Now available in paperback, this book remains the definitive survey of the life and work of Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington (1917-2011). Carrington burst onto the Surrealist scene in 1936, when, as a precocious nineteen-year-old debutante, she escaped the stultifying demands of her wealthy English family by running away to Paris with her lover Max Ernst. She was immediately championed by Andre Breton, who responded enthusiastically to her fantastical, dark and satirical writing style and her interest in fairy tales and the occult. Her stories were included in Surrealist publications, and her paintings in the Surrealists' exhibitions. After the dramas and tragic separations of the Second World War, Carrington ended up in the 1940s as part of the circle of Surrealist European emigres living in Mexico City. Close friends with Luis Bunuel, Benjamin Peret, Octavio Paz and a host of both expatriate Surrealists and Mexican modernists, Carrington was at the centre of Mexican cultural life, while still maintaining her European connections. Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art provides a fascinating overview of this intriguing artist's rich body of work. The author considers Carrington's preoccupation with alchemy and the occult, and explores the influence of indigenous Mexican culture and beliefs on her production.

Sold in packs of 6. Gorgeous, foiled, handmade greeting cards, blank inside and shrink-wrapped with a gold envelope. Themed with our art calendars, foiled notebooks and illustrated art books. Our greeting cards are printed on FSC paper and wrapped in biodegradable cellobag, and are themed with our art calendars, foiled notebooks and illustrated art books. Catrin Welz-Stein's work is characterised by a sense of whimsy and wonder, as can be seen in this moonlit vision. The fantasy landscape illuminated by twinkling stars shows a fresh, green world from which the moon can be pulled closer. The image evokes a feeling of nostalgia for bedtime stories, full of characters who could make anything possible.

An extraordinary and inventive graphic biography, Steffen Kverneland's Munch explores the relationships and obsessions that drove the artist behind 'The Scream'. Using text drawn from the writings of Edvard Munch and his contemporaries, this extensively researched and beautifully drawn graphic novel debunks the familiar myth of the half-mad expressionist painter - anguished, starving and ill-treated - to reveal the artist's neglected sense of humour and optimism. Born out of a life-long fascination with all things Munch, Kverneland's award-winning seven-year project is the funniest and most entertaining portrait yet of a complex man and a pioneering artist. "Munch is a dazzling use of sequential storytelling... Rarely have I read a more entertaining biography." The Comics Journal

Fleshing out surfaces is the first English-language book on skin and flesh tones in art. It considers flesh and skin in art theory, image making and medical discourse in seventeenth to nineteenth-century France. Describing a gradual shift between the early modern and the modern period, it argues that what artists made when imitating human nakedness was not always the same. Initially understood in terms of the body's substance, of flesh tones and body colour, it became increasingly a matter of skin, skin colour and surfaces. Each chapter is dedicated to a different notion of skin and its colour, from flesh tones via a membrane imbued with nervous energy to hermetic borderline. Looking in particular at works by Fragonard, David, Girodet, Benoist and Ingres, the focus is on portraits, as facial skin is a special arena for testing painterly skills and a site where the body and the image become equally expressive. -- .

The author contrasts primitive & naive painting through the life & work of 2 of Cornwall's distinctive artists. The survey concludes with brief profiles of a dozen other artists whose individual visions have enriched the life of this celebrated artist's c

Expressive Sketchbooks shares a host of creative ideas and prompts, tools and techniques, methods for working around obstacles and barriers, and tons of visual inspiration to help you grow in your sketchbooking practice. An expressive sketchbook is a place for you to explore, express, and enjoy your own innate creativity on your own terms. It is a safe playground for the imagination-a place to mess about, play, and experiment-and to gain confidence in your abilities as you develop your skills. Expressive Sketchbooks offers techniques and creative exercises that incorporate mark making, watercolor, mixed media, collage, words and text, and more. It unpacks some of the obstacles and barriers that you may face along the way and offers wisdom and encouragement to help you decide why and how to start your sketchbook and how to develop and expand your artistic practice. This book is packed with ideas and exercises, including: Exploratory drawing exercises How to utilize color in your sketchbook How to create dynamic and varied sketchbook pages How to find inspiration in nature and in your everyday life Ways to mix media and art supplies Ways to kickstart your creativity How to find and develop a process that feels personal to you Through this book, you'll find out what lights you up, what makes you curious and fascinated, and what makes you expansive. Discover how to magnify your creativity and enliven your art skills by using an expressive sketchbook as your daily companion.

The really easy way to learn how to paint flowers in watercolour! Using a simple ten-step process, learn how to draw a basic outline starting with simple shapes, then add washes of colour and fine details to complete your work. Arranged in three chapters based on skill level, this book features 25 lovely projects, each showing you how to paint a flower in ten steps. There are paint swatches for every plant, showing you the colours you need to mix for each step of the way and the finished painting serves as a reference to guide you. It couldn't be easier! Also included is a useful techniques section at the beginning, and clever painting tips from the author throughout the book. With flora as diverse as a tulip, a magnolia, a bunny ears cactus and a passionflower, there is plenty to choose from and practise with, to develop your skills.

