We live in a world of vivid colors, and color marks our psychological and social existence. But for all color’s inescapability, we don’t know much about it. Now authors David Scott Kastan and Stephen Farthing offer a fresh and imaginative exploration of one of the most intriguing and least understood aspects of everyday experience.Kastan and Farthing, a scholar and a painter, respectively, investigate color from numerous perspectives: literary, historical, cultural, anthropological, philosophical, art historical, political, and scientific. In ten lively and wide-ranging chapters, each devoted to a different color, they examine the various ways colors have shaped and continue to shape our social and moral imaginations. Each individual color becomes the focal point for a consideration of one of the extraordinary ways in which color appears and matters in our lives. Beautifully produced in full color, this book is a remarkably smart, entertaining, and fascinating guide to this elusive topic.

    IdeaIs There a Good Abstract Idea Underlying the Picture?What Details Could be Eliminated to Strengthen the Composition?Does the Painting “Read”?Could You Finish Any Part of the Painting?ShapesAre the Dominant Shapes as Strong and Simple as Possible?Are the Shapes Too Similar?ValueCould the Value Range be Increased?Could the Number of Values be Reduced?LightIs the Subject Effectively Lit?Is the Light Area Big Enough?Would the Light Look Stronger with a Suggestion of Burnout?Do the Lights Have a Continuous Flow?Is the Light Gradated?ShadowsDo the Shadow Shapes Describe the Form?Are the Shadows Warm Enough?DepthWould the Addition of Foreground Material Deepen the Space?Does the Background Recede Far Enough?Are the Halftones Properly Related to the Background?SolidityIs the underlying Form Being Communicated?Is the Symmetry in Perspective?ColorIs There a Color Strategy?Could a Purer Color Be Used?Do the Whites Have Enough Color in Them?Are the Colors Overblended on the Canvas?Would the Color Look Brighter if it Were Saturated into its Adjacent Area?PaintIs Your Palette Efficiently Organized?Is the Painting Surface Too Absorbent?Are You Using the Palette Knife as Much as You Could?Are You Painting Lines When You Should Be Painting Masses?Are the EdgesDynamic Enough?Is There Enough Variation in the Texture of the Paint?

    Many of the images included in this volume, depicting pivotal scenes and characters, were previously embargoed and have never appeared in book form. The work of Alan Lee and John Howe — the two artists most closely associated with Tolkien’s world — is featured, along with that of many other talented artists and designers. The artists’ own descriptions of the design process used in creating the look of the films both enlighten and enliven this essential book.

    In Mysteries of the Rectangle, Hustvedt concentrates her narrative gifts on the works of such masters as Francisco Goya, Jan Vermeer, Jean-Baptiste-Simon Chardin, Gerhard Richter, and Joan Mitchell. Through her own personal experiences, Hustvedt is able to reveal things hidden until now in plain sight: an egglike detail in Vermeer's Woman with a Pearl Necklace and the many hidden self-portraits in Goya's series of drawings, Los Caprichos, as well as in his famous painting The Third of May. Most importantly, these essays exhibit the passion, thrill, and sheer pleasure of bewilderment a work of art can produceif you simply take the time to look.

    And while the country runs with clockwork precision, the cultural life of the inhabitants is transformed with the changing of the seasons, a testament to the enduring power of nature's rhythms.With each page alive with facts, history and inspiration, Be More Japan unlocks the secrets behind modern Japanese living - whether you're eating sushi in London or enjoying the cherry blossoms in San Francisco. And if you're dreaming of a future trip to Japan, this book will get you closer to your destination before you've even departed.

    To draw the figure, the artist must "have an idea of what the figure to be drawn is doing" — he must "sense the nature and condition of the action, or inaction." In this book, Mr. Bridgman, who for nearly 50 years lectured and taught at the Art Students League of New York, explains in non-technical terms and illustrations in hundreds of finely rendered anatomical drawings how best to find the vitalizing forces in human forms and how best to realize them in drawing.Mr. Bridgman begins by examining movement. After abstracting the main masses of the body — head, chest, and hips — into their rough geometrical equivalents, he gives complete instructions for building a simple model which mounts these masses on wire. By manipulating this scale model, the student may observe how these masses move in space and into what relationships such movement brings them.Once the student understands how the human form moves, the author tackles the actual problems of drawing the human figure in motion. He first covers simple drawing and building of the figure, then balance, rhythm, turning or twisting, wedging, passing and locking, and the more complex relationship of the masses — distribution, light and shade, mouldings (concave and convex), proportion and how to measure it, and movable masses. From here instruction turns to specific areas of the anatomy; the head and features, including the neck; the torso, front and back views; the abdominal arch; the shoulder girdle; the upper limbs, hands, and fingers; and the lower limbs, thigh and leg, knee, and finally foot. Every point of instruction and principle is illustrated in one of nearly 500 of Mr. Bridgman's own "life" drawings.There is no student nor serious artist, either amateur or professional, who cannot profit greatly from Bridgman's instruction. Like his famous anatomy course at the Art Students League, it is likely to vitalize your work with the human form.

