By the time you finish this book, you'll have all the skills you need to achieve a striking likeness in a drawn portrait. Artist and life drawing expert Jake Spicer takes you through a series of carefully crafted tutorials, from how to put together a basic portrait sketch to developing your portraits and then taking your drawings further. From understanding and constructing the head and shaping the hair, to checking the relationships of the features and achieving a lifelike expression, every aspect of the portrait process is examined, along with advice on which materials to use and how to find a model.

    Throughout his remarkable career in the dramatic arts, as well as his occasionally explosive personal life, Sean Penn has proved he rarely plays by the rules. A tumultuous marriage to Madonna, stints in jail, and other forms of hell-raising marked Penn's younger years, along with some stunning performances on film. Later, Penn emerged as a brilliant director, devoted father, contentious political activist…and reluctant actor, capable nevertheless of breathtaking performances (Dead Man Walking, Sweet and Lowdown, Mystic River, and 21 Grams). Illustrated with over seventy-five black and white photographs and drawing on exclusive interviews with Penn and his family, friends and colleagues (Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper, Woody Allen, Susan Sarandon, Bono, Christopher Walken, Angelica Huston, and many more), Kelly creates an engaging, richly detailed and multi-faceted portrait of an uncompromising American artist in this exclusive and engrossing authorized biography.

    

    Americans embraced these visions and incorporated fantasy into reality: mid-century fashion, popular music, eating and drinking, and even architecture were influenced by the Tiki trend. With unfettered enthusiasm—ignoring scholarly authenticity and political correctness—American artisans molded the Tiki into their own image, creating a mid-century pop culture genre that was forgotten until the 2000s, when urban archeologist Sven Kirsten wrested the figure of the Tiki from obscurity with his pioneering TASCHEN books The Book of Tiki and Tiki Modern. This book traces the development of Tiki as romantic vision and kitschy cultural appropriation, from its earliest beginnings when James Cook “discovered” the Pacific Islands in the second half of the 18th century to Herman Melville’s South Sea adventure stories like Moby Dick and Gauguin’s exuberant, exotic paintings to the jungle fantasies of the Hollywood dream factory. Published in connection with an exhibition at the prestigious Musée du quai Branly in Paris, Tiki Pop the culmination of Sven Kirsten’s research efforts. With his widely lauded visual style, the author places venerable ancient godheads next to their Polynesian pop counterparts. With hundreds of previously unpublished images, the story of Tiki the 20th-century pop icon unfolds from its earliest beginnings to its spectacular downfall in the dawning awareness of the Western world’s colonial misdeeds.

    Originally published by Palliard Press.

    In answering the riveting question, “Has God spoken?”, Hanegraaff uses manuscript evidence, archeology, predictive prophecy, and much more to memorably demonstrate that the Bible is divine rather than merely human in origin.Hanegraaff demolishes modern objections to Scripture, such as:There are more mistakes in manuscript copies of the Bible than there are words in the New Testament.The biblical account of King David is no more factual than tales of King Arthur—there simply is no evidence in archeology or history for Israel’s quintessential king.Contemporary prophets are proven 100 percent wrong, 100 percent of the time, and biblical prophets are just as unreliable.Has God Spoken? joins its predecessors—The Face That Demonstrates the Farce of Evolution and Resurrection—as Hanegraaff’s final book in a trilogy that provides complete and compelling answers to the most critical issues facing Christians today.

    In this powerful collection of writing guru Natalie Goldberg's poetry and paintings, the celebrated author of Writing Down the Bones focuses her attention on the shifting rhythms of interior life in poems that bring a Zen-like insight into the wondrous simultaneity of all things past, present, and future. With the same uncompromising integrity and commitment of Natalie Goldberg's bestselling books on creativity and writing, full-color reproductions of the her brilliant original paintings, and the introductory essay "How Poetry Saved My Life," Top of My Lungs gives the reader complete access to a compelling vision, one that is both simple and complex, both withdrawn from and full of life.

    Bridgman (for nearly 50 years a teacher at the Art Students League in New York) for a solid foundation and understanding of human anatomy. They have found, and continue to find, that his unique way of discovering the vitalizing forces in the human form and realizing them in drawing carries the student pleasantly over one of art's most severe hurdles. Bridgman's superb anatomical sketches, of which there are nearly 500 in the book, also bring clearly to fruition his lucid theories of how to draw the human body in its structure and its complex movements.Constructive Anatomy, an anatomical reference guide for the working artist, sculptor, and student, graphically shows important parts of the human body, both in motion and in repose — hand, wrist, thumb, fingers, forearm, arm, armpit, shoulder, neck, head, eye, nose, ear, mouth, chin, trunk (front, side, and back), pelvis, hip, thigh, leg, knee, ankle, foot, and toes. Drawings of bone and muscle structure of the working of the joints and the interrelation of the various parts of the body are mainly concerned with movement of all sorts — movements that are described in detail as well as illustrated. The bending, twisting,and turning, creasing and interlocking of the various parts of the body are represented in drawing as the wedging of masses in specific ways that are clearly defined by Mr. Bridgman.Every artist will save tedious hours of research with this simple but effective approach, and will be delighted with its directness and fervor.

