Art & Photography Books

Book Synopsis'A brave writer whose books open up fundamental questions about life and art' – TelegraphIn this inspiring collection of essays, acclaimed writer and critic Olivia Laing makes a vivid and politically-engaged case for the importance of art – especially in the turbulent weather of the twenty-first century.We are often told art can’t change anything. In Funny Weather, Laing argues that it can. It changes how we see the world, it exposes inequality, and it offers fertile new ways of living.Across a diverse selection of essays, Laing profiles Jean-Michel Basquiat and Georgia O’Keeffe, interviews Hilary Mantel and Ali Smith, writes love letters to David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, and explores loneliness and technology, women and alcohol, sex and the body. Written with originality and compassion, Funny Weather is a celebration of art as a force of resistance and repair – and as an antidote to a frightening political moment.Trade ReviewA brave writer whose books open up fundamental questions about life and art * Telegraph *Olivia Laing is my new favourite non-fiction writer -- Nick HornbyLike all great critics, Olivia Laing combines formidable intelligence with boundless curiosity and fabulous taste, but she also has a rare quality of intimacy; an ability to connect the reader to a work of art or literature with a directness that lights it up like nothing else. It’s why I read her -- James LasdunHer observations and poetic incisiveness on art, writers and politics are a gift. This is a fascinating, excursive, tonic of a book -- Sinéad Gleeson, author of ConstellationsA thought-provoking, inspiring collection that you can go back to whenever the weather takes a funny turn * Evening Standard *Funny Weather gives the reader a tangible sense of the sprawling garden of work which Laing has planted. She is to the art world what David Attenborough is to nature: a worthy guide with both a macro and micro vision, fluent in her chosen tongue and always full of empathy and awe * Irish Times *Laing has acted as a kind of cultural sage for the past four years, an accidental literary grande dame of the emotional havoc wrought by late capitalism and digital disconnect * New York Magazine *Laing writes of her creative subjects in a winning, passionate voice that proves both soothing and galvanizing, especially amid a panic . . . It’s not just art we need in an emergency, but writers, like Laing, who gently guide our eyes to what’s out there -- Alina Cohen * Observer *The hospitality of world view in Olivia’s writing is a vital force in our disputatious present -- Maria Balshaw, director of TateLaing combines passion and curiosity in a collection of art-based essays and profiles that reflect the uncertainty of our age * Guardian *Never has a publication been more timely * Dazed *A warm, thinking, enticing sweep of a book, like spending the afternoon with your brainiest friend -- Kate Mosse, author of The Burning ChambersA fine writer’s embrace of the artists who preceded her, friendly visits with their lives and loving acknowledgement of their foundational contributions. A work of joy in recognition -- Sarah SchulmanThe book to help you make sense of the world . . . [a] mesmerizing collection of essays . . . this unique and compassionate book is a mind-expanding opportunity to rethink how we live, and what we can do to change things for the better. * Stylist *A light-footed tour of enriching stories, lives, and ideas * Dazed and Confused *Her gift as a critic is her ability to imaginatively sympathize with her subjects in a way that allows the art and life of the artist to go on radiating meaning after the book is closed * Elle *Breathtaking, beautiful, funny, shocking, sad, revealing, and timely -- Nina Stibbe, author of Love, NinaI yield to absolutely no one in my admiration of Olivia Laing; her essays are magical liberations of words and ideas, art and love; they're the essence of great 21st century literature: brilliantly expressed, wildly uncontained, wilful and wonderfully unbound. -- Philip Hoare, author of RISINGTIDEFALLINGSTAROlivia Laing shines the light for art writing. Funny Weather urges us to humanise art, and listen to what artists say about life, love and crisis. -- Charlie PorterAn incivisive meditation on the value of heartfelt, messy art in our paranoid times * Telegraph *It’s not just art we need in an emergency, but writers, like Laing, who gently guide our eyes to what’s out there * Observer *Vibrant commentary on art and society by a writer with a sharp eye for the offbeat * Kirkus *Laing’s essays are urgent, compassionate, enlivening and acutely perceptive, and that’s true whether or not we encounter them “in an emergency” * the arts desk *Her words seem balefully accurate, given what has now overtaken us * Financial Times *Laing is an intelligent and acute writer, and this book is certainly interesting and assuredly well-written * Scotsman *Laing’s arts writing is sharp-minded, and her manner is generous toward both subject and reader * Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review'A literary masterpiece that would be worth reading even if his paintings were rubbish…. an engrossing encounter with the creativity of Vincent’s life of solitude. As you read, look at his paintings online and see suffering turned into beauty' - Jonathan Jones, Guardian'Open any letter here and it compels — such is the force, honesty and lucidity of van Gogh’s literary expressiveness, echoing his qualities as a painter ... this is a perfect condensed version of the six-volume complete correspondence; among its miracles is optimism almost to the end' - Financial Times'If you haven’t yet discovered the impassioned power of [Van Gogh's] interior monologues, this volume of his letters [...] will make a nicely presented and eminently manageable addition to your shelves' - Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times'A judicious selection from the magnificent six-volume Complete Letters of 2009 … Impassioned, often heartbreaking, furious, funny and tender, these letters form a unique testament from a pivotal figure in 19th-century art' - John Banville, The Irish Independent

