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Books > Arts & Architecture > Art forms, treatments & subjects > Art treatments & subjects > Iconography, subjects depicted in art > Nature in art, still life, landscapes & seascapes
Ivon Hitchens (1893-1979) is widely regarded as the outstanding
English landscape painter of the 20th century. Immediately
recognisable by its daring yet subtle use of colour and brushmark
to evoke the spirit of place, his work is to be found in public and
private collections throughout the world. This is the definitive
study of Hitchens' life and work. Peter Khoroche draws on the
painter's published writings, correspondence and conversation to
create a critical reappraisal of Hitchens' theory and practice. He
surveys the entire oeuvre (still-lifes, flower pieces, nudes,
interiors and large-scale murals besides the landscapes), a huge
legacy of work spanning sixty years, and charts the journey from
conventional beginnings to 'figurative abstraction'. A selection of
over 100 colour images, examples of Hitchens' best and most
characteristic painting in all genres, provide a retrospective
exhibition covering the artist's entire career. These
illustrations, singled out for praise by reviewers of the hardback
edition, demonstrate the artist's outstanding talents and reinforce
his standing as a key figure in the history of British art.
Botanica Magnifica features two hundred and fifty stunning
photographs of rare and exotic plants and flowers by Hasselblad
Laureate Award winner Jonathan Singer. Botanica Magnifica features
two hundred and fifty stunning photographs by Hasselblad Laureate
Award winner Jonathan Singer, representing-in the words of an
ARTnews critic-rare or exotic plants and flowers "in large scale
and exquisite detail, emerging from the shadows in a manner
evocative of Old Master paintings." The original edition of
Botanica Magnifica, consisting of five lavishly hand-bound volumes,
was limited to just ten copies, the first of which was recently
donated to the Smithsonian Institution. The extra-large
"double-elephant" format of that edition was chosen in homage to
the famous double-elephant folio of The Birds of America, and
indeed, Botanica Magnifica is one of the few works of natural
history ever to rival Audubon's magnum opus in its scope and
artistry. In praise of the double-elephant folio of Botanica
Magnifica, the Smithsonian's Chairman of Botany attested, "Everyone
who has seen the photographs . . . has been tremendously impressed
with the power, scale, and depth of the work." Now Singer's
remarkable images are available to the public for the first time in
this baby-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica. Like the larger
edition, this volume is organized into five alphabetically arranged
sections, each introduced by a gatefold page that displays one
extraordinary plant at a luxurious size. Each pictured plant is
accompanied by a clear and accessible description of its botany,
geography, folklore, history, and conservation. With its marvelous
reproductions and fascinating text, the baby-elephant folio of
Botanica Magnifica is one of the most impressive volumes of natural
history ever published. This volume is also available in a
leatherbound, slipcased edition.
John James Audubon (1785-1851) was for half a century America's
dominant wildlife artist. His seminal Birds of America, a
collection of 435 life-size prints, is still a standard work, and
the name Audubon remains synonymous with birds and bird
conservation the world over. Born in Haiti, the illegitimate son of
a French sea-captain, he was raised in France and sailed to America
at the age of 18 where he went into business and began his study of
birds. In 1819 he was briefly jailed for bankruptcy; with no other
prospects, he set off on his epic quest to depict America's
avifauna, with nothing but his gun, artist's materials, and a young
assistant. Floating down the Mississippi, he lived a rugged
hand-to-mouth existence while his devoted wife, Lucy, earned money
as a tutor to wealthy plantation families. In 1826 he sailed with
his partly finished collection to England. Lionized as the
'American woodsman', he hit just the right Romantic note for the
era, and was an overnight success, finding printers for his book
first in Edinburgh, then London. It was a classic American tale of
triumph over adversity. Here are vivid 'bird biographies', his
correspondence with Lucy, journal accounts of his dramatic river
journeys and hunting trips with the Osage Indians, and a generous
sampling of brief stories that have long been out of print, 'The
Burning of the Forests' and 'Kentucky Barbecue on the Fourth of
July' among them. The Audubon Reader is an unforgettable encounter
with early America: with its wildlife and birds, with its people
and its primordial wilderness.
Marfa Garden is a full-color celebration of more than sixty
flowering plants of the Chihuahuan Desert and neighboring regions.
