Celebrate Your Creative Self: More Than 25 Exercises to Unleash the Artist Within


Mary Todd Beam - 2001
    You'll develop the skills you need to express yourself and explore your favorite mediums. Step-by-step demos show you how to:Capture and manipulate light in your workExperiment with new and unusual painting surfacesBreak the "rules" of color composition that inhibit your creativityCreate your own dynamic designs for paintings with more impactAdd layers of meaning to your work with the symbolism inherent in both man-made objects and natural elementsImbue your work with a touch of fantasy and recapture the magic you remember from childhoodMove beyond traditional 2-dimensional painting into 3-D reconstructionAnd much, much more!Once you've built up such a repertoire of skills, you'll be able to turn any idea into finished art by applying the techniques that best accommodate your inspiration. You'll also learn how to tap the deepest recesses of your creative wellspring by taking risks, getting personal and making meaningful statements with your work.No matter what your medium, no matter what your level of skill, Celebrate Your Creative Self can help make your artistic dreams a reality!

Encaustic Workshop: Artistic Techniques for Working with Wax


Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch - 2009
    In Encaustic Workshop, it becomes much more: a dynamic medium where anything goes and the possibilities are endless.Packed with step-by-step techniques, helpful tips and diverse examples of completed works, Encaustic Workshop brings all the accessibility and excitement of a mixed-media workshop to your own workspace. If you're a beginner, you'll find everything you need to know to get started. If you're a more advanced crafter or fine artist, you'll discover things you never knew you could do with encaustic.Instructions and photos will guide you as you learn to:Apply, layer, color and carve wax to create artwork rich with texture and depth.Create collages that combine encaustic with papers, fabric, found objects, image transfers and more.Experiment with charcoal, inks, watercolors, pastels and other mediums to create unexpected effects in the wax.Then, complete step-by-step projects and an extensive inspirational gallery will show you how you can combine the techniques you've learned to create more complex works.Sign your creativity up for this Encaustic Workshop--then just melt, paint and play!

Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 Small Paintings: Pick up the skills * Put on the paint * Hang up your art


Mark Daniel Nelson - 2015
    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!

Sketchy Muma: What it Means to be a Mother


Anna Lewis - 2017
    Breastfeeding nightmares, eating dinner with one hand, soft play hell and chronic sleep deprivation - but also the sheer beauty of falling in love again and the amazing discovery of what it's like to have a family - these are all captured in Sketchy Muma's glorious drawings.This is the perfect gift book for both young and experienced parents. Anna Lewis understands the light and shade that comes with motherhood, and it is those universal truths that will connect all those parents who delight in her sketches.

Creative Awakenings: Envisioning the Life of Your Dreams Through Art


Sheri Gaynor - 2009
    Work in the spirit of the laws of attraction to visualize the life of your dreams. Follow the journey of twelve artists, each who will set a personal dream or intention. Witness the process that each artist takes, as they create a mixed-media piece that sows the seeds of their intention. Step-by-step techniques for a variety of mixed-media processes accompany each piece of finished art. Read about how their lives changed as a result and learn how to set intentions of your own using the bonus tear-out "dream-prompt" cards.

Billy Showell's Botanical Painting in Watercolour


Billy Showell - 2016
    In this her fourth book she reveals in depth the techniques she uses to produce her stunning works of art. Every aspect of botanical painting is covered, including the materials and tools you need, preserving your specimens, drawing, painting, color mixing and composition. Richly illustrated throughout with step-by-step demonstrations and examples of Billy’s work, this book is a visual feast as well as an invaluable source of expert guidance and inspiration. With a diverse range of subjects that include flowers, foliage, fruit and vegetables, Billy provides an insight into her painting techniques that artists of all abilities will find both informative and inspirational.

Knit Along with Debbie Macomber: The Cedar Cove Collection


Debbie Macomber - 2006
    Pet bed, pot holder, felted tote, baby blanket, and more. Letters and 4 recipes from story characters.

Zentangle 4: 40 more tangles


Suzanne McNeill - 2011
    It's all fun so get inspired and tangle something! Learn to color with chalks, watercolors, pencils and pens; add bling with glitter, jewels, and sparkly inks.

Loom Knitting Stitches: My Top Ten Volume 1


Denise M. Canela - 2015
    I do want to warn you that these patterns are not written in a conventional manner. I wanted to make them simple enough for beginners to be able to read and to follow. To make things even easier every pattern includes a step by step video tutorial.

The Great British Sewing Bee: Sew Your Own Wardrobe


Tessa Evelegh - 2014
    

Simple Soldering: A Beginner's Guide to Jewelry Making


Kate Ferrant Richbourg - 2012
    Fortunately, Simple Soldering proves that does not need to be the case. This handy how-to guide is complete in its exploration of the craft of creating soldered metal jewelry, including tools, techniques, and 20 beautiful projects that beginners and enthusiasts can make at home.Author and teacher Kate Richbourg demystifies basic soldering for any home crafter, showing how to create sophisticated, polished, and professional-looking jewelry pieces through simple soldering techniques. First, she instructs how to set up a jewelry workspace that fits the confines of your budget and living space. Detailed step-by-step instructions walk you through the basic tools and materials you need, plus how to use them. A sample chapter gives a host of introductory exercises that teach solid skills, allowing you to test these techniques on a small scale. Finally, you'll discover 20 finished projects that include earrings, pendants, rings, bracelets, and clasps that may also include bead or wire embellishment.Kate also demonstrates how to combine and layer techniques to gorgeous effect. She also examines common mistakes, shows how to correct or adapt them, and gives advice on when it’s time to start over. Most of all, having taught thousands of classes on soldering, Kate has a "you can do it!" attitude that shines through to help even the most reluctant jewelry maker fire up the torch with ease.Paired with an instructional DVD, Kate’s expert teaching skills will help projects come alive, right in your own studio.With Simple Soldering, the art of metal working one-of-a-kind jewelry is now at your fingertips.

Easy To Crochet 2 Hour Slippers


Vicki Becker - 2013
    You can crochet these slippers in about 2 hours dependingon how fast you crochet using bulky yarn and a J, K, or L hook.The pattern instructions are for 4 styles of ladies slippers in three sizes. Patterns for threeflower embellishments and 2 bows are included.This crochet pattern is suitable for beginners.You should know how to chain, single crochet,half double crochet, double crochet, and sew seams together with yarn. Ariana - These slippers are so soft and comfortable with just the right amount of stretch. You can crochet these in less than 2 hours and they make great gifts. Carrie - Super simple to make, these soft and cozy slippers are just right for lounging around. Flora - A pretty pair of slippers that fit your feet quite cozily! Isabell -This pretty ballerina style slipper can be made in two colors or just use one. I hope you enjoy my patterns for these easy to crochet slippers.

Color Mixing Recipes for Portraits: More Than 500 Color Cominations for Skin, Eyes, Lips, and Hair : Featuring Oil and Acrylic - Plus a Special Section for Watercolor


William F. Powell - 2006
    Used books may not include companion materials, may have some shelf wear, may contain highlighting/notes, may not include CDs or access codes. 100% money back guarantee.

Drawing Trees (Dover Art Instruction)


Victor Semon Pérard - 1959
    Over 100 illustrations spotlight dozens of different varieties, including Oak, Willow, Pine, and Palmetto. Topics include shading techniques, composition, portraying shadow and light, and approaches to outlining.Author and illustrator Victor Perard, a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, was an art instructor at New York City's Cooper Union for twenty years. This informative volume reflects his extensive teaching experience and provides practical advice for artists at every level.

Painting People: Figure Painting Today


Charlotte Mullins - 2006
    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.