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Book SynopsisThis is an essential book for anyone learning to draw, or wishing to improve their drawing. Starting with the basics of drawing techniques, Civardi gives expert advice on drawing portraits, the clothed figure, hands and feet and scenery, finishing with a section on the importance of light and shade. Civardi's technical advice and practical tips, accompanied by his own outstanding drawings, make this an invaluable resource for any artist. Previously published as Giovanni Civardi's Complete Guide to Drawing (9781844482061) and now includes The Nude (9781844482443).Trade ReviewNov 09 Most of this first appeared as Giovanni Civardi's Complete Guide to Drawing, but this smaller format edition also includes the volume on The Nude. It's a sound introduction to drawing in pencil and the smaller page size makes it more manageable, but also means that you have to strain slightly to read the text, which has also been reduced. The style is best described as "classic", meaning that it's all well done, but perhaps slightly dated. If you don't mind that, and it's the technique that's more important to you, then this is a book it's hard to better. If your eyesight's not 100%, however, best buy a pair of stronger reading glasses as well. * Artbookreview.net * Dec 09 For those wishing to learn to draw or improve their skills this book is an essential read. Previously published material has been used along with new information in the compilation of this fabulous instructional volume. Packed full of beautiful illustrations, we begin with the very basics of drawing techniques, from description of use and simple mark making with pencil or graphite onto using carbon sticks and ink, each accompanied by many varied depictions where he tells us what media was used for each, and very importantly, what technique was used. All these details help the reader to understand the process of selecting media and technique to render the drawing they want to achieve. The section on portraits covers small details like hands, eyes and placement of features, all necessary to achieve a lifelike rendition through to full figures, both clothed and naked. The book is full of details such as anatomy of figures, and how to find the correct proportions to the fall of fabric on clothed figures, again in great detail and easy to follow. Scenery is covered in the same in depth way, from linear and aerial perspective, light and shade, tonal work and use of source material. All sections come with the same incredibly detailed illustration showing use of media and methods. If you want just one book to learn or improve your drawing skills, and draw well then this is the book for you. Its packed full of all the essentials you need to learn to create realistic 3d images in a 2d media. * JeannieZelos.com * Jan 2010 Drawing, A Complete Guide by Giovanni Civardi is a comprehensive exploration of hand drawing techniques and tools. While this book is focused on these techniques from a pure artistic point of view, the skills that are covered have real relevance and value for modern Graphic Designers. Technology changes everything and Graphic Design is no different. It doesn't seem so long ago that Graphic Design was a much more hands on discipline, with ideas mocked up on layout pads and then worked up through various refining stages, until the final design, along with a specification sheet overlay, was supplied for typesetting with the final artwork being produced through cut and pasting. Now it is possible for anyone with basic skills to produce understandable concepts using a PC and desktop printer, but there is real value for Graphic Designers to develop their drawing skills. Such skills can help Designers to quickly and clearly develop ideas wherever they are and can also allow them to produce hand drawn graphics for inclusion in finished designs. * Suite101.com * Mar 14 This a collection of smaller books which each delve into an element of drawing and cover the key parts using pictorial examples throughout. It is well laid out and can be easily accessed by both learners and tutors. As a concept art tutor I found the tutorials and information thorough and a great use of excellent examples. Having asked learners the response was positive and a definite request to access more. The anatomy sections covering the musculature of hands, feet and head were especially informative and helpful. I will be asking my subject librarian to purchase. * Marian Carr, Bradford College *Table of ContentsPreviously published as Giovanni Civardi's Complete Guide to Drawing 9781844482061 and now includes "The Nude" 9781844482443

