Landscapes / seascapes in the arts Books

Book SynopsisDark Waters, Kristine Potter’s second monograph, continues her engagement with the American landscape as a palimpsest for cultural ideologies. In this dark and brooding series, Potter reflects on the Southern Gothic landscape as evoked in the popular imagination of “murder ballads” from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Her seductive, richly detailed black-and-white images channel the setting and characters of these songs, capturing the landscape of the American South, and creating a series of evocative portraits that stand in for the oft-unnamed women at the center of their stories. In the American murder ballad, which has taken on cult appeal and continue to be rerecorded even to this day, the riverscape is frequently the stage of crimes as described in their lyrics. Places like Murder Creek, Bloody Fork, and Deadman’s Pond are haunted by both the victim and perpetrator of violence in the world Potter conjures, reflecting the casual and popular glamorization of violence against women that remains prevalent in today’s cultural landscape. As Potter notes, “I see a through line of violent exhibitionism from those early murder ballads, to the Wild West shows, to the contemporary landscape of cinema and television. Culturally, we seem to require it.” Dark Waters both evokes and exorcises the sense of threat and foreboding that women often grapple with as they move through the world. Author Rebecca Bengal contributes an evocative short story that underscores the sense of anxiety and foreboding that Potter infuses into each of her images; a deliciously compelling, if chilling, combination. Copublished by Aperture with Images Vevey and The Momentary

Read more less

Book SynopsisDid you know that Kakadu National Park in Australia boasts some of the oldest exposed rock on the planet and is known to have been inhabited continuously for over 40,000 years? That Lake Malawi contains the largest number of fish species of any lake in the world-over 3,000? Or that the tiny Madeiran archipelago off the coast of Northern Africa is the last vestige of the original majestic laurel forests that once covered most of Southern Europe? Published in partnership with UNESCO World Heritage, Our Natural World Heritage showcases 50 of the planet's most beautiful and biodiverse landscapes, each identified as a site of outstanding universal value and an irreplaceable source of life and inspiration. Over 900 colour images and evocative, accessible text reveal what makes each site unique, through an exploration of its flora, fauna, and natural history. This is awe-inspiring natural beauty that belongs to us all.

Read more less

Book SynopsisYour artistic ability to bring wondrous backdrops to life is just a brushstroke away with Sarah Mckendry’s Oil Painting Landscapes. Now you can create breath-taking scenery—even if you’ve never held a brush—with Sarah’s easy-to-follow instructions and guided photography that take you carefully through each step. Sarah makes the process easier than ever by providing helpful tips for blending colour and adjusting artistic blunders, as well as information on oil painting techniques and material recommendations. To lower the cost of art supplies, each project uses only a handful of colours and keeps the number of necessary tools to a minimum— reducing stress for the aspiring artist. Inside you will find 12 stunning projects, all in Sarah’s unique, atmospheric style, including enchanting forests, tranquil sunsets, peaceful meadows and magnificent ocean waves. So pick up your brush and open your mind to a new creative journey: painting the world around you with soft, beautiful colour.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'An ever-dependable showcase for the best images of Britain.' - The Telegraph'No serious fan of landscape photography books should do without this.' - Digital Camera World 'A plethora of stunning black & white images that capture the UK's diverse topography in all its monochromatic glory.' - Black & White Photography'Together [the images] attest to photography as a wonderfully effective medium to place the viewer at the same spots as the photographers stood and feel something of the wonder they felt.' - ArtmagCharlie Waite is one of today's most respected landscape photographers and the Landscape Photographer of the Year competition is his brainchild. Beautifully presented, this book is a stunning collection of images of the natural world from incredible image-makers, both amateur and professional. Each image is captioned with the photographer's account of the inspiration behind the picture, coupled with the technical information on equipment and technique that shaped the photograph.A hugely prestigious competition, coupled with a high-profile author and an exhibition in central London, Landscape Photographer of the Year has enjoyed huge success in its thirteen years of publication.

