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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
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(Paperback)
Geoff Francis; Photographs by Paul Windridge; Designed by Paul Windridge
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The sublime collection of 418 superbly detailed paintings of
hummingbirds by the great artist John Gould, the 19th-century
naturalist painter often referred to as the British Audubon,
represents all the known species on the planet at the time and is
the most complete ever produced. Like Audubon, Gould depicted the
birds as they are in life, in their native habitats, which was
still a revolutionary approach at the time. Yet Unlike Audubon,
Gould travelled widely across the globe and the exquisite
hummingbirds he painted so beautifully represent all the known
species at the time and haled from the most remote and exotic
ecosystems on the planet. In their essay for the book, co-writers
Joel and Laura Oppenheimer tell the story of Gould s colourful life
and place his work in the context of the times, when exploration of
science and the world s natural wonders was at an all-time high.
The Family of Hummingbirds will delight birdwatching hobbyists,
fans of naturalist historical prints, and especially lovers of the
avian Tinker Bell.
This complete guide to the crisp, precise finish of botanical
painting marries traditional technique with contemporary style and
includes sections on colour, drawing, continuous tone, composition
and dissection. Michael Lakin makes botanical art approachable with
simple exercises and a variety of step-by-step instructional
approaches, making this a fantastic guide for aspirational
beginners.
A beautifully illustrated look at the vogue for night landscapes
amid the social, political, and technological changes of modern
America The turn of the 20th century witnessed a surge in the
creation and popularity of nocturnes and night landscapes in
American art. In this original and thought-provoking book, Helene
Valance investigates why artists and viewers of the era were so
captivated by the night. Nocturne examines works by artists such as
James McNeill Whistler, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, Frederic
Remington, Edward Steichen, and Henry Ossawa Tanner through the
lens of the scientific developments and social issues that
dominated the period. Valance argues that the success of the genre
is connected to the resonance between the night and the many forces
that affected the era, including technological advances that
expanded the realm of the visible, such as electric lighting and
photography; Jim Crow-era race relations; America's closing
frontier and imperialism abroad; and growing anxiety about identity
and social values amid rapid urbanization. This absorbing study
features 150 illustrations encompassing paintings, photographs,
prints, scientific illustration, advertising, and popular media to
explore the predilection for night imagery as a sign of the times.
Hokusai's series depicting Mount Fuji is widely considered to be
the pinnacle of his career. This beautiful boxed accordion- fold
edition comprises the full set of forty-six prints (the original
thirty-six and ten more that were completed later) and features a
luxurious silken binding along with a separate explanatory booklet.
The book and booklet are packaged in an elegant slipcase. Devoted
entirely to landscapes, Hokusai's series shows Mount Fuji from
various viewpoints, framed in different ways. An indefatigable
traveler who was passionate about nature, Hokusai explored every
vantage point and season at the volcano. He presented it both as a
solitary and majestic snow-capped peak and as a smaller object on a
distant horizon. Hokusai also portrayed the mountain as an element
in Japanese daily life and as an imposing force of nature that can
be peaceful and beneficent, or ferocious and unforgiving. These
impeccably reproduced prints invite readers to examine Hokusai's
virtuosic use of color and composition, his talent for contrasting
perspectives, and his interest in the dueling roles of man and
nature. An exquisite objet d'art, this volume is the perfect
vehicle for appreciating Hokusai's crowning achievement in all its
lasting and subtle beauty.
The "Art of Drawing Animals" focuses on how to draw domesticated
animals - the tamed creatures that share our lives. Written by
bestselling author J.C. Amberlyn, the book features everyone's
favourite animals, ranging from the most popular breeds of dogs and
cats to horses and other hoofed mammals, rodents, birds and
reptiles. The focus is on realistic appraoch to drawing with an
emphasis on anatomy/structure; the physical details of each
species; and the action, facial and body expressions that give life
to drawing. The book shows each type of animal in general and then
goes into the various traits that make each breed distinctive.