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Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times paperback bestseller and Waterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month*Featuring a brand new chapter!*''Never have the joys of exploring the churches and cathedrals of this country been so vividly conveyed as they are in this engaging and elegiac book.'' - New Statesman **BOOK OF THE YEAR pick 2023**''A delicious treat'' - Financial Times **TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR pick 2023**''A charming odyssey'' - The Times''A wonderful book; thoughtful and challenging'' - Daily Telegraph *****''A beautiful book'' - Gabriel Byrne ''Beautiful and brilliant. I loved it'' - Fergus Butler-Gallie From the author of A Tomb With a View - Scottish Non-Fiction book of the Year Churches are all around us. Their steeples remain landmarks in our towns, villages and cities, even as their influeTrade ReviewWhat makes Steeple Chasing so compelling - and it is a wonderful book; thoughtful and challenging - ... is Ross's essential kindness, his unfailing empathy with the people he meets on his pilgrimage. * Daily Telegraph *A charming odyssey . . . in this lyrical love letter to churches Ross reminds us there is something worth saving and people who will make the effort. * The Times *His book is a delicious treat, and one that both believers and sceptics will enjoy. * Financial Times *Reading a book is another reciprocal act: if it's good, it stays with you. Ross's readers will have his words humming through them for a long time. * Spectator *Lovely, lyrical, whimsical, elegiac ... Ross has a gift for making you feel you're there with him, just as awed as he is. * Times Literary Supplement *Ross has always had a quiet charm, and it is perhaps displayed best in this book. . . it is properly interested in humanity, especially in its complexity. * The Scotsman *Steeple Chasing is, as you might expect from Ross, itself a beautiful object, full of delicacy and deliberation in the writing. . .a fascinating, beautifully written book full of both the strange and the terrible, but also full of grace and love. * The Herald *Beautifully observed and evocatively written. * Country Life *Never less than fascinating. * Books From Scotland *

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Book SynopsisFrom the preeminent animal portrait photographer and the bestselling author of Dogs, Endangered, and Birds, a stunning collection over 170 photographs of cats, with text on the species, their evolution, and why we love them For thousands of years, felines have captivated humanity with their beauty, intelligence, unpredictability, and fierce independence. In his latest work, world-renowned photographer Tim Flach explores this deep, sometimes one-sided but always enduring bond, revealing the many identities of catsfrom their sacred status in ancient cultures to their viral superstardom in the digital age. Featuring more than 170 photographs, Feline celebrates domestic cats while also highlighting their wild counterparts and the urgent conservation efforts to protect them and their habitats. Feline showcases the world's most extraordinary cats, show champions, and internet icons with millions of followers. From pedigrees like the classic British Shorthair and curly coated Rex breeds to the werewolf-like Lykoi and the humble moggie representing the majority, Flach's images capture the personality, character, and spirit of felines in a way never seen before. Evolutionary biologist Jonathan Losos provides fascinating context, weaving together science, history, and human connections to explore what makes cats so compelling. He examines their evolutionary journey, adaptation to diverse environments, and the growing influence of human intervention on breeding. Meanwhile, neuroscientist Morten Kringelbach delves into the science of cuteness, unthreading why felines hold such power over us. QR codes offer exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, providing insights into Flach's creative process and the authenticity of these unbelievable felines. From the untamed wild to the warmth of our homes, Feline is a mesmerizing tribute to the grace, mystery, and enduring presence of cats in our lives.

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Book SynopsisSpanning 300 years of art history and weaving art styles including Cubism, Surrealism, and the Baroque into his prose, Jake Kendall tells the stories of those with an obsession for creationartists who sacrifice friendships, careers, romance, and even their own happiness in pursuit of a vision.

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Book SynopsisThis book of 20 postcards showcases whimsical, feline portraits. These cool cats are outfitted in fashionable clothing and accessories. Each kitty is striking a pose against a backdrop of colorful wallpaper or a quaint city scene. Flip through the postcard book to find your favorite tabby being a fashionista.

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Book SynopsisOne of the most iconic characters in children's literatureHergé's classic comic book creation Tintin is one of the most recognisable characters in children's books. These highly collectible editions of the original 24 adventures will delight Tintin fans old and new. Perfect for lovers of graphic novels, mysteries and historical adventures.The world's most famous travelling reporter is devastated at the death of his dear friend, Chang. But what if all is not as it seems?After a strange dream, Tintin becomes convinced Chang is alive. Together with Captain Haddock, he sets out on an impossible mission, an adventure deep into the mountains, through blizzards and caves of ice. They must find Chang at all costs!Join the most iconic character in comics as he embarks on an extraordinary adventure spanning historical and political events, and thrilling mysteries. Still selling over 100,000 copies every year in the UK and having been adapted for the silver screen by Steven Spielberg and Peter JaTrade ReviewTintin shows young readers that the world in all its complexity is theirs to bestride. (The Wall Street Journal) I became enthralled with the way Hergé told his stories. Grand, epic, global adventures about a young reporter who goes all around the world looking for stories to tell. (Steven Spielberg, 'The Adventures of Spielberg: An Interview', The New York Times, 2011) Top 100 Children’s Book – Time Out (2022) Terrific world-straddling adventures. (Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Ten Essential Children’s Books, Books for Keeps, 2020) The Red Sea Sharks was named one of Young Bond author Charlie Higson’s favourite books in The Daily Express: “Tintin was a huge inspiration being a young person in an adult world.” (2015) Explorers of the Moon was named one of comedian Milton Jones’ favourite books in The Daily Express (2018) Explorers of the Moon was named one of screenwriter and best-selling crime novelist Peter May’s favourite books in The Daily Express: “A childhood favourite…it encouraged me to create my own cartoon series.” (2016) The Calculus Affair was named one of author and foreign correspondent Christian Jennings’ favourite books in The Week (2017)