Read more less

Book SynopsisExplore the deserts, mountains and souks of the Middle East, with best-selling author and artist David Bellamy. Following on from David’s highly acclaimed Arctic Light, this book provides an intriguing and often entertaining insight into South Arabia and the Swahili Coast, Jordan, Lebanon and Oman. It describes the history, culture, customs and geography of the region and the daily life of its inhabitants, as viewed through the eyes of a world-renowned watercolour artist and life-long adventurer. Filled with personal anecdotes and humour, David Bellamy’s unique account shines a light on the Middle East and highlights the incredible beauty and fascinating culture of this much-neglected region. David’s stunning artwork, that he painted during his various expeditions, features throughout the book and captures perfectly the diverse and majestic nature of the region. Watercolourists will be inspired by the author’s awe-inspiring ability to depict sweeping vistas and create a sense of space in his paintings, and to capture the very essence of a place through his art.Trade ReviewIf you thought the Middle East was just sand and showy ziggurats, think again. David Bellamy has always been a travel writer at heart and this book explores the spirit of a region the West often dismisses. His skill lies in finding the hidden corners that define the character of a place rather than its public faces and spaces. He also explores the life of the region through its people as they go about their daily lives; again, these are things done for practical purposes rather than public show. Thus, we get a quiet corner of Cairo at night (David doesn’t completely eschew the larger settlements), the eerie light of midday heat among the rocks of a wadi (a dry valley), where scale is provided by middle-ground figures. At the same time, David also visits Petra and Abu Simbel, somehow managing either to avoid the crowds, or at least edit them out. These results typify his ability to capture atmosphere – in words as well as pictures – with an assuredness that betokens both familiarity and understanding. David is no wide-eyed first-time tourist, and the book tells the stories of several journeys, giving each section an effective narrative arc, for he is also a master storyteller whose words and pictures are part of a whole, rather than one being an adjunct to another. Travel books are often separated between a writer and a photographer whose visions are – even if subtly – different. As a result, you look at the pictures as one piece of the jigsaw and the words as another, the illustrations being a counterpoint to what you are told. When the author is an artist, the images are not necessarily a blindly faithful record, but rather an assemblage that captures both the essence of the scene and the impression it made on the painter. That eerie light would be almost impossible to capture with a camera, but responds perfectly to the subtle hues and granulation of watercolour. The overall impression of this beautiful book is of the narrative arc I referred to before. It’s the story not just of a journey, but of a place and its people and David has done it supreme justice. -- Henry Malt * Artbookreview.net *Following Bellamy's highly acclaimed Arctic Light, this book goes to the other extreme in terms of heat, with a fascinating look at South Arabia, the Swahili Coast, Jordan, Lebanon and Oman. With his usual humour and personal insight, David creates a unique account in words and beautifully captured watercolour and sketches, of this ancient region, its history, culture, customs and geography. There's plenty to inspire the watercolourist here with a dedicated chapter and practical advice on capturing the essence of place and working in the heat with a fast-drying medium. * Leisure Painter *If you thought the Middle East was just about sand and glass skyscrapers, think again. David Bellamy is one of the best travel guides around and he introduces a world that’s filled with variety, colour and spectacle. As well as being an accomplished painter, David is a very capable writer and his career as a popular teacher has always been punctuated by books that absolutely capture the character and essence of a place. Here, he describes and illustrates the landscapes, culture, history and people of a region that will probably be unfamiliar to many. David works in a variety of weather and lighting conditions. He also finds the hidden corners as well as the wide vistas and includes traditional buildings and boats, as well as mountains, monuments and busy markets. Above all, he meets and talks to the people, learning about legend and tradition and bringing to life a world that teems with animation. The book is written as a journey and we learn about all corners of this fascinating area, as well as some of the practical aspects of painting in hot places – how to deal with washes that dry too quickly, blinding glare, suitable palettes and quite simply the etiquette of working with people to whom you are a complete stranger. Merely describing facts can be as dry as an empty oasis, but David is a canny narrator and he’ll take you with him on a journey of discovery that’s full of colour and light as well as stories and anecdotes, many of them more than a little amusing. When I knew this was coming up, I wasn’t at all sure what I was going to say about it: my interest in the Middle East was limited at best. But David has converted me. I’m more of an armchair traveller and I have every intention of reading this from cover to cover. * Paint Magazine (SAA) *David Bellamy is a master of travelogue. Take a journey with him here into a world that will be unfamiliar to many, but which presents riches for both the artist and the enquiring mind. In this enthralling book, he explores a wide area of the Middle East, examining landscapes, buildings and settlements. He meets its people and explains much of its history, illustrating both wide vistas and intimate corners. Although not a traditional tuitional book, the