The experts at the American Society of Botanical Artists offer step-by-step projects that move from introductory to advanced—so any level of artist can build on acquired skills. Helpful tutorials cover watercolor, graphite, colored pencil, vellum, egg tempera, oils, pen and ink, and printmaking. Filled with more than 900 photographs and stunning examples of finished art by the best contemporary botanical artists, Botanical Art Techniques is the authoritative manual on this exquisite art form.

    The book features 2,000 images and documents, many previously unpublished. Note: PBS-TV's American Masters will broadcast a 2 hour Warhol documentary by Ric Burns to air in May 2006.

    It is an extraordinary look into the mind of an artist whose boundless creative output touches a myriad of media, from photography to painting to poetry to acting. Recent Forgeries includes a CD with music and spoken-word poetry. Introduction by Dennis Hopper.Softcover, 7 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches, 110 pages, 83 reproductionsISBN: 1-889195-32-4 7th Edition$25

    

    For those who have always wanted to or tried and failed to learn to draw it provides simple step-by-step instruction, plus easy-to-follow practice exercises, and provides the motivation and inspiration readers need to be successful. For those who already draw, Everyday Sketching and Drawing offers another technique to add to their drawing arsenal.Why do so many adults come to view drawing as difficult or fraught with anxiety? Traditional art instruction is often bogged down with jargon, rules, and admonishments that unintentionally stifle the joy of drawing for its own sake.Steven Reddy's new and easy approach to drawing instructs sketchers to document their unique and compelling lives in realistic yet playful sketches that record the places, spaces, and objects that help define them as individuals. He reminds artists to slow down, notice, and attend to the sketch-worthy scenes and subjects that are unstaged and always there in our everyday lives. He offers a versatile technique that can lead to a skill that fills sketchbooks with the visual details that differentiate one life from another. This approach is a meditative, relaxing alternative to academic concerns about perspective, proportion, and accuracy. Reddy encourages artists to capture in whimsical but detail-specific illustrations their unique, subjective interpretation of their visual surroundings.Steven Reddy's drawing method produces extremely detailed and realistic scenes of objects and scenes in everyday life in a relatively short period of time (60 minutes to 3 hours or more, depending on the sketcher's preference). Modifying a technique utilized by Old Master oil painters, the drawings pass through 5 clearly articulated stages where each step focuses on one visual concept at a time.

    Never before has a book so thoroughly represented that variety: 110 lavish color plates and more than 200 halftones convey the brilliance of his portraits, the exuberance of his watercolors, the stately pomp of his murals. It is perhaps the watercolors that are most exciting to contemporary eyes — bold, spontaneous, and vividly hued, they have a breathtaking immediacy.Born in Florence in 1856 to American parents, Sargent spent a nomadic childhood before going to Paris to study painting. He learned quickly and by the 1880s had begun the steady climb to fame that ultimately placed him at the center of his world, with a circle of friends and rivals that included Henry James, Claude Monet, and James McNeill Whistler. When Sargent died in 1925, a childhood companion wrote in her memorial that "the summing up of a would-be biographer must, I think be: He painted." It is the strikingly beautiful results of that lifelong devotion to his art that glow throughout the pages of this incomparable book.

    My list goes: The Velvet Underground, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, The Doors, and then I stall on the fifth. Creedence? The Band - although they're mostly Canadian. Simon and Garfunkel? Jefferson Airplane? The Lovin' Spoonful? But I plump for The Monkees."-Robert Forster In The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll, Robert Forster takes readers on an exhilarating trip through the past and present of popular music - from Bob Dylan, AC/DC and Nana Mouskouri through to Cat Power, Franz Ferdinand and ... Delta Goodrem. To accompany Forster's acclaimed writing for The Monthly, there are some stunning new pieces - 'The 10 Rules' and 'The 10 Bands I Wish I'd Been In' and an appreciation of Guy Clark - as well as a reflection on The Velvet Underground, a short story about Normie Rowe and a moving tribute to fellow Go-Between Grant McLennan. Funny and illuminating, The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll shows a great critic at work.

    On this painterly journey, Tracy Verdugo leads you from self-doubt to self-appreciation by helping you find your voice through a myriad of vibrantly-hued mark making, painting and self-reflection techniques. There are no mistakes here, only opportunities to learn and grow.- Learn the language of your own sacred marks by painting with personal symbology. - Discover the inspiration that exists around you, in your home, your community, the present moment. - 19 step-by-step exercises use popular mixed media materials such as pastels, acrylic paints, inks and more! - See how to use art making to plant creative seeds and cultivate your wildest dreams. Turn on your Paint Mojo and make an awesome, shiny, perfectly imperfect mark of you.