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Book SynopsisConcise lessons in design, drawing, the creative process, and presentation, from the basics of How to Draw a Line to the complexities of color theory.

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Book SynopsisElected the architectural book of the year by the International Artbook and Film Festival in Perpignan, France, Frédéric Chaubin’s Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed explores 90 buildings in 14 former Soviet Republics. Each of these structures expresses what Chaubin considers the fourth age of Soviet architecture, an unknown burgeoning that took place from 1970 until 1990. Contrary to the 1920s and 1950s, no “school” or main trend emerges here. These buildings represent a chaotic impulse brought about by a decaying system. Taking advantage of the collapsing monolithic structure, architects went far beyond modernism, going back to the roots or freely innovating. Some of the daring ones completed projects that the Constructivists would have dreamt of (Druzhba Sanatorium, Yalta), others expressed their imagination in an expressionist way (Palace of Weddings, Tbilisi). A summer camp, inspired by sketches of a prototype lunar base, lays claim to Suprematist influence (Prometheus youth camp, Bogatyr). Then comes the “speaking architecture” widespread in the last years of the USSR: a crematorium adorned with concrete flames (Crematorium, Kiev), a technological institute with a flying saucer crashed on the roof (Institute of Scientific Research, Kiev), a political center watching you like Big Brother (House of Soviets, Kaliningrad). In their puzzle of styles, their outlandish strategies, these buildings are extraordinary remnants of a collapsing system. In their diversity and local exoticism, they testify both to the vast geography of the USSR and its encroaching end of the Soviet Union, the holes in a widening net. At the same time, they immortalize many of the ideological dreams of the country and its time, from an obsession with the cosmos to the rebirth of identity.Trade Review“One of the most splendid of recent architectural publications and a revelation. It illustrates late Soviet public buildings almost entirely unknown in the West.” * Apollo Magazine *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIt would not be entirely amiss to describe Yanagi's position in Japan as comparable to that of Ruskin and Morris in England ... He left as a legacy an aesthetic and religious creed of vital importance to men and women all over the world -- Bernard LeachWhat impresses me most in Yanagi is the strength of his vision, his direct eye for beauty. His was an immediate and intuitive faculty of an extraordinary kind -- Shoji HamadaRadical and inspiring ... Yanagi's vision puts the connection between heart and hand before the transient and commercial -- Edmund de WaalSoetsu Yanagi's unerring eye has influenced generations of makers. His notion of Zen and the art of design continues to inspire all those involved in shaping our everyday world -- Jasper Morrison

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Book SynopsisA deeply moving and brilliantly idiosyncratic visual book of days by the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids and M Train. More than 365 images chart Smith's singular aesthetic - inspired by her wildly popular InstagramIn 2018, without any plan or agenda for what might happen next, Patti Smith posted her first Instagram photo: her hand with the simple message Hello Everybody! Known for shooting with her beloved Land Camera 250, Smith started posting images from her phone including portraits of her kids, her radiator, her boots, and her Abyssinian cat, Cairo. Followers felt an immediate affinity with these miniature windows into Smith's world, photographs of her daily coffee, the books she's reading, the graves of beloved heroes - William Blake, Dylan Thomas, Sylvia Plath, Simone Weil, Albert Camus. Over time, a coherent story of a life devoted to art took shape, and more than a million followers responded to Smith's unique aesthetic in images

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Book SynopsisThe new colour bible: a gorgeously illustrated exploration of colour and the modern gaze, from an award-winning designer'One of the best books on colour I've read. A layered tapestry of stories, insights and ideas, each beautifully and clearly written. For anyone interested in colour, it's a must' Marion DeucharsWhy are pencils yellow and white goods white? Why is black the colour of mourning? What connects Queen Victoria's mauve gown and Michelle Obama's yellow dress? In Chromorama, acclaimed graphic designer Riccardo Falcinelli delves deep into the history of colour to show how it has shaped the modern gaze. With over four hundred illustrations throughout and with examples ranging widely across art and culture - from the novels of Gustave Flaubert to The Simpsons, from Byzantine jewellery to misshapen fruit, from Mondrian to Hitchcock's thrillers - Falcinelli traces the evolution of our long relationship with colour, and how first the industrial revolution, and then the dawn of the internet age, changed it forever. Beautifully designed, deeply researched, and written with warmth and wit, Chromoroma is an engrossing account of shade and light, of tone and hue, of dyes, pigments, and pixels. It is the story of why we now see the world the way we do.