secret to its success is the symbiosis of words and pictures, for David is a compelling writer as well as a master of watercolour and drawing. While many travel books have a tension between the writer and the illustrator, here you are in the same sympathetic hands throughout. David's work is often dramatic, and there is indeed drama here, but also quiet views and corners. Above all, there is light, for the region is about so much more than sand and deserts and presents broad skies, varying weather and deep shadows in both towns and mountains. This is an eye-opening book, filled with beauty, information and anecdote that satisfies the enquiring and creative mind in every way. * SAA Catalogue *David Bellamy is fast establishing himself as a travel writer of the very finest quality. His publishing career began that way, of course, with The Wild Place of Britain, but this and his Arctic book are of a different order altogether. If you think the Middle East is all about glass skyscrapers and sand, think again. There are mountains, gorges and landscapes of breathtaking beauty as well as villages, markets, and above all, the people David meets on his travels. There's light and colour too, but this is a narrative that's told through words as well as pictures, with eloquent descriptions, narrative and anecdote complementing the images of stunning quality that the production here does full justice to. It's easy to dimiss the Middle East as perhaps of only passing interest, but tour de force makes it clear that it's a region whose beauty and variety should not be ignored. -- Henry Malt * The Arist *Table of ContentsIntroduction South Arabia & the Swahili Coast Egypt Jordan Oman Gilf Kebir Expedition Lebanon Painting in hot places Afterword Glossary Select bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisFill your home with original, professional art - and learn to paint at the same time. This innovative new series is a poster book, an art pad and a step-by-step painting book all rolled into one! Each of the five A3 posters are ready to pull out, frame and display. In addition, you can enjoy the calming pursuit of painting each of the pictures yourself using the pre-printed outlines - so no drawing required. The large, landscape format of the book allows each stage of painting to be clearly and comprehensively explained with an innovative annotation approach. Simply pull out the simple, stage-by-stage tutorial pages and pin them to your easel, then paint directly onto the watercolour outline for fantastic results. In this title, Country Scenes, learn to paint a range of inspiring landscapes: journey to a tranquil New Forest stream, a rolling Tuscan hillside and a snowy mountain river, and enjoy 5 masterclasses in landscape painting. Trade ReviewIf you have always wanted to try your hand at painting but don’t know where to start, Search Press has come up with an innovative solution with this new series. Inside this large format (A3) book are five sheets of watercolor paper with outlines printed on them plus fully illustrated tutorials and a brief overview. Work through the projects and you will have a set of five elegant landscapes for your walls. I love this idea; surely the best one yet that Search Press has come up with for total beginners. It keeps the budget down as you don’t have to buy the paper, just the relevant paints and brushes listed, plus primer to prime the paper and some masking fluid. There are even suggestions as to further economy such as using an old plate instead of buying a palette and using an old brush rather than buying a masking tape version. At this time of year you could imagine that this book plus a few of the necessary items would make a wonderful present for a would-be artist. Subjects include a river in winter, tranquil clearing with a church and bluebells, a summer stream, farm in Tuscany and my favorite scene of a meadow in spring with blossoms, trees and a stream. Each picture is shown full sized to give you an idea of what it can look like completed, although it suggests that you can use the outlines for your own interpretation too. Instructions are in color and show up to four stages of the relevant painting with arrows to short sections of text telling you what to do next. This is a good approach to a practical task and eliminates ploughing through pages of text and encourages you to get on with the actual painting. You don’t even have to stick to watercolors, as these pictures can also be completed using pastels, colored pencils or acrylics. At the front there are tips on priming, using masking fluid and how to use the book. It is also ideal as a refresher course or for anybody who can already paint but wants to try a new medium, or a new subject. In short, I can recommend this new series to anybody who wants to have a go at painting without too much startup expense but plenty of foolproof instructions. More titles please! If landscapes aren’t your thing or you still have some blank walls to fill, the other title in the series is Flowers. This follows exactly the same pattern with five floral studies of tulips, irises, sunflowers, roses and poppies. ISBN:9781782217558. -- Rachel Hyde * myShelf.com *Search Press's new series, Paint Pad Poster Books offer a poster book, art pad and step-by-step painting book all in one. Country Scenes shows you how to paint landscapes, and each of the five pull-out A3 posters can be framed and displayed. The stage by stage tutorial pages can also be pulled out so that you can access the information easily, painting directly onto the watercolour outline for quick and satisfying results. The landscapes include the River Esk, a blossom meadow, the short cut tutorial, farm in Tuscany and New Forest Stream. * Leisure Painter, March 2020 *Table of Contents- Introduction to the book and some general instructions - 5 pull-out posters - River Esk tutorial - Blossom Meadow tutorial - The Short Cut tutorial - Farm in Tuscany tutorial - New Forest Stream tutorial - 5 ready-to-paint outlines on watercolour paper