Marfa, the internationally acclaimed arts and cultural mecca in Far
West Texas, sits squarely in the Chihuahuan Desert-North America's
second largest at 140,000 square miles spanning northern Mexico,
West Texas, and parts of New Mexico and Arizona. The desert is a
surprising showcase for colorful plant diversity. Presented in a
style reminiscent of naturalist Karl Blossfeldt's Art Forms in
Nature, the book includes an array of vines, grasses, trees, herbs,
shrubs, cacti, and succulents ranging from the little known to the
popular to the iconic. Photographs show the plants in year-round
cycles, with buds, complex foliage, unfolding blooms, seed pods,
and winter texture and color. Also included is a discussion of each
plant's common and scientific names, historical information, garden
use, USDA classification, and other helpful details. A visual
appendix of detailed botanical and gardening information consists
of illustrations relating close-up botanical details. Everyday
gardeners, naturalists, landscape designers, architects, and anyone
interested in dry gardens or the Southwest will find great value
and joy in Marfa Garden.
Hugh Laidman headed the U.S. Marine Corp. art program, was commissioned by the National Gallery of Art to do work for NASA, taught art, and was a successful syndicated cartoonist. All his skill and experience as both artist and teacher is distilled in Drawing Animals, a concise, easy-to-follow, beautifully illustrated guide for artists at all levels, beginner to expert. Laidman offers invaluable advice on methods and techniques before proceeding to the heart of the book: expertly rendered, step-by-step, instructional drawings of more than two dozen animals, from cats and dogs to elephants and gorillas. The emphasis throughout is on understanding animal anatomy and behavior as a guide to creating natural, expressive drawings, while developing an individual style and approach. Unabridged republication of the edition published by E. P. Dutton, New York, 1979. 26 lessons with varying numbers of illustrations.
From the Zoroastrian sculpture of a 100-kilo mastiff to the
portrait of a coiffured lap dog, Dogs in Art presents humanity's
best friend like never before. Through a wide range of genres,
fashions and cultures, from Roman mosaics to pop art, video,
impressionism and photography, this book brings together more than
200 breathtaking canine images to tell the story of dogs in art
from ancient times to the present. Susie Green considers the
artist's often very personal motives behind their work, the vastly
different cultural raison d'etres, and the reasons why these
sentient, emotional beings are loved and trusted by hundreds of
millions of people, including artists such as Hogarth, William
Wegman and Lucien Freud. The perfect gift for the many dog lovers
around the world, this beautifully illustrated volume offers a
dynamic new perspective on our relationship with this much
cherished animal.
Stitched Textiles: Nature is the fourth title in this successful
theme-based series. It contains an extensive section on techniques,
featuring step-by-step guides to machine- and hand-stitching,
attaching embellishments and found objects to your work; painting
and printing on fabrics including cotton, silk and Khadi paper; and
using objects found in nature, such as leaves, to make unique and
iconic prints. The book includes three beautiful, inspirational
projects based on different facets of the natural world: Ocean,
Rainforest, Botany, Birds and Animals. Stitched Textiles: Nature
also features examples of the author, Stephanie Redfern's own
intricate and detailed works based on nature, exploring the means
by which the pieces have been created, and the wonderful stories
behind Stephanie's journey as an artist. The wealth of information
and visual stimuli in Stitched Textiles: Nature is intended to
inspire the reader to create their own works inspired by nature.
Stephanie begins by exploring the use of sketchbooks and study
pages; progressing to picking out iconic elements from sketches and
photographs; and eventually assembling a stunning, personal piece
of stitched textile work on fabric or on cotton-blend Khadi paper;
applying handstitch in metallic threads; machine stitch in
whimsical and beautiful patterns; embellishing with natural beads
or found objects.
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is one of Scotland's most
visited tourist attractions and has been cultivating and studying
plants for over three centuries. Across its four garden sites, the
Royal Botanic Garden's living plant collection contains over 13,500
species from 156 countries, including some that are extinct in the
wild and others new to science. The ever-growing Herbarium
currently contains over three million dried specimens and the
Library houses Scotland's national collection of botanical and
horticultural literature, including manuscripts dating back to the
fifteenth century. The highlights illustrated in this book provide
a personal insight into one of the world's greatest botanic gardens
and reveals the invaluable contribution that it makes to the
ongoing documentation and conservation of the world's diverse plant
life.
Find Your Way to Michigan's Most Beautiful Waterfalls Waterfalls
create a feeling of serenity, a sense of restrained power. Their
grandeur takes our breath away. Their gentle sounds complement
periods of meditation. Let professional photographer and Michigan
native Greg Kretovic guide you to the top-ranked waterfalls in the
state. Your bucket list should include these gorgeous locales that
decorate Michigan's landscape. The waterfalls are organized
geographically and ranked by beauty. Entries include all the
information you need, like directions, distance, and hike
difficulty, as well as details about each waterfall, such as
height, width, and the best time of year to visit. Not-to-miss
sights and nearby activities are also called out, so you can make
the most of every outing. Plus, Greg's incomparable photography
makes this guidebook worthy of any coffee table. From the Porcupine
Mountains area and its many impressive waterfalls to the most
famous falls in the state-Tahquamenon Falls-experience them all
with this wonderful guidebook. These natural wonders prove that the
Great Lake State is home to some of the most picturesque sites in
America!