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Book Synopsis**AS SEEN ON BBC2's BETWEEN THE COVERS**A Guardian Book of the YearMaggie Nelson is one of the most electrifying writers at work in America today, among the sharpest and most supple thinkers of her generation - Olivia LaingBluets winds its way through depression, divinity, alcohol, and desire, visiting along the way with famous blue figures, including Joni Mitchell, Billie Holiday, Yves Klein, Leonard Cohen and Andy Warhol. While its narrator sets out to construct a sort of 'pillow book' about her lifelong obsession with the colour blue, she ends up facing down both the painful end of an affair and the grievous injury of a dear friend. The combination produces a raw, cerebral work devoted to the inextricability of pleasure and pain, and to the question of what role, if any, aesthetic beauty can play in times of great heartache or grief.Much like Roland Barthes's A Lover's Discourse, Bluets has passed between lovers in the ecstasy of new love, and been pressed into the hands of the heartbroken. Visceral, learned, and acutely lucid, Bluets is a slim feat of literary innovation and grace, never before published in the UK.Trade ReviewTranscendent.... very inspiring. She’s an amazing writer. -- Lorde * Irish Times *Maggie Nelson... She's so much better than anything I've read for a long, long time. -- Karl Ove KnausgaardThe book that changed my life... it's just brilliant. -- Sophie Mackintosh * Guardian *I remember where I was when I read each of Maggie Nelson's books in the same way I remember a place where I heard important news. Her words come, as though from a great distance, and strike incredibly close. I did not actually read Bluets, I think - I just let it hit me. -- Anne EnrightMaggie Nelson is one of the most electrifying writers at work in America today, among the sharpest and most supple thinkers of her generation. -- Olivia Laing[Nelson's] candour, also evident in The Argonauts, gives Bluets a turbo-charged vitality, precision and authenticity that frees her to reflect on the way female desire is too often sidelined or ignored.... In her dark excavation of grief, she has collected messages of great wisdom and powerful beauty. -- Gavin Francis * Guardian *A gorgeous, eddying read. -- Claire-Louise BennettNelson… looks sideways at her heartbreak, allowing for moments of piercing clarity as feelings come into focus. There is wisdom and beauty in this short work. -- Fiona Wilson * The Times *A luminous meditation on the author’s love for a single colour that displaces itself onto the grief prompted by the end of a relationship and the serious injury of a friend. -- Jenny Hendrix * Times Literary Supplement *Arty, smart and gorgeous meditation on the color blue. * Time Out *Bluets is a slim but intense volume dedicated to the colour blue, and to feeling blue. Nelson takes a Wittgensteinian form and fills it with feeling. In 240 loosely linked fragments she moves between memoir and analysis, from spiritual inquiry to erotic obsession… Beautiful. -- Tom Graham * Financial Times *A real short-sharp punch in the heart. Truly sad and beautiful, it’s a raw meditation on falling passionately in love with a colour. * Big Issue *What could be more invented than a life story that reads like a novel? Bluets doesn’t invent that way: its inventions are wilder, wiser (and more true) than that… each proposition is breathtaking. * Brick *A syncopated arrangement of 240 prose poems collected across three years of slowly dwindling grief and heartbreak, it centres around the colour blue and how it helped to heal Nelson’s pain. -- Isobel Thompson * A-List *This discussion of the colour blue is a gorgeous read, almost religious in the way it defaults to the beautiful and the sublime. -- Anne Enright * Guardian *When I want a sprawling, consuming book about love and loss, I turn to Maggie Nelson’s Bluets. The compact hybrid book of literature, memoir, and poetry at only 99 pages in length lingers long after the cover is turned over. -- Sarah MacDonald * Vice *I can’t stop thinking about [Bluets]. -- Darci PhenixAlways beguiling, her writing is powerful, incisive and so singular that it defies categorization … raw, honest and urgent… [Nelson] always prompt me to see some aspect of life very differently. -- Alice Rawsthorn * Observer *Last year, while recovering from a break up with a long-term partner, I carried the book with me everywhere... The way that she renders her experiences and thoughts in such vivid, aching and raw detail served as a shelter for me, and a way to articulate feelings I didn't yet have the distance or strength to put words to. -- Zaina Arafat * Good Housekeeping *Bluets is an expansive, intensely poetic text about Nelson's life-long infatuation with the colour blue... in Nelson's most visceral moments of divulgence, we see a testament to love in all its inexpressibility. -- Martha French * Varsity *