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Watercolour Landscapes for the Absolute Beginner, artist and teacher Matthew Palmer guides beginners through their first steps in watercolour and shows what incredible landscapes can be achieved in this exciting medium. Step-by-step exercises, mini projects and six longer projects help you to build essential skills and allow you to produce a range of landscapes you will be proud of. Vital drawing skills are explained and demonstrated, along with key techniques such as how to use resists; colour mixing; painting natural-looking foliage; using the dry-brush technique to create intricate detail, and using scratch-out techniques to add sparkle and movement to water. The exercises are ideal for beginners and the main projects will also build skills for improving artists. Matthew has an accessible style, with plenty of tips and tricks for beginners to make things easier. A huge wealth of finished paintings provide ideas and inspiration for your own future watercolour landscapes. Full-size pull-out outlines are provided for the final projects. Includes material previously published in Matthew Palmer's Step-by-Step Guide to Watercolour Painting (2018), but with the addition of three brilliant new projects, many new illustrations and extensive textual revisions.Trade Review“There are no mistakes, only lessons,” says Matthew Palmer. With that attitude, he aims to take the complete novice and turn them into a painter. Could that be you? There are only six long step-by-step projects in here, because instead Matthew’s focus is on laying the foundations needed to succeed in painting watercolour landscapes. He takes the opening section of every watercolour guide and expands it. Leaving no stone unturned, from brush hairs to sketching chimneys, Matthew sets out to prepare you for everything. -- Andrew Turner * Papercrafter *Many artists tout their books as suitable for beginners; thirty-plus-year veteran watercolourist Palmer more than fulfils that promise. Every tool and material are scrutinized, with advice about buying the best, if possible. (One caveat: he tends to promote his own line of products heavily throughout.) Composition, through sketching, is first explained in terms of outlines and shapes, then expanded. Colour, of course, covers all the usual subjects (e.g., the colour wheel), then delves into the hues appropriate for water, sky, foliage, and the like. After all the preliminaries (including top techniques like salt and splattering), the six projects appear with every step documented, aligned with his "absolute beginner" guide. Foldout pages with outlines to copy start the painting process. Select from familiar pictures such as the northern lights, a waterfall in summer, a field of wildflowers. Tips proliferate, ranging from how to avoid ripping paper to an illustrated troubleshooting section. Could anyone flunk this beginner's school? Unlikely, if all directions are absorbed and followed. -- Barbara Jacobs * Booklist *This book has everything for the 'Absolute Beginner' and for those who have been painting for a while. It covers every aspect of watercolour painting from the beginning – materials, sketching the outline, perspective, colour, techniques, painting skies, water and trees – as well as troubleshooting. It takes the reader through each step, even giving outlines for the six projects it includes, so that if you do not know where to start it is all there for you. The quality of the tuition is second to none as is the quality of the illustrations. Another quality book not only from Matthew Palmer, but also from the publishers, Search Press. -- Barbara Marjoram * Customer Review *I absolutely love this watercolour book as I like to learn new skills or improve them when I get time to do so away from art college. The guides are simple and easily readable and as I am autistic so its important that all steps are clearly presented in order to further my understanding like everyone else. -- Chloe Elizabeth * Customer Review *Using material previously published in his Step-by-Step Guide to Watercolour Painting, 2018, Matthew Palmer's Watercolour Landscapes for the Absolute Beginner includes step-by-step exercises, mini projects and six longer projects to help you paint convincing landscapes in watercolour. Aimed specifically at the complete beginner, the instruction is clear and encouraging, with concise information on key techniques and plenty of tips and tricks to help along the way. Pull-out outlines of the main projects are included to get you started in colour straight away without the need for preparatory drawings. * Leisure Painter *In this thorough and enjoyable course, Matthew explains how to work from photographs, creating the basic sketch, the use of colour and washes and how to build a landscape in simple stages. Even if these are familiar to you, his simple explanations can provide new insights and he is particularly sound on the basics of perspective. * SAA Catalogue *Table of ContentsIntroduction 6, Materials 8, Inspiration 16, Sketching 22, Working outside 26, Useful drawings 28, Easy perspective 32, Colour 36, Building a scene 46, Top techniques 54, Painting skies 64, Painting water 68, Painting trees 73, Troubleshooting 82, The projects 86, Northern Lights – step by step 90, Venice in Monochrome – step by step 100, Hawaiian Sunset – step by step 114, Night-time Snow Scene – step by step 132, Waterfall in Summer – step by step 146, Wildflower Meadow – step by step 162, Index 176

