In composition, it recognizes the separate but equally important identity of both a shape and its background.Since their introduction in the West, the intriguing exercises associated with Notan have produced striking results in every branch of Western art and design. This book, by two American artists and teachers who made an intensive study of Notan, was the first basic book on the subject in the West, and it remains one of the definitive texts. Through a series of simple exercises, it places the extraordinary creative resources of Notan easily within the grasp of Western artists and designers.Clearly and concisely, the authors demonstrate Notan's practical applications in six problems of progressive difficulty — creative exercises that will fascinate artists and designers of every calling and level of expertise. Along with these exercises, the book includes many illustrations of the principle of Notan, among them images as diverse as a sculpture by David Smith, a Samoan tapa cloth, a Museum of Modern Art shopping bag, New England gravestone rubbings, Japanese wrapping paper, a painting by Robert Motherwell, a psychedelic poster, and a carved and dyed Nigerian calabash. Painters, sculptors, potters, jewelry, and textile designers, architects, and interior designers all will discover — or rediscover — in these pages an ancient principle of composition that can help them meet creative challenges with fresh new perspective.

    Author Jane Davenport is a beloved artist and international workshop instructor known by her thousands of students and fans for her over-the-top, enthusiastic, happy, and encouraging style. In Drawing and Painting Beautiful Faces, Davenport guides you, step by step, through the foundations of drawing a face, developing successful features, creating skin tones, playing with bright colors, shading, highlighting, and much more as you learn to create amazing mixed-media portraits.With this elegantly designed guidebook, you will quickly master a variety of techniques in a variety ofmediums, including:PencilMarkerPenWatercolorAcrylic paintInkPastelEphemeraDrawing and Painting Beautiful Faces will have you dancing your way through the exercises. In no time at all, you will have a selection of beautifully faced portraits ready to view, display, or even sell to a fashion designer.

    Drawing the Head and Hands is the second in Titan's programme of facsimile editions, returning these classic titles to print for the first time in decades.

    Following an overview of painting fundamentals, illustrated step-by-step instructions accompanied by lessons on specific techniques lead your way. This unique book is a complete course in acrylic painting, built up from key techniques. As you progress through the sections of the book, the author demonstrates each technique with the creation of a mini painting, measuring 5-inches squared. So by the time you have worked right through to the end, you will have an amazing collection of 50 mini paintings—on board, paper, or canvas—that will be a testament to your skill and creativity. The subject matter for these squares varies from abstracts and simple color-mixing exercises, through to figurative subjects: a flower, a sunset, a busy street scene—and many more. These can be mounted, exhibited, or simply collected in a portfolio, or given away as gifts for friends to cherish. If you are coming to acrylics for the first time, or keen to improve your skills and sometimes daunted by the thought of filling a large empty canvas or blank piece of board, this is your ideal guide. Instead, it will free you from creative hang-ups and replace them with an addictive desire to create that next 5-inch square!

    Mix and match to achieve countless variations, building layer upon layer to create unique and wonderfully complex abstract art.- Learn more than 30 step-by-step techniques for developing texture and visual interest, including collage, monoprinting, carving, color blocking, paint skins, raised stencils, glazing and so much more. - Chapters explore the phases of a multi-layered painting, from surface preparation through adding structure, developing complexity and adding finishing touches. - Follow the development of two paintings as each layer adds to the finished result, with tons of additional artwork throughout. - Gain insight on how to make paints, mediums and grounds work for you.Embracing a spirit of freedom and spontaneity, Acrylic Solutions is a stimulating guide for contemporary artists of any skill level. Beginners will learn how to make visually compelling paintings from start to finish, while more experienced artists will find the tools and inspiration to take their work to the next level.

    You don't need worry about messing up techniques you've never attempted before inside your raw-art journal. You just need to be you because raw art is you and it thrives on creative play, on experimentation and even on making mistakes.Raw Art Journaling will teach you how to embrace your art, confront negative self-talk (a.k.a., your gremlin) and make meaning with your words and with your art. Inside Raw Art Journaling you'll discover how to:Write meaningful thoughts with a single sentenceCreate thought-provoking poems through found poetryUncover images hidden in your photosMake personal meaning with the simplest of linesFinally feel free to make mistakesUse clever techniques to keep your secrets secretQuiet your gremlin, grab your permission slip (it's on page 19) and start making meaning in your own raw-art journal today!

    Learn how to choose and mix colors, and create a multitude of effects using only one set of tubes. Discover how to make your own equipment, set up a "studio" space, and use household materials to save money. Beginners can follow processes stage-by-stage, while more experienced artists can dip in and out for help with specific problems. A unique section on how to develop your art and take it to a wider public is full of professional secrets which can bring you success much more quickly. “Try it” and “Fix it” panels placed throughout the book suggest ways of practicing and developing new skills, and avoiding or correcting common painting errors.