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Book Synopsis“It stood out for me for a number of reasons. The first, and by far the most important to me, being that the composition is absolutely gorgeous.” — Tim Clinch, Amateur Photographer “Packed with compelling visuals and important discussions around some of the planet's biggest issues, it's an excellent compendium of some of the world's best photographers working today.” — Amateur Photographer "As compelling in its visuals as it is in its messaging, Fire is an unforgettable document." — Jonathan McIntosh, Royal Photographic Society Journal Fire is the fourth element. It destroys and creates something new. In its heat, colours, and magnitude, it provides a terrifying spectacle as much as an existential threat. Today, it speaks as much to the fragility of human structures as to the damage wrought on nature: the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, forest fires from the Amazon to Australia, and infernos in California so colossal that the sky turned red. Reason enough for the Prix Pictet, the world’s leading award for photography and sustainability, to dedicate this year’s photo book to the many facets of fire. Selected by photography experts from around the world, this impressive publication features 100 images from the Prix Pictet shortlist and beyond. As compelling in its visuals as it is in its messaging, this is an unforgettable document of an elemental force, and of the increasing extremes of climate change.Trade Review"Fabrice Monteiro'sUntitled #9 is part of a series inspired by West African masquerades shortlisted for the Prix Pictet photography competition." - The Daily Telegraph"'Fire' (teNeues Verlag, £45) responds to events from the blaze that engulfed Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris to forest fires in the Amazon." - The I newspaper"It stood out for me for a number of reasons. The first, and by far the most important to me, being that the composition is absolutely gorgeous." - Tim Clinch, Amateur Photographer"Packed with compelling visuals and important discussions around some of the planet's biggest issues, it's an excellent compendium of some of the world's best photographers working today." - Amateur Photographer"The hardback book is big, beautiful and democratic… Chairman of the Prix Pictet jury, Sir David King prophetically remarks, 'If ever there was a time for the Prix Pictet to take up the theme of fire, that time is now.'" - Peter Dench, Amateur Photographer"As compelling in its visuals as it is in its messaging, Fire is an unforgettable document." - Jonathan McIntosh, Royal Photographic Society Journal

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023BARNES & NOBLE''S BEST SCIENCE & NATURE BOOKS OF 2023The arts can deliver potent, accessible and proven solutions for the wellbeing of everyone. In this book, Magsamen and Ross offer compelling research that shows how engaging in an art project for as little as forty-five minutes reduces the stress hormone cortisol and just one art experience per month can extend your life by ten years. This can be anything from painting and dancing to expressive writing, architecture and more - no matter your skill level. Your Brain on Art is an authoritative guide to how neuroaesthetics can help us transform traditional healing, build healthier communities and mend an aching planet.

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Book SynopsisThe companion volume to the cult Japanese Pattern Magic and Pattern Magic 2 that fans have been waiting for.In this new addition to the Pattern Magic series, Tomoko Nakamichi brings the subject alive by showing the finished designs in three dimensions. All the measurements and scaling information you need to start pattern making is included and as throughout the series, all the patterns are based on a basic block* which supplied in the book. Easy–to–follow, step–by–step text with clear diagrams and beautiful photography will teach you how to sculpt with fabric, creating beautiful shapes, waves and accents.You will also learn to create dynamic movement in garments, using ruffles, shirring and precise, sharply pleated lines and step–by–step instructions and diagrams will ensure that your own patterns translate beautifully to your choice of garment. Photographs of the finished garments will inspire you to create your own designs.Learn how to bring beautiful workmanship to your patterns:Sculpting a surfaceMaking WavesParing down and opening outWearing a polyhedronOutlining a surfaceLook at dynamic movement in fabrics:Full–bodied ruffleWearing a bagElastic shirringSerrated lines*The dress form used as the basis for the designs in this book is the Bunka–style sloper (block) for an adult Japanese woman. All patterns are for a size M Japanese woman. The position of the cutting and opening out lines, the allowances, and other measurements may vary according to garment size. If you are using the half–scale dress form, reduce the full–sized measurements on the drawings by half when you develop the patterns.From the author:''For me, it''s not all about pretty silhouettes. What starts me drawing a pattern is the sight of something that I find interesting or beautiful, and want to bring to life as a garment. There''s an irresistible pleasure in sketching out the lines over and over, and seeking out their shape as I assemble them. Sometimes, I''ll put something together that I love, only to have second thoughts a little while later and find myself back at my drawing. I guess it''s the little things that happen, the things I hear and see on a daily basis, that make me work this way.I''ll go with what I have for now. Although, who knows, I could be having second thoughts again soon…''