Read more less

Book SynopsisStylish retro travel posters bring to mind summer holidays, happiness and fun. Perennially popular as wall art, their strong designs and clean, flat colours are perfect for hobby artists to emulate. A complete guide to producing your own travel-poster art, this book includes guidance on composing a strong design, selecting colours to make sure your artwork pops, and adding lettering for a picture-perfect finished poster. Learn to create key poster elements such as clouds, skies, water and architecture, and discover how to add your own stylized lettering. There are six striking international projects to complete, or you can use your newfound skills to celebrate your own home town or treasured place. This book is packed with examples of Susie West’s inspiring artwork and a short history of travel posters. Since 2015, Susie West has been working her way around the UK recreating the upbeat, retro charm of travel posters in the modern world. This book shares her techniques and secrets for producing fun, charming artwork. Suitable for beginners, this is a great way into art for those who want to develop their skills, or for experienced artists wanting to try something new.Trade ReviewIf you like the idea of working with bold colours and geometric shapes to capture the essence of a place in an interpretation, rather than a slavish imitation of the classic travel poster, this delightful book will give you all you need. It is almost certainly unique – I've never seen one before and I doubt I will again, so it needs to be a good and its pleasing to be able to report that it is both. Susie provides plenty of advice, both basic and advanced - how to take photographs as well as use them, for instance, and how to hold brushes as well as distil detail and colour to create striking images. Just leafing through the pages gives a sense of a job not only well, but completely done. This might be a niche book, but the results are intriguing and it's hard not to be encouraged to experiment. -- Henry Malt * The Artist *This book is probably most useful for beginners in acrylic painting and contains much useful information and tips on what essential equipment to buy and good alternatives to expensive kit too. More experienced painters could usefully use the book to try out, what for most, would be a different style of painting. There are six step-by-step exercises to enable you to put into practice the suggestions given earlier in the book. I intend using some of the techniques (which are transferable) to working on a textile art quilt at some point in the future. The book is colourfully set out. -- Heather Brialey * Amazon Customer Review *Posters have long been a way for artists to communicate with others, but the travel posters as we know them emerged in the early 20th century born out of the desire to travel and improvements in printing processes. Artist Sue West, has been working her way around the UK since 2015 recreating the retro charm of travel posters in the modern world. So far she has painted over 150 different places, from village greens to city architecture. In her new book, Passport to Painting, she shows us how to create our own travel posters, looking at elements such as equipment and materials, how to paint skies and water, foliage, architecture, lettering and the impact colour can have on your work. Susie has also designed six of her own travel posters that she presents as step-by-step projects so that we can have a go ourselves. As she writes in her introduction: 'Once, like me, you start seeing the whole world as a travel poster, there'll be no stopping you!' * Leisure Painter *If you are new to painting or have not painted for a while, the exercises are easy to follow. If you enjoy doing poster art and love trying a new medium, great to do with your acrylic paint pens or posca pens. -- Helen Shepherd * Amazon Customer Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction 6, Before you set out 12, Planning the trip: Designing your own travel poster 18, Getting started 36, Adding lettering 66 Projects 72 Amsterdam Canals 74 Sydney Opera House 80 London Tower Bridge 88 Mount Rainier National Park, USA 96 Lisbon Trams 104 Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco 112 Onward travel 120, Afterword 124, Lettering templates 125, Index 128

