This book is not only for "painters" but for all types of creative individuals who want to experience and play with watercolor, whether their background is mixed-media, textile art, journaling, or paper craft. Unlike the typical watercolor text books, this unique, beautiful volume is a field book of inspiration, creative ideas, how to's, and projects, all from an artist's perspective. Each creative exercise features a technique, shows stepby-step photographs, and includes a clever idea for a gift or project that can be made from the painted samples.

Collaboration The Mind's Eye is a collaboration between the artist's emotional response to the poems and the immediacy of the poet's reaction to nature and personal encounters. The Poet Gail Gowers Cotton is a member of the Poetry Society and the British Haiku Society. Her poems have appeared in the Societies' journals as well as in other specialist magazines. She "scatters" her work by leaving poems on buses, in cafes and tucked into library books. The Mind's Eye is her second book. Her inspiration comes from nature and personal encounters including memories of Ireland, Africa, North Wales and visits to Sydenham Hill Woods, Dulwich Picture Gallery and the Horniman Museum in South London, where she now lives. The Artist Pat Keay graduated as a painter at the Edinburgh College of Art in 1971. She has worked as an artist and designer in Scotland, Kenya and London and now lives in Worthing. Read more on www.patkeay.com. The illustrations come from Pat's spontaneous reaction to the essence, rather than the detail, of a particular Haiku.

At the start of the March 2020 lockdown, Ian Beck would walk his greyhound Gracie through the early morning streets of Isleworth in west London, revelling in the light and the silence that the restrictions had brought. The familiar became charged with new meaning, inspiring Ian to paint the scenes around him for their own sake, something that he hadn't done since his student days in the sixties. Suburban streets, trees, fences, shrubs and overgrown alleyways - all are transformed in the quiet intensity of Ian's lockdown paintings. He painted interiors too: the moon shining through a bedroom window, objects on mantelpieces, the eeriness of back gardens at dusk. As the year progressed, the crisp light of spring gave way to the haze of summer and the gloom of autumn fogs. The Light in Suburbia collects sixty of Ian's paintings from this period: a remarkable record of his year spent trying to capture the beauty of the unprepossessing everyday.

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.

Combat stress and anxiety and release your own inner creative with this beautiful mindful watercolour book. In this simple and vibrant guide, hugely popular Instagram muse @TerryRunyan explores the art of watercolour through the lens of mindfulness, presenting activities and projects which you can paint along with as you allow your creative side to flourish. This watercolour guide is easy and accessible for beginners, as Runyan gently delves into the basics of the artform, starting with simple techniques which you can follow along with, as well as presenting some fun projects ideas for painters to explore. Alongside beautiful examples of the techniques and styles explored in the book, Runyan also encourages readers to practice mindfulness as they paint, and explores the ways in which art can be used to help improve mental health. Exploring the idea of 'perfectly imperfect watercolours', Runyan places emphasis on self-expression and allowing yourself to make mistakes. Painting Happiness also includes fun projects for readers to try at home, including: Turning blobs into birds Creating wild hairstyles Experimenting with different prompts to paint at least one thing a day From technical skills and notes on materials to insight into the creative process, this book has everything you need to start flourishing in watercolour.

Colour mixing is a key skill for the botanical artist. In this practical guide, Jackie Isard explains how to observe and use colour accurately. She shows artists how to make informed choices when selecting pigments, as well as how to learn about colour mixing and its application. Detailed instruction and advice are given on understanding colour and pigments. The author explains how to 'see' colour and tricky mixes, from greens and reds to the difficult botanical greys. Includes advanced colour application techniques - colour enhancement, shadow colours and colour temperature transition. Finally, step-by-step guides illustrate how to paint with layers, how to use underlaying colours to enhance, and colour and fine detailing.

Following the success of A Dog a Day and Old Dogs, Sally Muir returns with an adorable collection of beautiful rescue dog portraits that will melt even the coldest of hearts. Several years ago, Sally Muir began a Facebook project, posting dog art daily, which became the best-selling book A Dog a Day. Through the project she was introduced to endless people and their dogs, and the distinct personalities and complex emotions that owners attribute to them. This was followed with Old Dogs, where Sally asked the public to send in photos of their elderly canines. She was drawn to the tales behind their greying whiskers and so the natural next step was rescue dogs with their eventful life stories. Rescue Dogs is a beautiful collection of loveable hounds with colourful histories and expressive faces. From Mr Bojangles who was rescued after being hit by a car to Molly who found a new lease of life after being rescued from a shelter at age 15, Rescue Dogs will tug at the heartstrings and leave you with a profound sense of optimism for life, new beginnings and kindness. This is the perfect gift for your dog-loving friends, or for yourself to enjoy some mindful moments flicking through delightful, heart-warming canine portraits.