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Book Synopsis15-Minute Art Watercolour explores the art of watercolour with fifty 15-minute projects. From fruits and fish to flowers, animals and patterns, illustrator Jola Sopek encourages you to explore this popular craft in a relaxing, free and fun way. Each project can be completed in no more than six steps and includes practice pages, colour swatches and helpful hints to make light work of your artworks. Featuring traceable templates of all 50 projects, this book will helps you to get over the fear of the blank page and proves that watercolour painting doesn’t have to be intimidating. An engaging and inspiring hobby, 15-minute Art Watercolour inspires you to tap into your creativity for just a few minutes every day.

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Book SynopsisLearn to create detailed, realistic portraits in graphite pencil from basic shapes. Successfully drawing the human face is one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, artistic experiences. Faces & Features shows you how to capture the unique characteristics of the human face in graphite pencil, with tips on choosing materials, building with basic shapes, placing proportionate features, defining facial expression, and shading to develop form and realism. With a wealth of detailed step-by-step projects to both re-create and admire, Debra Kauffman Yaun teaches artists how to develop a portrait drawing to its fullest. She shares her personal methods for rendering the human face in all its expressiveness as she introduces tips and techniques for approaching babies, children, teenagers, and adults of all ages. This book includes in-depth information on specific facial features as well as detailed, step-by-step exercises that explore ways to develop complete portraits. And the wealth of beautiful, inspiring examples ensure that Faces & Features will be a welcome addition to any artist’s drawing reference library. Drawing faces can be a challenge, but with this step-by-step guide, you’ll be rendering realistic portraits in no time. The How to Draw & Paint series offers an easy-to-follow guide that introduces artists to basic tools and materials and includes simple step-by-step lessons for a variety of projects suitable for the aspiring artist. Faces & Features allows artists to develop their drawing skills, demonstrating how to start with basic shapes and use pencil and shading techniques to create varied textures, values, and details for a realistic, completed drawing.

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Book SynopsisJohn Berger''s writings on photography are some of the most original of the twentieth century. This selection contains many groundbreaking essays and previously uncollected pieces written for exhibitions and catalogues in which Berger probes the work of photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and W. Eugene Smith - and the lives of those photographed - with fierce engagement, intensity and tenderness.The selection is made and introduced by Geoff Dyer, author of the award-winning The Ongoing Moment.How do we see the world around us? This is one of a number of pivotal works by creative thinkers whose writings on art, design and the media have changed our vision for ever.John Berger was born in London in 1926. His acclaimed works of both fiction and non-fiction include the seminal Ways of Seeing and the novel G., which won the Booker Prize in 1972. In 1962 he left Britain permanently, and he now lives in a small village in the French Alps.Geoff Dyer is the author of four novels and several non-fiction books. Winner of the Lannan Literary Award, the International Centre of Photography''s 2006 Infinity Award and the American Academy of Arts and Letters''s E. M. Forster Award, Dyer is also a regular contributor to many publications in the UK and the US. He lives in London.Trade ReviewOne of the most influential intellectuals of our time -- Observer

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Book SynopsisArcturus Publishing offers a vast and varied range of puzzles and stationery, from novelty and specialist content, to popular titles such as crosswords, sudoku, and wordsearch.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisExperience the magic of the Harry Potter films, when you move the tabs, levers and wheels across the pages of this book!

