A new generation of artists--as well as some who never abandoned figurative painting in the first place--is relishing the solitary, slow, subtle set of processes involved in not just painting, but painting people. They are choosing paint's unique ability to distill a lifetime of events rather than photography's glimpse of a frozen moment. Painting People, edited by the prominent London art historian and critic Charlotte Mullins, unites and contrasts the work of a key group of artists from around the world, and investigates their richly varied accomplishments in lucid text with detailed commentaries, accompanied by more than 150 reproductions. The list of contributing artists is stellar, ranging from photo-based painters like Luc Tuymans, Peter Doig and Marlene Dumas to Pop artists like Sigmar Polke and Alex Katz, photorealists like Chuck Close and Gerhard Richter, Neoexpressionists like Cecily Brown, and comics-inspired painters like Yoshitomo Nara, Inka Essenhigh and Takashi Murakami. There are erotic grotesques from John Currin and Lisa Yuskavage, meditations on the muse by Elizabeth Peyton and Lucian Freud, "Repro-realistic" work from Neo Rauch and of course self-portraits by Philip Akkerman and Marcel Dzama, among others.

     IACP AWARD FINALISTEach of America’s little bites—cookies, candies, wafers, brittles—tells a big story, and each speaks volumes about what was going on in America when the recipes were created. In American Cookie, the New York Times bestselling author and Cake Mix Doctor Anne Byrn takes us on a journey through America’s baking history. And just like she did in American Cake, she provides an incredibly detailed historical background alongside each recipe. Because the little bites we love are more than just baked goods—they’re representations of different times in our history.Early colonists brought sugar cookies, Italian fig cookies, African benne wafers, and German gingerbread cookies. Each of the 100 recipes, from Katharine Hepburn Brownies and Democratic Tea Cakes to saltwater taffy and peanut brittle, comes with a lesson that’s both informative and enchanting.

     The average American woman is 5"4' tall, weighs 160 pounds, wears a size 14, and bears no resemblance to the typical runway model. Yet the runway model sets the standard for “ideal” wardrobes. Top L.A. designer Bradley Bayou has dressed women of all shapes and sizes and knows that every woman has her own natural combination of silhouette shape, height, and weight. Style is not about fitting into the size you think is sexy, it is about picking clothes that fit your body correctly and that create balance. Perfect balance is perfect style. In The Science of Sexy, Bayou helps readers identify their silhouette shape (triangle, inverted triangle, rectangle, or hourglass) and combines that information with a height/weight chart to determine which of forty-eight “fitting rooms” to go to in the book. Each fitting room has Bradley’s specific advice for that woman on the clothes and accessories to wear and avoid, and how to create balance using color, scale, proportions, and fabric. With a fabulous design and instructive and fun four-color illustrations throughout, The Science of Sexy takes the fear out of shopping and gives all women the gift of confidence that they deserve.

    But what about the elements that make up a picture? Using the tale of Little Red Riding Hood as an example, Molly Bang uses boldly graphic artwork to explain how images -- and their individual components -- work to tell a story that engages the emotions: Why are diagonals dramatic? Why are curves calming? Why does red feel hot and blue feel cold?

    In this quirky new title designer and typographer Teresa Monachino rounds up and breaks down a variety of unruly words: words lacking in integrity, misleading words that do not mean what they say, words that mean more than they say, words with inconsistent pronunciation or spellings that are just plain cruel! Using striking and witty graphic design the author demands answers to such troublesome questions as, why is abbreviation such a long word, does monosyllabic really need five syllables and why is lisp so hard to say if you have one?

    Beautifully illustrated with 110 color illustrations, The Quilts of Gee’s Bend includes a historical overview of the two hundred years of extraordinary quilt-making in this African-American community, its people, and their art-making tradition. This book is being·released in conjunction with a national exhibition tour including The Museum of Fine Art, Houston, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

    The most comprehensive, step-by-step, hands-on creative workbook for creating art with Sharpie markers.