Beaches, marshes, mangroves; cliffs, deserts, forests; bays,
deltas, estuaries - coastlines take many different forms and are
put to very different uses. From deserted beaches to busy ports,
from pretty fishing villages to a surfers' paradise, a salt marsh
to a ship-breakers' yard, Coasts celebrates where the land meets
the sea. From beautiful coastal paths to the shipwrecks left high
and dry in the Aral Sea, from world famous locations such as
Copacabana Beach in Brazil and Big Sur in California to the little
explored coastlines of Yemen and Oman, from Algeria to Antarctica,
the Amalfi Coast to the Dead Sea, the book celebrates a huge range
in coastlines from all around the world. Including nature reserves
and tourist resorts, rugged landscapes and desert island
tranquility, fjords and fossils, eroding cliffs to whole towns lost
to the waters, the book explores coastlines in all climates and
conditions around the globe. Presented in a landscape format and
with captions explaining the story behind each entry, Coasts is a
stunning collection of images and stories.
In this mesmerizing book of photography, acclaimed photographer
David Liittschwager reveals the unnerving beauty of three
notoriously mysterious sea creatures--the jellyfish, octopus, and
seahorse--and how they perceive the world. The jellyfish, the
octopus, and the seahorse are among the most wondrous species on
Earth--as well as some of the most difficult to document using
traditional photography methods. Enter celebrated photographer
David Liittschwager, who has spent decades developing specialized
portraiture techniques to capture these creatures' pulsating
bioluminescence, translucent bodies, and ethereal movements. This
luminous collection showcases 200 of Liittschwager's most revealing
photographs, paired with penetrating essays that explain how a
creature without a brain or without bones perceives the world.
Bestselling science writers Elizabeth Kolbert, Jennifer Holland,
and Olivia Judson explain the biology and advanced cognitive
abilities of these spineless denizens of the deep, exquisitely
evoking their unnerving yet undeniable charisma. In these pages,
you'll glimpse a seahorse only half an inch tall, a moon jelly
spinning off a snowflake-shaped clone, and the blinking comb jelly,
which may be the most ancient living animal on Earth. Both
enlightening and profound, this enchanting book documents the
expanding frontiers of marine science, creating a powerful
testament to the value and beauty of these little-seen--and
endangered--species.
Jarred by the 9/11 attacks, photographer Jack Spencer set out in
2003 "in hopes of making a few 'sketches' of America in order to
gain some clarity on what it meant to be living in this nation at
this moment in time." Across thirteen years, forty-eight states,
and eighty thousand miles of driving, Spencer created a vast,
encompassing portrait of the American landscape that is both
contemporary and timeless. This Land presents some one hundred and
forty photographs that span the nation, from Key West to Death
Valley and Texas to Montana. From the monochromatic and distressed
black-and-white images that began the series to the oversaturated
color of more recent years, these photographs present a startlingly
fresh perspective on America. The breadth of imagery in This Land
brings to mind the works of such American masters as Edward Hopper,
Grant Wood, Mark Rothko, and Albert Bierstadt, while also evoking
the sense of the open roads traveled by Woody Guthrie and Jack
Kerouac. Spencer's pictorialist vision embraces the sweeping
variety of American landscapes-coasts, deltas, forests, deserts,
mountain ranges, and prairies-and iconic places such as Mount
Rushmore and Wounded Knee. Jon Meacham writes in the foreword that
Spencer's "most surprising images are of a country that I suspect
many of us believed had disappeared. The fading churches, the
roaming bison, the running horses: Spencer has found a mythical
world, except it is real, and it is now, and it is ours."
Wilhelm Kuhnert was a pioneer. He was one of the first European
artists to travel to the largely unexplored savannahs and jungles
of the German colonies in North and East Africa. Under hazardous
conditi ons he documented at close quarters the fascinating animal
and plant world and then created in his Berlin studio monumental
paintings which were much sought - after on the art market. Like no
other artist of his time Wilhelm Kuhnert (1865 - 1926) has moulded
our image of Africa. In his seductively realistic drawings,
watercolours and paintings he recorded with almost scientific
accuracy the characteristics of the animals and their habitat. It
is not surprising, therefore, that his pictures illustrated on the
o ne hand legendary reference works like Brehms Tierleben and
adorned on the other the popular collector cards of the chocolate
manufacturer Stollwerck. The volume shows a comprehensive, exciting
portrait of Kuhnert's unusual life and works and takes into account
at the same time the current debate on attitudes to Germany's
colonial past.
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