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Book SynopsisLearn to draw thepopular Japanese style of anime and manga like a pro with renowned Instagram artist Yoai in this follow-up to her best-selling Chibi Art Class. In Anime Art Class, you will learn how to draw Yoai’s signature cute characters, from their bodies and facial features, including their dreamy eyes, to trendy clothes and accessories and fun hair. The 20 tutorials, with simple step-by-step illustrations and instructions, guide you from drawing characters in pencil and pen to coloring and shading them in with colored pencils, markers, and watercolor paints.Also find: An overview of the tools and materials you can use to create anime art Anime basics, including demonstrations for drawing every part of the body and article of clothing Techniques for refining your pencil sketches, inking your drawings, and adding color Tips and troubleshooting advice for perfecting your drawings An inspiration gallery of different eyes, hairstyles, clothing, accessories, and poses that you can also use as coloring pages Soon you will be enhancing your notebooks, stationery, artwork, and more with your own unique anime world. Anime Art Class is now in session! Create even more supercute artwork with these other books from the Cute and Cuddly Art series:Chibi Art Class, Mini Chibi Art Class, Cute Chibi Animals, Anime Art Class, and Cute Chibi Mythical Beasts & Magical Monsters.Trade Review"Highly recommended for any aspiring artist interested in learning the basics of how to create delightful and appealing characters!” * Midwest Book Review *"Does an excellent job of including educational content on incorporating art elements (e.g. colours, lines, value, shapes), multiple art techniques, and various art mediums (e.g. markers, pencil crayons, water colours, ink, pencil) in their artwork... sure to please many art and anime enthusiasts." * Metroland Toronto *Table of ContentsIntroduction MaterialsAnime Basics Bodies Facial Features Hair Clothes and ShoesAnime Techniques Pencil Sketching and Shading Inking Line Art Adding Base Color Shading Blending Making a Gradient Fixing Mistakes Have Fun and Stay Healthy!Tutorials Pencil Sketching Inking Coloring with Colored Pencils Coloring with Markers Coloring with WatercolorsInspiration Gallery & Coloring Pages Color Combinations Eyes Hairstyles Clothes Accessories Poses

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[Show Your Work is] timeless; readers can return to it repeatedly throughout life and still glean useful ideas and tips... Anyone starting out (or starting over)...will find upbeat encouragement here." Library Journal Some people are natural self-promoters. For others, it s painfully difficult to put their work out there. In this creatively designed pocket-sized book, Kleon offers the latter group effective strategies that allow them to share their work without leaving their comfort zone . Kleon s advice is sassy and spot-on. Publishers Weekly [The] subtitle could just as easily be, How to Self-promote Without Being a Jerkface. It s an incredibly useful and compulsively readable short book. Fast Company Kleon addresses with equal parts humility, honesty, and humor one of the quintessential questions of the creative life: How do you get discovered ? In some ways, the book is the mirror-image of Kleon s debut rather than encouraging you to steal from others it offers a blueprint to making your work influential enough to be theft-worthy. Brain Pickings A must-read for anyone involved in the creative process. LibraryReads Kleon s powerful advice makes this small-format book not-at-all little. Booklist In this motivating book, packed with smart approaches, ideas and quotes, Kleon teaches you how best to navigate through creative work in the present day... A certain and deserved bestseller. The Bookseller It s not often that I find myself reviewing a book that I can say has already changed my life... At a crucial turn in this fabulous little wallop of a book comes the simple directive, Share something small every day. That something oughtn t be your Instagrammed latte or a selfie, but something useful or interesting about your work. Put enough somethings out there, and a lone artist or entrepreneur can soon be a productive part of a creative community. BookPage "

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Book SynopsisThe third title in Christopher Hart’s bestselling Master Guide to Drawing Anime series, Tips & Tricks has over 100 essential drawing techniques for artists who want to fine-tune their anime and manga drawing skills. This is the guide that all anime and manga artists—of any level—need! Chris Hart delves deep into the specifics of drawing anime characters and scenes and explores every aspect of anime forms. He reveals his secrets for composing a complete picture, and discusses rarely covered topics. Entirely new tutorials include instruction on drawing hands and feet in different gestures or positions, arranging characters within the action, and creating nuanced expressions. Fans of the Master Guide to Drawing Anime books will find this anime drawing book to be invaluable in strengthening their drawing skills, while newcomers ready to learn to draw will see this as a perfect introduction to the series.Suitable for all levels, from beginners who are just starting to learn how to draw anime, to advanced users who want to hone their skills, this is the ideal resource for all fans of anime and manga drawing, and can be used on its own or with the other titles in the Master Guide to Drawing Anime series. Drawing books are a perennial present to inspire young artists and a popular gift for teens. There is no greater tool than an art book to spark creativity, develop new artistic skills, and help kids and teens channel their energy towards positive self-expression. Paperback; 144 pages; 9 in W by 10 in H.

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Book SynopsisThe Little Frog is back! Whether you're looking for hope, motivation or encouragement, let the internet's most adorable amphibian inspire you to embrace life - with all its ups and downs - and fill your world with the things that bring you joy.

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Book SynopsisA bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom - are these rooms all that make a home? Not at all, argues Emanuele Coccia. The buildings we inhabit are of immense psychological and cultural significance. They play a decisive role in human flourishing and, for hundreds of years, their walls and walkways, windows and doorways have guided our relationships with others and with ourselves. They reflect and reinforce social inequalities; they allow us to celebrate and cherish those we love. They are the places of return that allow us to venture out into the world.In this intimate, elegantly argued account, Coccia shows how the architecture of home has shaped, and continues to shape, our psyches and our societies, before then masterfully leading us towards a more creative, ecological way of dwelling in the world.

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