Nature in the arts Books
Two Rivers Press Islamic Art Meets British Flowers
Book SynopsisIn a beautifully harmonious juxtaposition of two cultures, Islamic Art Meets British Flowers combines the formal structure and discipline of Islamic floral pattern-making with British flowers and architectural forms to create a truly unique series of artworks. Hadil Tamim, was born in Al-Yarmouk Refugee Camp south of Damascus, Syria. Her family's heritage is rooted deeply within occupied Palestine. For the last two decades she has been living in Reading, UK, where she has turned to her art to create a bridge between two homes and two cultures. The result is a couple of dozen breath-taking new works - a new pattern line. They draw on the architectural forms of the buildings in Reading for structure and colour, the wildflowers found in and around the town for the arabesque, and the artist's training in ceramic and Islamic decorative art. Together with excerpts from her sketchbook and practical sections on the techniques she uses, along with Adrian's commentary on the wildflowers, this gift of creativity in a situation riven with conflict, provides inspiration and hope for art lovers across the globe.
£14.39
C & T Publishing HandStitched Oasis
Book SynopsisCapture your happy place with embroidered portraits of landscapes. Learn everything from making a design from memory or photograph to stitching realistic details and basic embroidery stitches. Stitch various textures, from foliage and water to pavement and upholstery, to personalize your compositionEmbroider five starter projects and add personalized outdoor details to reflect your happy place. Learn 35 techniques to create realistic details and get step-by-step instructions for basic stitches.
£15.29
Goose Lane Editions A Like Vision: The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson
Book SynopsisWinner, Canadian Museums Association’s Outstanding Achievement in Research Award and IPPY Awards Silver Medal (Fine Art)A Toronto Star Holiday Gift Guide SelectionA Like Vision is a lavish celebration of the legacy of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven, Canada’s canonical landscape painters. The Group’s depiction of the rugged beauty of the Canadian landscape — from the coastal mountains of British Columbia to the north shore of Lake Superior, the villages of rural Quebec, and the rocky, windswept coves of Newfoundland — charged Canadians to experience their country in a bold new light and changed the face of Canadian art forever. Through their vigorous and expressive painterly style and vibrant colours, the Group of Seven significantly contributed to Canada’s sense of autonomy and identity as a modern state in the aftermath of the First World War.Featuring three hundred full-colour images, A Like Vision includes a lead essay by Ian A.C. Dejardin, Executive Director of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, and contributions by a host of artists, curators, and writers. Among them are Indigenous art historian and curator Gerald McMaster, filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal, novelists David Macfarlane and Jane Urquhart, painters John Hartman and Robert Houle, and Inuk writer Tarralik Duffy.One hundred years on from the Group’s first exhibition in 1920, A Like Vision is both a chance to review the Group’s legacy and a tribute to these giants of Canadian art and culture.Trade Review"This beautifully produced book with full colour reproductions ... looks at the paintings through the eyes of immigrants or Indigenous people. As Milroy writes in her introduction, ‘These are either the least political paintings ever made (just trees, please, we’re Canadian) or the most — in what they leave out.’" * Toronto Star *"Exceptionally informative as a collective enterprise expertly showcasing the life and art of Tom Thomson." * Midwest Book Review *“A gorgeous book featuring the art of the Group of Seven, yes, but also an examination of how their painting fits into a longer history of this land that includes — and excludes — Indigenous peoples. Beautiful and thought-provoking.” -- Deborah Dundas * Toronto Star's “Book Gift Guide” *
£42.50
Running Press,U.S. Beauty in Bloom
Book SynopsisThe Art of Movement meets The John Derian Picture Book in this breathtakingly collection of intimate and exquisitely detailed floral portraits by photographer and Instagram favourite Debi Shapiro.