Read more less

Book SynopsisField Notes is the record of a territory in full colour: a book of words and artworks that capture a year spent on foot in the Lincolnshire landscape.It is about topography and time. Chalk and flint and marsh. The coming and going of the sea, Neolithic farmers and the razzle-dazzle of weary coastal towns. It is as much about the ghost of a mammoth as it is the scream of a jet fighter, heading east. Each image is a still from a film – a film that is under constant production inside Maxim Peter Griffin’s skull.Griffin’s art is about taking somewhere and looking at it over and over so that with each looking it becomes strange and new. As well as being a testament to the isolated beauty of Lincolnshire itself, Field Notes is an extraordinary account of what it is like to be present in, to fully inhabit, a place.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book builds on the success of Terry Harrison's Sea & Sky in Watercolour, adding six new projects and plenty of new paintings. Terry's clear, no-nonsense advice takes the mystery out of painting clouds, clear skies, sunsets, foam bursts, breaking waves, rippled water, reflections, boats, cliffs, rocks, beaches and much more. There are plenty of tips and techniques to show how to use Terry's specially made brushes to paint watercolour seascapes the easy way. There are then nine beautiful step-by-step projects that show the techniques in action.Trade ReviewApril 2015 By dealing with two perennially popular and persistently problematical subjects in one book, Terry Harrison demonstrates ways of handling both ground and aerial perspective. This is a relatively elementary book, but Terry has a way of explaining things that can have even the most experienced artist saying, 'Of course! His waves have motion and substance, his reflections hint at hidden depths and his clouds can contain real menace. There's a good variety of material here as well as landscapes, building and boats, of which Terry is a master. All round, this is excellent value. * Artist, The *March 2015 You'd expect nothing less than a comprehensive guide from Terry Harrison, and that's exactly what you get here. His 'easy way' is to work with a relatively limited palette and with a series of brushes he's developed that produce results quickly and predictably. Terry paints atmospheric scenes and all weather and conditions. You'll get storms and calm, waves crashing onto rocks or lapping a sandy shore. You'll get heavy clouds and peaceful sunsets. You'll also find boats, piers and buildings as well as all the other landscape elements associated with maritime subjects. Above all, what you'll get is Terry's patient and easily-followed guidance. He's one of those people who knows the question you're going to ask before you've thought of it yourself and he's there with just the right advice and just the right illustration. The Easy Way - I reckon that's it. Someone should bottle it. * SAA *Building on the success of his Sea and Sky in watercolour, this new book by Terry Harrison includes six fresh projects and many new paintings. Using his specially made brushes, Terry shows us how to capture sea and sky in clear step by step stages and with a disarmingly easy style. In all there are step-by-step projects and plenty of hints and tips. * Leisure Painter, The *February 2015 Terry Harrison isn’t the only person to have used “the easy way” in a book title, but he pretty much owns the phrase at the moment. Very sensibly, he makes no attempt to define it. You know that a Terry demonstration is going to be clear, succinct and easy to follow, and that’s probably enough. This new book is a comprehensive guide to just about every maritime subject there is, as long as it’s on the coast – we’re not in open water here. You get calm seas, rough seas, breaking and crashing waves as well as help on what to do with the horizon. At this point, moving upwards, we get to the sky – clear, cloudy, stormy and with the sun setting. As well as shorelines, cliffs and buildings, the odd boat finds its way in uncredited too, and Terry is particularly sound on the way boats sit in and not on the water. After these two-page exercises, the book concludes with a series of projects, fully demonstrated, that bring everything together. There’s no easy way to paint, you know that, but there is an enjoyable and fulfilling way to learn that makes it seem easy. How do you find that? Follow Terry Harrison. You won’t go wrong. * Artbookreview.net *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION 6 Materials 8 My palette 10 Using photographs 12 Techniques 14 PAINTING SEAS 24 Calm water 26 Choppy water 28 Breaking waves 29 Crashing waves 30 A shoreline 31 Bands of colour 32 The horizon 33 PAINTING SKIES 34 A clear sky 36 A cloudy sky 37 A stormy sky 38 Another cloudy sky 40 A sunset 41 Painting reflections 42 Other elements 50 PROJECTS 58 Crashing Waves 52 Coastal Footpath 56 Sunset on the Sea 62 Breaking Wave Estuary Boats The End of the Pier On the Rocks Sunlit Shore Lighthouse in the Evening

Read more less

Book SynopsisKurt Jackson’s Botanical Landscape is a new collection of poems, paintings, drawings, sculptures and printmaking by the artist and staunch environmentalist: responses to his engagement with and rich experience within the natural world of flora. From day-to-day plants – weeds, the flowers in the hedge, familiar trees and the vegetable garden – to the more unusual, twisted forms and strange fruit of the undergrowth, Jackson’s works celebrate the staggering diversity of the plant kingdom. For the art enthusiast, the naturalist, the gardener and the armchair horticulturist, Kurt Jackson’s Botanical Landscape maps a particularly expressive communion with nature and offers a unique and beguiling interpretation of the natural world.Trade Review"Kurt Jackson's botanical art is urgently wondrous." - Rob MacfarlaneTable of ContentsForeword by Tim Smit; Introduction by Robert Macfarlane; Author Preface; FOXGLOVE; WEEDS; GORSE; FIGS; FUNGI; OAK; APPLE; VEGETABLES; THORN; BRAMBLE; Kurt Jackson Biography; Selected solo exhibitions; Selected group exhibitions; Awards and residencies; Broadcasts; Public collections; Select bibliography; Acknowledgements and Credits; Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisLook Again is a new series of short books from Tate Publishing, opening up the conversation about British art over the last 500 years, and exploring what art has to tell us about our lives today. Written by leading voices from the worlds of literature, art and culture, each book sheds new light on some of the most well-known, best-loved and thought-provoking artworks in the national collection, and asks us to look again. Author Philip Hoare takes us on an exploration of the sea and the way it has provided a deep source of inspiration for artists featured in the Tate collection, from William Blake to Maggi Hambling. Artists have always seen the sea as a mirror of their anxieties and desires; an endless resource for their creativity and their dreams. Under our human sway, the sea has shifted in meaning, from creation myth to economic wealth, from mystic wonder to modern exploitation. Look Again: The Sea dives into the breadth of historical and contemporary works in Britain's national collection of art, as well as the beloved literature they have inspired. By reframing them within a social and political perspective rather than a chronological or art-historical one, prize-winning author Philip Hoare shows how art has continually borne witness to the power and allure of the sea.