Snow scenes are a popular subject of painters all year round. In
this inspiring and accessible guide, best-selling author and
popular tutor Terry Harrison shares a wealth of tips and techniques
for painting snow in watercolour. Suitable for artists of all
abilities, Terry shows you how to capture the beauty of
snow-covered landscapes using easy techniques. The book begins with
guidance on colour mixes and brushes for achieving different
effects, and moves on to step-by-step demonstrations of painting
snow-laden trees, frozen streams, wintry skies, falling snow, and
the warm glow of a low winter sun. He provides valuable tips on
using photographs for reference, and turning a summer landscape
into a snow-covered one. There's also a section on how to create a
traditional Christmas scene, and how to turn it into a Christmas
card. With numerous examples of Terry's beautiful artwork, this
book is a truly indispensable guide for anyone wishing to paint
snow scenes in watercolour.
Rubens: The Two Great Landscapes is a handsomely illustrated
monograph that examines in depth Rubens's two greatest landscape
paintings: A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning and The Rainbow
Landscape. Painted as pendants, the pair have been in London since
1803, when they were separated, the former eventually entering the
collection of the National Gallery and the latter that of the
Wallace Collection. The book puts the creation of these two
landscapes into the full context of Rubens's later life and his
semi-retirement. It demonstrates how they are the zenith of his
achievements as a landscape painter and explores how he drew
skilfully on Flemish influences, including Bruegel, in creating two
highly original compositions. Written to engage and appeal to the
non-specialist reader and academic alike, the book makes an
important contribution to scholarship in the field, including
original technical research and new photography that show how these
complex compositions evolved iteratively as the panels onto which
they were painted were expanded. It also presents an updated and
almost complete history of the provenance of the two paintings
describing their passage through eminent collections from the time
of Rubens's death until they reached their respective collections
in London, separated by less than a mile.
Painted riverscapes such as Claude Monet's impressions of the
Seine, Isaak Levitan's Volga views, or Thomas Cole's Hudson scenery
became iconic not least because they embodied nationalist ideas
about place and about culture. At a time when nationalism was
taking root across Europe and the United States, the riverscape
played an important role in transforming the abstract idea of the
nation into a potent visual image. It not only offered a picture of
the nation's physical character, but through aspects such as style,
the figures portrayed, and the nature of the implied spectator, it
presented a cultural ideal. In this highly original book, Tricia
Cusak explores significance of painted riverscapes to the creation
of national identities in nineteenth and early twentieth century
Europe and America. Focusing on five rivers, the Hudson, the Volga,
the Seine, the Thames, and the Shannon, the author outlines the
history of the development of national landscapes, elaborating on
the distinctive nature of riverscapes. Drawing on the symbolic
potential of rivers to represent life and time, the riverscape
provided a metaphor for the mythic stream of national history
flowing unimpeded out of the past and into the future.
Now available in paperback! Andrew Forkner's book provides you with
all you need to paint a range of birds in acrylics; taking in birds
of prey, songbirds and waterbirds from all over the world. It
contains information on the materials and preparation you will need
to capture the delicacy and majesty of the subjects.
A fun comprehensive course to painting animals in watercolor that
focuses on the two key aspirations for novice animal artists: to
paint subjects in a loose yet realistic style, and to capture the
essence of animals characters. This book contains six complete
lessons explore a range of subject areas to equip the reader with
the skills required to paint all types of animals in a variety of
situations. Each lesson is made up of exercises and step
demonstrations, accompanied by practical instruction, beautiful
illustrations and useful tip boxes. The mix of animals includes
domestic pets, birds, zoo and safari animals, and young animals.
Additionally, galleries of artwork throughout the book provide
inspiration and illustrate the range of possibilities here
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Sit
(Hardcover)
Matt Karwen
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R1,585
R1,354
Discovery Miles 13 540
Save R231 (15%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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An extraordinary and unique insight into the personality of man's
best friend. Through patience and compassion, photographer Matt
Karwen has accomplished unprecedented, expressive dog portraits,
which depict the animal's personalities in various facets. In the
absence of outside influences, their faces reveal moods and
emotions that range from joy over curiosity to serenity.
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