£38.25
Smith Street Books Art Cat: Fine Felines of the Art World
Book SynopsisFrom the time of the pharaohs to world-famous internet sensations, cats have inspired artists to strive to capture their lithe movements and cryptic personalities for as long as they’ve been our furry companions. This joyous collection celebrates cats in art, spanning eras, styles and continents, from the brushes of masters such as Manet, Gauguin, Klee, Hokusai, Renoir and more.
£11.69
Tuttle Publishing A Beginners Guide to Sketching Buildings
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A technical but highly useful guide to perspective and proportion." —Sara Shreve, Library Journal Life+Style
£15.29
Stichting Kunstboek BVBA Haribana
Book SynopsisThe Haribana style was created in May 2020 in the mid of the global pandemic when the supply of fresh flowers and other materials was limited in Singapore. Used to making flamboyant designs with an abundance of flowers, the material shortage forced floral designer Harijanto Setiawan to drastically rethink his design style and to come up with a fresh way to create high-quality and impactful designs using the least number of materials as possible. One could argue that the pandemic was a blessing in disguise for Harijanto, as it rekindled his passion for floristry and allowed him to reinvent himself and show another aspect of his personality as a designer – away from the extravagance everyone was used to. It allowed him to go back to his roots as an architect. While Harijanto’s imagination was still limitless, the realisation of his ideas had to be within the reality of the pandemic. A grass leaf and a single flower are enough to create a Haribana piece, a highly architectural design statement with a single flower as focal point. The name Haribana hints at Ikebana – even though these designs cannot officially be classified as ‘Ikebana’, as even the most free-spirited Ikebana schools objected to this. Haribana therefore is Harijanto’s own interpretation of ‘some sort of Ikebana’ married with an architectural style and approach. Haribana pieces incorporate architectural concepts such as structure, balance, shape, line, color, texture, rhythm and harmony into floral art, as if the two are destined for each other, rather than forced upon. Steel grass stalks can be seen as the load bearing structures in architecture: the steel reinforcements and the concrete. The greenery is shaped to create the base structure, a filigree facade against which a single flower can shine. Haribana is suitable for any designer who wants to explore and understand how architecture can be translated through flowers. Haribana has been well received and it is Harijanto Setiawan’s hope that it will fill a unique void in floristry and develop into a specific style that is adapted worldwide. This book contains 65 stunning Haribana pieces designed by the master himself.
£999.99
Oxford University Press Birds in the Ancient World
Book SynopsisBirds pervaded the ancient world. They impressed their physical presence on the daily experience and imaginations of ordinary people in town and country alike, and figured prominently in literature and art. They also provided a fertile source of symbols and stories in their myths and folklore, and were central to the ancient rituals of augury and divination. Jeremy Mynott''s Birds in the Ancient World: Winged Words brings together all this rich and fascinating material for the modern reader.Using quotations from well over a hundred classical Greek and Roman authors, all of them translated freshly into English, and nearly a hundred illustrations from ancient wall-paintings, pottery, and mosaics, Birds in the Ancient World illustrates the many different roles birds played in popular culture: as indicators of time, weather, and the seasons; as a resource for hunting, eating, medicine, and farming; as domestic pets and entertainments; and as omens and intermediaries between the gods and humankind. There are also selections from early scientific writings about birds, as well as many anecdotes and descriptions from works of history, geography, and travel.Jeremy Mynott acts as a stimulating guide to this varied material, using birds as a prism through which to explore both the similarities and the often surprising differences between ancient conceptions of the natural world and our own. His book is an original contribution to the flourishing interest in the cultural history of birds and to our understanding of the ancient cultures in which birds played such a prominent part.Trade ReviewJeremy Mynott's Birds in the Ancient World is an absolute joy, beautifully written and gloriously illustrated. * Peter Thonemann, Books of the Year 2018, The Times Literary Supplement *[A] superb book ... Mynott quotes [...] 