    No matter what size or shape you are, wearing garments that fit perfectly makes you look and feel better. Rather than making commonly accepted changes to a commercial pattern, the method presented in this guide focuses on the way a test garment fits the body. The fabric is manipulated to improve the fit, and then those specific changes are made to the pattern. The result: patterns that fit perfectly!With The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting, you'll learn:The importance of a fitting axis and how to use it during a fittingHow to recognize fitting issues, such as drag lines and foldsHow to manipulate fabric to solve common and unusual fitting problemsHow to transfer the fitting changes to your pattern easilyBasic pattern-making skills to ensure accurate alterationsSee the fitting process from start to finish on basic garments, fitted on real people. Then follow fitting solutions on different body types. Hundreds of large color photos illustrate the techniques and concepts in simple step-by-step instructions. With these lessons, you will get the perfect fit for any body.

    A book to take your breath away. A book not just for the dancers among us, but for the dancer inside each of us.The mystery of the body in motion. The surprise of seeing what seems impossible. The art of a moment--a moment of joy, love, silence, grief,effort, life--captured.In one thrilling photograph after another, Dancers Among Us presents professional dancers from across the country--leaping, spinning, lifting, kicking, while in the midst of daily living. There's no photo manipulation here, no trampolines, no gimmicks, no tricks. Just a photographer, his vision, and the serendipity of what happens when the shutter clicks.

    The constant tilling, weeding, irrigating, and fertilizing create perpetual disturbance in a plot's ecology--and waste countless hours in a dubious struggle against nature.In Gardening Revolution, Weaner offers a radically new approach based on the ways plants and wildlife behave in nature. He advocates for a more fluid style, choosing plants that are adapted to the soil and climate and then capitalizing on positive developments as they occur. This lushly photographed reference is for anyone looking for a better, smarter way to garden.

    Learn to make creativity a daily habit!Whether you're just beginning to trust your artistic voice or you've been refining it for years, Marisa Anne is the loving guide and caring mentor you need to help you commit to moving through resistance, stepping outside of your comfort zone and making creativity a regular part of your life.

    Today, museums are staging exhibitions of encaustic art, workshops in the technique are thriving, and art collectors and dealers are assimilating encaustic art into their collections and galleries. The word encaustic is taken from the Greek and means “to burn in.” In the encaustic process, pigmented wax is applied and then fused to a surface with heat. The result is a broad range of surface effects and a luminous translucency that is unique to the encaustic medium. Encaustic Art is a complete resource for artists who wish to learn to create fine art with wax. It features step-by-step techniques with easy-to-understand instructions and detailed illustrations, stunning examples of encaustic works of art (including sculpture), along with practical advice and thoughtful aesthetic observations from more than 60 professional artists working in the encaustic medium.

    As the collection grew, the site attracted a following, which is now a huge and obsessive audience.The site features photos of the most remarkable handmade homes in the backcountry of America and all over the world. It has had over 10 million unique visitors, with 350,000 followers on Tumblr. Now Zach Klein, the creator of the site (and a co-founder of Vimeo) goes further into the most alluring images from the site and new getaways, including more interior photography and how-to advice for setting up a quiet place somewhere. With their idyllic settings, unique architecture and cozy interiors, the Cabin Porn photographs, are an invitation to slow down, take a deep breath, and feel the beauty and serenity that nature and simple construction can create.

    Whether you favor a modern, classic look or a retro, homespun flavor, you'll find plenty of crafts and inspiration suited to your tastefrom vintage-key save-the-dates to delicate paper wreaths to silhouette bride and groom signs.At the front of the book you'll find guidance on choosing a look, sourcing materials, and working out timelines. Then, each of the 50 projects are fully explained with photos, how-to diagrams, and step-by-step directions. Clever, creative, and budget-friendly, Handmade Weddings is the perfect handbook for the bride looking to style her day her way.

    The book is organized into 52 different labs which may, but don't need to be, explored on a weekly basis. The labs can be worked in any order, so that readers can flip around to learn a new mixed-media technique or be inspired by a particular collage theme or application. The underlying message of this book is that artists can and should learn and gain expertise through experimentation and play. There is no right or wrong result for a given exercise, yet readers will gain skills and confidence in collage techniques, allowing them to take their work to a new level.Collage Lab is illustrated with brilliant full-color images and multiple examples of each exercise, offers a visual, non-linear approach to learning art techniques, and reinforces a fun and fearless approach to making art.