Read more less

Book SynopsisInhabiting a landscape, walking a landscape, writing a place and time For Linda Cracknell, exposure to wind, rock, mist, and salt water is integral to her writing process. She follows Susan Sontag’s advice to “Love words, agonise over sentences, and pay attention to the world,” observing and writing her landscapes from the particulars of each moment. In this varied essay collection, Linda backpacks on a small island that is connected to the mainland only at low tide. In winter snow, she hikes the wooded hillside close to her home, a place she is intimately familiar with in all seasons. And she retraces over three days the steps of a trek made by her parents seven decades earlier. She explores her inspirations, in nature and from other artists and their work, and she offers thoughtful writing prompts. Reading this collection will take you to new places, open your eyes to the world, and suggest ways to take note and make notes as you go—to inspire your own attentive looking, journaling, and writing practice. Trade Review “A revealing and meditative reflection on writing and the facilitation of writing … Cracknell’s deep engagement with and love of nature runs through the essays … What elevates these essays … is their sheer depth and range … A fantastic insight into the creative process and the necessity of the wilderness to the construction, presentation and consumption of art. Whether to help your own creativity or simply to learn the art of Serious Noticing, this book is an inspiring read for every writer or nature-lover.” -- The Bottle Imp

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisChemical Alterations presents a photographic series by Doug Fogelson (b. 1970) that reflects the range of impacts caused by climate change around the planet. Using a process that combines traditional landscape photography with a chemical bath of toxic cleaning products to alter the original analogue film, Fogelson illustrates what are often invisible changes to the environment. Such changes culminate as disastrous events like fire, flood, drought, increasingly powerful storms, and overall global warming. Images of natural spaces that include mountains, deserts, volcanoes, jungles, oceans, rivers, and forests become represented in a state of flux. Through the processing of the film, traces such as bubbles, crystals, fingerprints, and dust are integrated into the images, probing the borderline of abstraction. The Chemical Alterations series has been in-progress over a decade and exhibited through various iterations internationally at both galleries and museums including: The Royal Geographic Society, United Kingdom, Museum Belvedere, Netherlands, The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, Alpenium Produzentengalerie, Luzern, SFO Museum, San Francisco, The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Sasha Wolf Projects, NYC, Klompching Gallery, NYC, The Arts Club of Chicago and others. It has been covered by The Brooklyn Rain, Humble Arts Foundation, Ain’t Bad, The OD Review, Great Lakes Writers Corps, and others.

Read more less

Book SynopsisInverted Baroque, Mirrored Landscapes Oberschwaben (Upper Swabia), between the Black Forest, Lake Constance and the Allgäu, offers a richness of Baroque architecture and picturesque rolling landscapes. Axel Hütte’s images are not intended as portrayals of a cultural landscape and its history. They are photographic images, but not necessarily photographically realistic images. They are, collectively, titled Reflexio. Hütte works with the inversion of the colour spectrum, the reflection of the pictorial space. The photographer’s interventions in the realistic image are a radical transformation of what the eye initially registered, they contradict experience; negate customary perception. Instead, they are an autonomous aesthetic construct and reveal a different side of reality. The two themes in these works—“Baroque” and “landscape”—thus become equivalent tools for thoroughly investigating pictorial realities.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLandscapes of Extraction explores the art of mining, the transformative industry of the American West, competing in sublimity and striking color with the natural scenic landscape on its own terms. These landscapes of enterprise altered the natural environment on a spectacular scale, with open pit mines, coal tipples, and oil rigs. How artists portrayed the mining industry in the American West is explored in the book with four scholarly essays. Artworks were inspired by the multiple landscapes created by large-scale mining, specifically the mines themselves, the towns that grew up around them, and the miners and their families who lived and worked there. The industry shaped communities and landscapes throughout the West: Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. Landscapes of Extraction explores a powerful regional narrative that is a fundamental element of national identity played out on a vast geographical scale.Trade Review"Landscapes of Extraction reveals the rich historical heritage of a significant body of regional art that was inspired by an important industry considered over a vast region. Extractive industries meant jobs and profits, yet they left legacies of altered landscapes, environmental degradation, and public health challenges, vexing problems that have been of particular concern for contemporary artists." * American Art Review *"Landscapes of Extraction: The Art of Mining in the American West is one part catalogue to a fascinating exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum, and one part meditation on the featured artists and their work to capture these gritty mining landscapes." * TICCIH Bulletin *"Created to accompany a Phoenix Art Museum exhibition by the same name, The Landscapes of Extraction focuses on more than 50 diverse, perceptively selected works, created in various media, that examine the manners and methods of extracting the mineral wealth of the American West. This is a handsomely and carefully illustrated volume. Complementing the visual chronicle of the mining industry are four succinct and engaging essays. . . . The catalogue itself reveals the diverse, distinctive visual manners in which this significant industry has been represented. The selected bibliography points readers to the most noteworthy publications on this subject. . . . Recommended." * Choice *“This well crafted, thoughtful exploration of artists’ grappling with a key industry holds appeal for both academic and popular audiences . . . .” * ARLIS/NA Reviews *