In the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) lies an impact akin to a sudden acquisition of sight. His landscapes and seascapes scorch the eye with such ravishing light and color, with such elemental force, it is as if the sun itself were gleaming out of the frame. Appropriately known as "the painter of light," Turner worked in print, watercolor, and oils to transform landscape from serene contemplative scenes to pictures pulsating with life. He anchored his work to the River Thames and to the sea, but in the historical context of the Industrial Revolution, also integrated boats, trains, and other markers of human activity, which juxtaposes the thrust of civilization against the forces of nature. This book covers Turner's illustrious, wide-ranging repertoire to introduce an artist who combined a traditional genre with a radical modernism. About the series Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features: a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

Create nine lustrous and captivating little works of art with this unique introduction to oil painting. Acclaimed artist Estelle Day demonstrates all you need to know to embark on your oil painting journey from what paints and supplies you'll need to essential oil painting techniques. Beginners will build confidence by working on small-scale, still life painting projects designed for canvases measuring no more than 10cm (4in). Also included are outlines for you to trace so you can get started right away! Easy Oil Painting is the perfect beginner's guide to working with oils and mastering this luminous and exciting medium.

Shanghai, second largest city in the world, is a hub of humanity. Never sleeping, never quiet, it is a flourishing centre of commerce, finance and art. To Jin Yucheng, bestselling author of Blossoms, Shanghai is home. His art is steeped in the city’s rhythms and quirks. The paintings in this volume compose a love poem to Shanghai, while acknowledging the lonely absurdity of modern urban life, and offering incisive commentary on traditional and modern China. From the famous Lujiazui skyline to the bustling crowds, from cosy corners to vibrant streetscapes, these pages capture the Shanghai of the present. Yucheng also delves into Shanghai’s history, paying particular attention to the 1960s-1990s. Later chapters focus on Chinese culture, the contrast between megacities and remote villages, and Yucheng’s favourite animal – the horse. While this book is the perfect companion piece to Blossoms, a novel set in late-20th-century Shanghai, it will also appeal to anyone interested in Chinese culture and art.

N.C. Wyeth's illustrations to Treasure Island and Kidnapped - first published in 1911 and 1913, respectively, by Charles Scribner's Sons - made his artistic reputation. With a bold mastery of light and colour, Wyeth brilliantly conveyed action, character, and setting, lending an extra excitement to Robert Louis Stevenson's tales of pirates and buried treasure, and intrigue in the Scottish Highlands. Now readers can enjoy this classic author-illustrator pairing in a handsome two-volume slipcased set, typeset anew and printed and bound to a high standard. This collectible set also includes a new introduction by Christine B. Podmaniczky, a leading expert on N.C. Wyeth. She reveals Wyeth's daring approach to these illustrations - which he painted at a large scale, directly on the canvas - and explores their later influence on visual culture, including stage and screen adaptations of Stevenson's novels. Also available: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn boxed set, ISBN 9780789213679

Part of an exciting series of sturdy, square-box 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles from Flame Tree, featuring powerful and popular works of art. This new jigsaw will satisfy your need for a challenge, with Marianne North's Amatungula in Flower and Fruit and Blue Ipomoea, South Africa.. This 1000 piece jigsaw is intended for adults and children over 13 years. Not suitable for children under 3 years due to small parts. Finished Jigsaw size 735 x 510mm/29 x 20 ins. Includes an A4 poster for reference. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous centre for botanical and mycological knowledge. Kew has a gallery dedicated to the paintings of the remarkable Victorian artist Marianne North, who had a great eye for botanical detail. She set out in 1871 on a painterly progress through world flora. North's journey to South Africa was among her last, along with trips to the Seychelles and Chile.

Each year between 1819 and 1825, John Constable (1776-1837) submitted a monumental canvas to the Royal Academy of Arts in London for display in the annual Exhibition. These so-called six-footers vividly captured the life of the River Stour in Suffolk, where Constable grew up and where he returned to paint each year. The Leaping Horse, the last of these, now a major work in the Academy's collection, is the subject of this fascinating new book. Humphreys explores Constable's often avant-garde working methods, as well as his struggle to gain full acceptance within the art establishment of the early nineteenth century. With reproductions of his full-scale preliminary sketches as well as brand new photography of the painting itself, this book is the ideal companion for art lovers who seek a deeper appreciation of Constable's iconic depictions of the English countryside.

Sold in packs of 6. Gorgeous, foiled, handmade greeting cards, blank inside and shrink-wrapped with a gold envelope. Themed with our art calendars, foiled notebooks and illustrated art books. Our greeting cards are printed on FSC paper and wrapped in biodegradable cellobag, and are themed with our art calendars, foiled notebooks and illustrated art books. Robert John Thornton's New Illustration of the Sexual System of Carolus von Linnaeus (1799-1807) was comprised of three parts: a dissertation on the reproductive cycle of plants, an explanation of Linnaeus' plant system, and 'The Temple of Flora'. This third and final part was the most ambitious and has become instantly recognizable in its sumptuous illustrations, such as Tulips, which is an engraving by Richard Earlom after a painting by Philip Reinagle.

Detailed step-by-step lessons make it easy to create beautiful watercolor portraits! Japanese Style Watercolor Portraits takes you through each step of the watercolor portrait process, from sketching your subject to layering in the colors and rendering the fine details. Author Hiroko Shibasaki provides expert guidance on the best materials to use along with many insightful tips that every artist should know. The portraits presented in the 12 comprehensive painting tutorials express a distinctively Japanese aesthetic. The subjects in the foreground are rendered in exquisite detail, while the backgrounds are only subtly suggested. This technique places the emphasis on the masterful portraits, leaving it to the viewer's imagination to fill in the peripheral details. The lessons in this book cover all the key topics, including: Working with a model Completing the sketch Preparing and mixing paints Blocking in skin tones Rendering details such as facial features, hairstyles and clothing Blending and shading the colors And much more!