    That will paint itself. Do the obvious thing before you do the superhuman thing. It may have been accidental, but you knew enough to let this alone. The good painter is always making use of accidents. Never try to repeat a success. Swing a bigger brush — you don’t know what fun you are missing. For 31 years, Charles Hawthorne spoke in this manner to students of his famous Cape Cod School of Art. The essence of that instruction has been collected from students’ notes and captured in this book, retaining the personal feeling and the sense of on-the-spot inspiration of the original classroom. Even though Hawthorne is addressing himself to specific problems in specific paintings, his comments are so revealing that they will be found applicable a hundred times to your own work.The book is divided into sections on the outdoor model, still life, landscape, the indoor model, and watercolor. Each section begins with a concise essay and continues with comments on basic elements: general character, color, form, seeing, posture, etc. It is in the matter of color that students will especially feel themselves in the presence of a master guide and critic. Hawthorne’s ability to see color and, more important, to make the student see color, is a lesson that will aid student painters and anyone else interested in any phase of art.Although it does not pretend to be a comprehensive or closely ordered course, this book does have much to offer. It also represents the artistic insight of one of the finest painter-teachers of the twentieth century."An excellent introduction for laymen and students alike." — Time"To read these notes and comments … is in itself an education. One cannot help but gain great help." — School Arts

    Every element of the body (such as the overhang of the upper lip; the puckering at the corners of the mouth; the characteristic proportions of the head, trunk, limbs, etc.; the tension between connected portions of the body; etc.) is carefully and concisely pointed out in the text. Even more helpful are the 430 pencil and charcoal drawings that illustrate each feature so that you are, in effect, shown what to look for by a master teacher. The result is the only art instruction book which not only illustrates details of the body but directs your attention at every stage to a host of subtle points of shading, curvature, proportion, foreshortening, muscular tension, variations due to extreme age or youth, and both major and minor differences in the structure and representation of the male and female figure. Comprehensive discussions and drawings cover the eyes; nose, mouth and chin; ear; head, trunk, back and hips; neck, throat, and shoulder; shoulder and arm; hand and wrist; leg; foot; the complete figure; and other interdependent groups of structures. This is the human figure as the artist, art student, and art teacher must know it in order to avoid many deceptive errors unfortunately common in much modern portraiture, painting, and illustrative art.

    Zenspirations dangles are a unique form of patterning...and although they look complicated, they are actually easy to create. If you enjoyed Joanne's first book, Zenspirations Paterns & Lettering then you'll love Zenspiration Dangle Designs.

    It's not colorful enough. It's intimidating!With the fun and easy techniques in Gina Rossi Armfield's No Excuses Watercolor, your excuses for not painting with watercolor don't stand a chance! As you try the demonstrations and exercises, you'll learn the techniques and tricks necessary to achieve amazing, colorful results in your artist's sketchbook.After getting to know your materials, you'll try your hand at thirteen exercises that will help train your hand, and help you identify and refine your artistic style. Along the way, you'll get tips and suggestions for adding journaling and writing to your art. Finally, you'll find an inspirational resource guide packed with reference photos, starter sketches, color palettes, journaling prompts and more to help you fill your watercolor journal!Grab your sketchbook and watercolors--it's time to paint, no excuses!- 22 demonstrations for sketching and watercolor painting. - 13 exercises for practicing backgrounds, focal images, color mixing, layering and details. - 13 resource sections loaded with journaling and painting prompts to keep you inspired.

    No need to wait until you’ve had hours of training or years of practice to enjoy watercolor journaling. In this book you will learn how to: Recapture the natural joy of art experienced in early childhood Create colorful travel journals that will become treasured souvenirs and a delight to share Overcome the resistance of your inner critic that says you can’t draw or paint Here’s what people are saying about Anyone Can Learn Watercolor Journaling—Yes, You! “This book is both an educational and delightful read.”—Sharan Devoto “I love the sketches in this book and appreciate the easy instructions that go along with them.”—Karen Bates “What a fun and easy-to-read book. Makes it simple to add a bit of creativity to a journal.”—Soo Hyun Han NOTE: This book is NOT for the experienced artist. It is intended only for people who want to learn VERY basic techniques for drawing and painting.

    With a few simple steps, anyone can discover their artistic side and achieve moments of peace and tranquility. Forty straightforward lessons promise fun and colorful results -- no pressure and no skill required. This simple painting medium produces colorful, modern paintings to adorn invitations, gifts, and walls. The forty lessons cover useful topics like:Painting on vacationPainting your petsLayering colorsMixing colorsPainting flowers and plantsThe supplies are simple: a basic palette of watercolors, a selection of brushes, and nice thick paper will do the job. Your bright, whimsical art is guaranteed to bring color to any gray day. It's never too late to pick up a new hobby -- start painting your own beautiful cards and artwork today!

    He addresses the scope of Modern Art, from its founding days as Abstract Expressionism through its transformations to Pop, Op, Minimal, and Conceptual. This is Tom Wolfe "at his most clever, amusing, and irreverent" (San Francisco Chronicle).