Read more less

Book SynopsisDuring the 1860s, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley joined forces to revolutionize art with light- flooded landscapes that dispensed with the conventional imagery of the time. In 1874, with their penchant for working out of doors in order to capture fleeting sensory impressions directly on the canvas, they came to be known as the “Impressionists.” Berthe Morisot, Paul Cézanne, and Gustave Caillebotte became affiliated with the new tendency as well. More than a decade later, artists such as Paul Signac and Henri-Edmond Cross developed their pioneering ideas further, and in 1901, during his first year in Paris, the young Pablo Picasso too drew inspiration from the Impressionist style. No comparable collection provides such a comprehensive overview of Impressionist landscape painting and its development as the one assembled in recent decades by Hasso Plattner, founder of the Museum Barberini. On its basis, Ortrud Westheider, the director of the Museum Barberini, presents the history of French Impressionism. With its focus on the transitory moment, the artistry of the Impressionists continues to exert a powerful fascination. Guided by the interplay between light and atmosphere, they created exquisite and timeless images whose innovative spirit and vitality continue to delight viewers today.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Kisokaidō route through Japan was ordained in the early 1600s by the country’s then-ruler Tokugawa Ieyasu, who decreed that staging posts be installed along the length of the arduous passage between Edo (present-day Tokyo) and Kyoto. Inns, shops, and restaurants were established to provide sustenance and lodging to weary travelers. In 1835, renowned woodblock print artist Keisai Eisen was commissioned to create a series of works to chart the Kisokaidō journey. After producing 24 prints, Eisen was replaced by Utagawa Hiroshige, who completed the series of 70 prints in 1838. Both Eisen and Hiroshige were master print practitioners. In The Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaidō, we find the artists’ distinct styles as much as their shared expertise. From the busy starting post of Nihonbashi to the castle town of Iwamurata, Eisen opts for a more muted palette but excels in figuration, particularly of glamorous women, and relishes snapshots of activity along the route, from shoeing a horse to winnowing rice. Hiroshige demonstrates his mastery of landscape with grandiose and evocative scenes, whether it’s the peaceful banks of the Ota River, the forbidding Wada Pass, or a moonlit ascent between Yawata and Mochizuki. Taken as a whole, The Sixty-Nine Stations collection represents not only a masterpiece of woodblock practice, including bold compositions and an experimental use of color, but also a charming tapestry of 19th-century Japan, long before the specter of industrialization. This TASCHEN XXL edition revives the series with due scale and splendor. Sourced from the only-known set of a near-complete run of the first edition of the series, this legendary publication is reproduced in the finest quality, bound in the Japanese tradition and with uncut paper. A perfect companion piece to TASCHEN’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, it is at once a visual delight and a major artifact from the bygone era of Imperial Japan.Trade Review“A masterpiece of Japanese woodblock prints, an exquisitely designed illustrated book.” * Kulturzeit *“An incredible ticket to travel.” * L’Express *“Spectacular views, local delicacies, hot spring baths, and other more carnal pursuits.” * The New York Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe beauty of nature and man’s loneliness are dominant themes in the work of Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). The artist often places a small human figure in a broad landscape, as in his famous paintings Monk by the Sea and The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. For a long time the importance and influence of this great Romantic painter were underestimated. When he died, Friedrich had already been forgotten by his contemporaries and was only rediscovered in the early 20th century. Today he is considered to be the most important German painter of his generation and a precursor of Expressionism. Once Friedrich gave the following advice to an artist-colleague of his who was constricted by academic rules: “Shut your physical eye so that you first see your painting with your spiritual eye. Then bring to light what you saw in the dark so that it has an effect on others, shining inwards from outside.” In other words, concentration and not imitation, essence and not frivolous brushwork.

Read more less

Book SynopsisSwiss photographer Tom Haller has gained wide recognition for his work in portraiture and reportage. Less well known, but equally arresting, are the landscapes Haller has produced during his travels throughout the United States over the course of nearly three decades. His photographs of America - of prairies, mountains, roads and the buildings lining them, motels, stadiums, shops, and abandoned cars - display a traveller's detached, inquisitive, perspective, with Haller directing his gaze at subjects while simultaneously depicting both the promise of these landscapes and the limits to the dreams they inspire. Tom Haller - Nuggets compiles a selection of his American landscapes that reflect the state of the country and the feelings and experiences of its people. Taking Haller's images as his starting point, Christian Seiler draws on his own extensive travels throughout the United States to explore the artist's intentions and the mood of the country as a whole. Text in English and German.

Read more less