    Learn how to save money and avoid the lines at the Louvre and Orsay Museums. Enjoy the ambience of Parisian neighborhoods, and take a day trip to the glittering palace of Versailles, or to the Champagne-soaked city of Reims. Then grab a café crème at a sidewalk café and listen to the hum of the city. You'll see why Paris remains at the heart of global culture.Rick's candid, humorous advice will guide you to good-value hotels and restaurants in delightful neighborhoods. You'll learn how to navigate the Paris Métro, and which sights are worth your time and money. More than just reviews and directions, a Rick Steves guidebook is a tour guide in your pocket.

    A two-pronged task, it requires great technical skill and an intuitive eye. In both these respects, John Singer Sargent stands out as a portrait artist of major stature.Born in 1856 in Florence of American parents, Sargent showed artistic aptitude at an early age and was enrolled at the Academia delle Belle Arti in that city. Later he studied with Parisian artist Carolus Duran, acquiring the loose, painterly style for which he is renowned. International acclaim as a portrait artist came early in his life and followed him throughout his career.Sargent's portraits done in oil are well known; they appear in major museums throughout the world. A lesser-known but no less respected aspect of his oeuvre, his portrait drawings are the focus of this collection. Included here are early works in pencil and pastels, and later renderings in charcoal, a medium Sargent favored after 1910. They have been selected from both public and private collections by art historian Trevor J. Fairbrother and attest to Sargent's technical skill, versatility, and dexterity in three different mediums.In addition, these works reveal Sargent's ability to treat a diverse group of subjects; he handles the languorous beauties of the Edwardian age, members of the aristocracy, and the great literary and artistic figures of his day with equal virtuosity, capturing their characteristic mood and style. This collection includes portraits of Lord and Lady Spencer, Henry James, William Butler Yeats, Vaslav Nijimsky, Tamara Karsavina, Dame Ethel Smyth, and Jascha Heifetz.Artists, students, historians, and lovers of portraiture will appreciate this selection of drawings by Sargent. Anyone interested in trying his hand at portraiture will find this volume both instructional and inspirational.

    Bursting with color, vivid imagery, and bouts of whimsy mixed with deeply intimate insights, the sketchbooks capture the texture of personal experience in a dizzying variety of illustrative styles and layouts that run the gamut from street portraits to stream-of-consciousness doodles, comics, and pop-ups. The Sketchbook Project World Tour presents the most compelling, surprising, and visually stunning examples from this one-of-a-kind artistic treasury.

    P. Verneuil, Alphonse Mucha, and other Art Nouveau masters, 31 elegant designs celebrate the sensuous Art Nouveau style. The imaginative illustrations feature patterns of graceful swans, peacocks, butterflies, and other creatures, as well as intertwined vines, flowers, and other plant life. Pages are perforated and printed on one side only for easy removal and display. Specially designed for experienced colorists, Art Nouveau Animal Designs and other Creative Haven® adult coloring books offer an escape to a world of inspiration and artistic fulfillment. Previously published as Art Nouveau Animal Designs Coloring Book. Each title is also an effective and fun-filled way to relax and reduce stress.

    This book features spectacular pop-up re-creations of key locations inside and outside Hogwarts castle, and it opens flat to form a pop-up map of the castle and its grounds—including the Quidditch pitch, the Forbidden Forest, and beyond. In addition to large pops on each spread, numerous mini-pops bring to life beloved elements from the Harry Potter films, such as the Marauder's Map and the Flying Ford Anglia. Each pop includes insightful text about Hogwarts as seen in the films, making for a must-have collectible for fans of the wizarding world. NOTE: Before unfolding the Hogwarts map, unhook the two manila tabs on each spread by gently pushing them out from underneath. There are eight tabs in total to release.

    The lively text by fashion specialist Jonathan Walford details how fashion was considered not a frivolity but an aesthetic expression of circumstances in the 1940s. While Fascist states tried to create “national” styles before the war began, by 1940 the pursuit of beauty was promoted on both sides of the conflict as a patriotic duty. From prewar to postwar, we see attitudes emerge from period advertisements, images of real clothes, and firsthand accounts in contemporary publications. The result is a celebration of everything from practical and smart-looking attire for air raids (hooded capes with large pockets and siren suits) to street fashion and the creation of Christian Dior’s “New Look” collection in 1947.

    Animated by Dave McKean and written by Neil Gaiman, MirrorMask combines animation and live action with a compelling storyline to take the cinematic experience to a stunning new level. MirrorMask is the story of Helena, a fifteen-year-old girl who works for her family's circus. She juggles, sells popcorn, and longs to run away and join the "real world." Helena also dreams, and one day she wakes up to find herself in a strange new world populated by mysterious creatures…a dream world where she embarks on an amazing journey. Each chapter in The Alchemy of MirrorMask begins with an introduction by McKean and Gaiman and then guides readers through the different types of visuals used to create the film, including sketches, paintings, storyboards, 3-d models, photographs, texture maps, frame blow-ups, and more. Also included are photos taken on the set and during McKean's travels to Venice, Prague, Trieste, Warsaw, and other places that provided inspiration for MirrorMask. Gaiman and McKean's insightful commentary sheds light on the film's journey from concept to screen. Gaiman and McKean fans, cinema buffs, and visual art enthusiasts will all delight in The Alchemy of MirrorMask, a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the making of an extraordinary film.