    Inside you'll find guidelines for rendering accurate skin tones in a variety of media, including watercolor, oil and pastel.You'll begin with a review of the five essential painting elements (drawing, value, color, composition and edges), then learn how light and color influence the appearance of skin tones. Artist Chris Saper provides the advice and examples that make every lesson and technique easy to understand--immediately improving the quality of your work. You'll discover how to:Paint the four major skin color groups (Caucasian, African American, Asian and Hispanic)Refine these colors into dozens of possible variations within each groupSelect your palette and mix hues for clean, beautiful colorsDetermine the color and temperature of light that falls on your subjectPaint direct and indirect sunlight, artificial light and highlights of lightMaster the four elements that determine color in shadowUse photographic references when you can't paint directly from lifeYou'll also find seven step-by-step demonstrations and an appendix of sample color charts for each major skin type under a range of lighting variations. It's all you need to bring your portraits to life!

    The ascendance of nonrepresentational art in the middle of the twentieth century displaced these venerable skills, especially in academic art circles. Fortunately for aspiring artists today who wish to learn the methods that allowed the Old Masters to achieve the luminous color and subtle tonalities so characteristic of their work, this knowledge has been preserved in hundreds of small traditional painting ateliers that persevered in the old ways in this country and throughout the world.Coming out of this dedicated movement, Portrait Painting Atelier is an essential resource for an art community still recovering from a time when solid instruction in art technique was unavailable in our schools. Of particular value here is a demonstration of the Old Masters’ technique of layering paint over a toned-ground surface, a process that builds from the transparent dark areas to the more densely painted lights. This method unifies the entire painting, creating a beautiful glow that illuminates skin tones and softly blends all the color tones. Readers will also find valuable instruction in paint mediums from classic oil-based to alkyd-based, the interactive principles of composition and photograph-based composition, and the anatomy of the human face and the key relationships among its features. Richly illustrated with the work of preeminent masters such as Millet, Géricault, and van Gogh, as well as some of today’s leading portrait artists—and featuring seven detailed step-by-step portrait demonstrations—Portrait Painting Atelier is the first book in many years to so comprehensively cover the concepts and techniques of traditional portraiture.

    Written by arts educator Steven Aimone, it’s packed with solid, friendly, hands-on instruction, as well as inspiring images, and backed by the trusted AARP name. Aimone teaches an accessible style called expressive drawing that emphasizes line and mark, rather than rendering a specific object, which for many people, can create barriers to self-expression. Exercises start off simple and quick, encouraging readers to work on instinct and feeling, while the later ones focus on detail and refinement. The book features hundreds ofimages of work by well-known artists from Debuffet to Jim Dine—and each chapter includes a profile of someone who came to drawing late in life and achieved recognition.

    Anyone who can hold a pencil can learn to draw.In this book, Bert Dodson shares his complete drawing system--fifty-five "keys" that you can use to render any subject with confidence, even if you're a beginner.These keys, along with dozens of practice exercises, will help you draw like an artist in no time.You'll learn how to:Restore, focus, map, and intensifyFree your hand action, then learn to control itConvey the illusions of light, depth, and textureStimulate your imagination through "creative play"

    Linda Kemp shows beginners and advanced artists how to harness the power of these often overlooked areas surrounding a painting's focal point. Troubleshooting suggestions and secrets are included.

    This inspiring and encouraging book for both novice and experienced painters teaches how to create colorful, exciting, expressive paintings through a variety of techniques, combining basic, practical painting principles with innovative personal self-expression.Flora S. Bowley's fun and forgiving approach to painting is based on the notion that “You don't begin with a preconceived painting in mind; you allow the painting to unfold.” Illustrating how to work in layers, Flora gives you the freedom to cover up, re-start, wipe away, and change courses many times along the way. Unexpected and unique compositions, color combinations, and subject matter appear as you allow your paintings to emerge in an organic, unplanned way while working from a place of curiosity and letting go of fear.—Learn techniques for working with vibrant color and avoiding mud.—Make rich and varied marks with a variety of unexpected tools.—Break compositional rules.—Embrace nonattachment as a way to keep exploring.—Keep momentum by moving your body and staying positive.—Work with what's working to let go of struggle.—Connect more deeply to the world around you to stay inspired.—Embrace layers to create rich complex paintings.—Find rhythm by spiraling between chaos and order.

    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.

    If you are new to the Zentangle process, you will enjoy other books in this series: 'Zentangle Basics', 'Zentangle 2', and 'Totally Tangled'. These intriguing patterns all begin by following the Zen of tangle basics - start with simple lines and fill in the spaces, one step at a time. There are no mistakes, only opportunities. Like life, the designs develop into something unique and beautiful as they grow. This inspiring book is packed with plenty of ideas for combining tangles to create rich and delightful graphics.