traits, and shifting identity, often challenging how we think about ourselves. Wells draws on a wide range of examples, from the original King Kong to Nick Park's Chicken Run to Disney cartoons such as Tarzan, The Jungle Book, and Brother Bear to reflect on people by looking at the ways in which they respond to animals in cartoons and films.

Relax and dive into the ultimate guide to creating watercolor paintings of your favorite flowers! From bright red roses to deep green cacti, this gorgeous, easy-to-follow book will show how anyone can paint luminous watercolor flowers and botanicals. Noted artist and instructor Rachel Eskandari details how anyone can paint a garden of bold, creative watercolor images. Featuring colorful step-by-step images, this book shows how to master the basics of watercolors and then expand your color palette to create boldly unconventional floral artwork. Watercolor Botanical Garden features everything you need to know, including: *Color theory and mixing for unique shades *Utilizing the skills of blending, gradients, and shading *Lesson for creating 25+ different plants and flowers including roses, cacti, peonies, nigella, agave, anemones, queen of the night, leaves, and more *How to incorporate multiple botanical images for a gorgeous landscape painting

Rivers can be enchanting or exciting, but are always absorbing. They provide a myriad of painting opportunities and challenges for the artist. Focusing on watercolour - one of the most direct of mediums - this practical book explains how to paint a river and capture its life, light, movement, colour and interest. With over 200 colour images, Rob Dudley shares his methods, techniques and ideas to make this beautiful book a must-have for all landscape and en plein-air artists.

Ranunculus offers advice on how to care for and propagate these colourful cultivated members of the buttercup family. Naomi Slade explores a wide range of ranunculus species and cultivars, all beautifully photographed by Georgianna Lane in their technicolour glory from palest pink to deep burgundy via white, orange, red and yellow. Pert as a rosebud and blousy as a dahlia, Ranunculus asiaticus is the flower of the moment. From ancestors that grew wild in the eastern Mediterranean, these Persian buttercups have been bred and selected to create fully double blooms; with layers of delicate, tissue-paper petals sculpted to perfection and available in a range of colours to suit any occasion. The buttercup family is a huge and diverse one, however, and the genus Ranunculus contains not just these exotic florists' darlings, but a whole range of their close relatives too. Some are familiar: when fields and lawns are sprinkled with golden meadow buttercups, we can be sure that spring has arrived. Yet there are also rare mountain blooms, perched on crags and fed by the melting snow, and forms of Ranunculus that thrive in pond margins or flourish in fast-flowing streams. Naomi Slade explores the world of buttercups, from their wild origins to their most successfully cultivated and most popular forms. Some are easy to grow, some less so, and this book offers tips and advice to help the reader embrace not just those near-wild forms that lend themselves to naturalistic planting schemes, and the exquisite, collectible alpines, but also the brilliant, desirable, Persian buttercups that are so perfect for cutting and arranging.

ONE OF THE TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES' BEST BOOKS FOR 2022 'Eye-opening and full of surprises . . . A treasure' Sunday Times 'A biography as rich with colourful characters as any novel' Telegraph John Constable, the revolutionary nineteenth-century painter of the landscapes and skies of southern England, is Britain's best-loved but perhaps least understood artist. His paintings reflect visions of landscape that shocked and perplexed his contemporaries: attentive to detail, spontaneous in gesture, brave in their use of colour. What we learn from his landscapes is that Constable had sharp local knowledge of Suffolk, a clarity of expression of the skyscapes above Hampstead, an understanding of the human tides in London and Brighton, and a rare ability in his late paintings of Salisbury Cathedral to transform silent suppressed passion into paint. Yet Constable was also an active and energetic correspondent. His letters and diaries - there are over one thousand letters from and to him - reveal a man of passion, opinion and discord, while his character and personality is concealed behind the high shimmering colour of his paintings. They reveal too the lives and circumstances of his brothers and his sisters, his cousins and his aunts, who serve to define the social and economic landscape against which he can be most clearly seen. These multifaceted reflections draw a sharp picture of the person, as well as the painter. James Hamilton's biography reveals a complex, troubled man, and explodes previous mythologies about this timeless artist, and establishes him in his proper context as a giant of European art.

Whether you're a dedicated and serious birder, a hobbyist bird watcher, or simply a lover of nature, getting great photos of birds is at the top of the list for bird lovers of all kinds. In this book, professional photographer Rosl Rossner teaches you all of her techniques, tips, and tricks for capturing fantastic bird photographs. Starting with the gear you'll need, Rossner discusses cameras, tripods, lenses, and more. She then moves on to finding the birds you want to photograph. While this includes locations out in the wild, she also covers zoos, parks, sanctuaries, and other easily accessible spots-which are especially great for beginning bird photographers. Rossner then thoroughly covers the camera and shooting techniques you need to know, including key lessons on exposure, composition, focus, and sharpness. Regardless of the quality of the light (front light, side light, etc.) or the season you're shooting in (rain, snow, fog), Rossner's got you covered. In the final part of the book, Rossner takes you behind the scenes of 25 unique bird photographs, telling you how the image came about, plus any specific tips and tricks that were used to create the image. Featuring birds from around the world, The Beginner's Guide to Photographing Birds is a beautiful, helpful, and accessible guide for anyone getting started in bird photography.

An exciting new approach to flower painting with step-by-step demonstrations for creating contemporary flower portraits and landscapes that are truly unique.This is more than a 'how-to' on flower painting. It is a guide encouraging artists to explore new and exciting ways to create flower paintings bursting with individuality and moving towards a contemporary and impressionist style.Mixed-media artist Soraya French, well known for her gloriously vibrant flower paintings, shares the secrets of her work, with expert advice on all aspects of this endlessly rewarding subject. The book covers: *Colours, shapes, patterns and textures particular to various flowers through the seasons, from fresh green foliage in the spring to rich red and gold hues in the autumn. *How to incorporate flowers in both still life and landscape paintings, pictured in woodlands, seascapes, meadows and hedgerows as well as vases. *How to assemble the perfect palette for flower painting and how to mix vibrant secondary colours, subtle tints and natural greens. *The huge range of painting materials available today, from traditional watercolour to vividly coloured wax pastels to innovative textural mediums such as crackle paste and glass bead gel. *The secrets of good composition and how to lead the eye around a painting, giving a sense of rhythm and movement while maintaining unity and harmony.Packed with exciting new ideas and illustrated with stunning examples of Soraya's own work, this book will take your flower painting to a new level and help you find your unique visual voice.