120 authors in total, some translated into English for the first time. All the translations are Mynott's own. The period covered is approximately 700 BC to AD 300 and, since Mynott's approach is thematic, each chapter ranges pretty freely across those thousand years. It is, without doubt, a major achievement and a brilliantly sustained exercise in what Mynott [...] calls 'thinking with birds' ... We are fortunate to have in Mynott, who is both an ornithologist and a classicist, the perfect guide for such explorations. * Mathew Lyons, History Today *An astonishing combination of knowledge and sheer readability ... a copiously and richly illustrated review ... I think we should be grateful to Jeremy Mynott for this wonderful book, which both illuminates that understanding and broadens our knowledge. * Roger Riddington, British Birds *[A] stunning new book ... reading this splendid study, I experienced some of the excitement that humanists must have felt at entering into a lost world ... Beautifully produced, informed by wonderful scholarship, Birds in the Ancient World embodies the Renaissance spirit, as a model of humane and civilised learning. * Mike McCarthy, Resurgence & Ecologist Magazine *It is [...] thought-provoking, highly readable and exhaustive. Mynott has made an enormous effort to trawl the whole of the classics for bird references. The materials unearthed are far greater than anything previously considered and an appendix supplying potted biographies of the Greek and Roman authors discussed in the book includes more than 100 names ... Perhaps the pre-eminent achievement of the book is not its fastidious examination of classical birds, but the way it pans backwards from the avian minutiae to give us a much broader vision of the two great civilisations. * Mark Cocker, The Spectator *This scholarly, yet readable and fascinating book presents a detailed account of how our current obsession with birds began ... beautifully produced volume, illustrated throughout with striking colour images ... Mynott's book brings to life the variety of ancient scholars and artists who were inspired by birds. The sheer volume of material must, one feels, have been daunting, yet Mynott has processed it in a sensitive and logical fashion ... this definitive and original account of birds in the ancient world will serve as an invaluable reference for all subsequent historians of ornithology, and indeed, zoology as a whole. * Tim Birkhead, Archives of National History *A book the world has been waiting for, rich, scrupulously organised, imaginative, beautifully written, and driven by a double passion. On the one hand, for birds and human interactions with them. On the other, for the ancient world, especially those Greeks who 'invented the concept of nature' and the scholarship which brings their thoughts and observations alive. * Ruth Padel, author of Darwin - A Life in Poems, The Mara Crossing, and In and Out of the Mind *[An] excellent new book. * Robin Lane Fox, The Financial Times *A distinguished publisher and writer on both classics and bird-watching, Mynott has scoured thousands of pages on a literary nature trail... * Peter Stothard, The Times Literary Supplement *With a glorious array of references, vivid images, and his own astute philosophical commentary, Mynott deftly brings all this into sharp focus: are all these ancient associations, uses and abuses really so different from the way we see birds? * Philip Hoare, New Statesman *Mynott organises his elegant and thought-provoking book by theme and deploys a comprehensive range of quotes from throughout the classical period ... His approach is nuanced and open-minded, and he writes with a light, often wry touch ... The book is full of delightful titbits. * Philip Womak, Literary Review *Jeremy Mynott's masterful cultural and scientific history tours their [birds] roles as timepieces, soundscapes, pets, messaging services even intermediaries with the supernatural. The vivid artworks and literary passages give this wings... * Barbara Kiser, Nature *One of the most beautiful, most engaging and simply most delightful books I have read in a long time ... Mynott has offered a masterclass in writing a work that popularizes Classics and explains the discipline's relevant authority, clearly and memorably to outsiders ... Among many splendid features of this volume, I wish to highlight its illustrations ... this is a splendidly learned and superbly interesting account of the manifold ways in which birds and humans interacted in antiquity, but it is more than that: this is a book which incites one to ponder upon fundamental ecological and environmental issues and to re-examine our own relationship to the natural world. * Andrej Petrovic, Greece & Rome *This is a wonderfully readable book, scholarly but fully accessible, continually thoughtful, properly sceptical, often amusing, and culled from knowledge of ancient literature that must be second to none ... It is nicely