    Women have long been prevented from taking the throne, but Sapphire is not discouraged and instead she fully accepts the role, becoming a dashing hero(ine) that the populous is proud of.The playful cartooning style of Princess Knight is comparable to that of Disney, à la Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Considered by many as one of the first major shojo works, inspiring comics for girls such as Revoluntionary Girl Utena, Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon for generations to follow. A rare shojo property from the godfather of manga, Princess Knight has been long considered one of Tezuka's most popular works worldwide.

    

    Since the country opened its doors to the outside world in the mid-nineteenth century. Japanese art and culture have enjoyed an immense popularity in the West. When in 1993 renowned scholar Penelope Mason wrote the the first edition of History of Japanese Art, it was the first such volume in thirty years to chart a detailed overview of the subject. It remains the only comprehensive survey of its kind in English. This second edition ties together more closely the development of all the media within a well-articulated historical and social context.

    Discusses the mythology of Japan, its origins in Shintoism and Buddhism, and the gods, spirits, men, and animals that appear in the many legends and stories.

    Fully illustrated and featuring three-dimensional replicas of rare memorabilia, this unprecedented book truly brings Barbie to life in full-color, and fabulous style. With the full support of Mattel, the publication of All Dolled Up is a highlight among nationwide Barbie events and marketing initiatives being staged for the anniversary.In five decades, the influence of Barbie on girls and the world of fashion has never faded. Now devoted collectors, baby boomers reminiscing about the doll's classic beauty, moms still dreaming of the pink Corvette of the '80s, and children just discovering her will relive the magic of Barbie through key eras in her development—her debut in 1959, the Mod Era of the late '60s, the big, bold '80s, the Totally Hair '90s, and up to today. Original doll packaging, Barbie comic books, designer's sketches, and an official fan club membership card and welcome letter are among the rare Barbie ephemera that have been reproduced. The narrative combines historical detail with contributions from moms, daughters, and fashion celebrities including Diane Von Furstenburg, Christian Dior, Versace, Armani, Bob Mackie, and Vera Wang. It's Barbie doll's birthday and no one wants to be left out of the party!

    — a painter's training, more. Speed also provides expert analysis of works by Velasquez, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Hals, Rembrandt, and others. 64 photos. 5 line drawings.

    Literally meaning "pictures of the floating world", ukiyo-e refers to the famous Japanese woodblock print genre that originated in the 17th century and is practically synonymous with the Western worlds visual characterization of Japan. Though Hiroshige captured a variety of subjects, his greatest talent was in creating landscapes of his native Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and his most famous work was a series known as "100 Famous Views of Edo" (1856-1858). This book provides an introduction to his work and an overview of his career.About the Series: Every book in TASCHEN's Basic Art Series features:a detailed chronological summary of the artist's life and work, covering the cultural and historical importance of the artist approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions a concise biography

    A sweet tale from an artist for whom childhood holds a magical appeal, The Lonesome Puppy is sure to delight young readers and Narafans of all ages.

    In this new treatment of the subject, Hopkins focuses on the many debates surrounding these movements: the Marquis de Sade's Surrealist deification, issues of quality (How good is Dali?), the idea of the 'readymade', attitudes towards the city, the impact of Freud, attitudes to women, fetishism, and primitivism. The international nature of these movements is examined, covering the cities of Zurich, New York, Berlin, Cologne, Barcelona, Paris, London, and recently discovered examples in Eastern Europe. Hopkins explores the huge range of media employed by both Dada and Surrealism (collage, painting, found objects, performance art, photography, film), whilst at the same time establishing the aesthetic differences between the movements. He also examines the Dadaist obsession with the body-as-mechanism in relation to the Surrealists' return to the fetishized/eroticized body.