illustrated in full colour. Whether you read the book straight through, or in a series of dips, it is full of revelation and insight into the ancient mind-set, which was once familiar and strange ... Thanks to Jeremy Mynott, the birds of the ancient world have taken flight, and we can go birding in that magical lost world. * Peter Marren, British Wildlife *For Dr Mynott, 'the significance of birds' is his binding theme in this illustrated cultural history with liberal quotations from some of humanity's greatest literature at this formative period of Western history. * John McEwen, Country Life *... provides a comprehensive introduction and overview of the role of birds within ancient society. The book is distinct from previous scholarship on birds in the ancient world with its approach to the material ... Mynott's style will no doubt engage non-Classicists, particularly ornithologists and bird-watchers, through his intelligent use of modern comparisons and presentations of extracts of ancient texts. However, I also believe his book could work as a set-text for undergraduate students, particularly for modules that discuss the interaction between ancient societies and the natural world. * Ben Greet, The Classical Review *Jeremy Mynott's new book is by far the most erudite book on birds I have ever read. It is a compelling combination of the history of birds and the ancient world that throws both into new relief ... this original guide comes highly recommended. * Alexandra Henton, The Field *Birds in the Ancient World is a welcome and important resource for the scholar working on any aspect of birds in all spheres of medieval life ... Mynott's erudite discussions, though, will make an excellent companion for those wishing to explore the classical legacy in medieval 'nature' paradigms. * Michael Warren, Medium Aevum *This publication can be considered an essential sourcebook for those who want to delve deeper into how birds were appreciated by the Greeks and Romans. * Antiqvvs *At a time when we need to be listening to the messages from birds from declining puffins losing their sand eels from warming seas, to Mediterranean Great White Egrets now breeding each year in Somerset this book offers brilliant insights into an earlier human culture's intimate relationship with another species. * Terry Glifford, Green Letters: Studies in Ecocriticism *The history lover inside me drew me to this title but I was pleased to find my ecologist's curiosity satisfied many times whilst reading this book ... From the earliest images and writings that birds can be identified from, you will find yourself amazed at what can be discovered from sources well over 1000 years old that can be linked with present day species and their distributions. It is such a richly detailed book that you might not be able to read it from start to finish in one go, but the chaptering allows you to dip in and out and discover something new each time you pick it up. * Katharine Bowgen, British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) *It is evident that Mynott has conducted a lot of thorough research and his book is absolutely brimming with detail ... his writing style is clear and engaging ... For anyone with a fascination for the ancient world or birds, this is definitely worth a read. * All About History *[A] fascinating book ... Mynott comprehensively demonstrates that birds were seen and heard in abundance across his chosen thousand year timespan. * Deborah Hyde, Walk magazine *Informative and expertly narrated, Birds in the Ancient World is an enthralling look at the cultural history of birds and the huge influence they had on a bygone age. * Simone Brookes, Discover Animals *Classical literature is a rich source of bird-related forteana, as this superb study reveals ... a delightfully easy read, thanks to Mynott's stylistic panache: fluent, quasi-Herodotean, jargon-free, consistently witty ... Not many writers can claim to have the last word on their subject. Mynott though, is that - have to say it - rare bird ... For naturalists, scientists, social historians, twitchers, this superlative study will surely fly... * Barry Baldwin, The Fortean Times *A beautifully produced volume, with full-colour illustrations, acknowledgements, a bird index and a general index, a very full bibliography, detailed references, footnotes and lists of the bird species found in the sources. These academic accoutrements only add a flourish, though, to the approachable and enjoyable nature of the actual read. * Liz Dexter, Shiny New Books *Mynott provides a detailed picture of ancient understandings of birds-whether as food source or literary symbol - in the context of the literary passages and the social order of the time ... He includes a time line of ancient writers and historical events as well as a biographies section, which summarizes the contributions of various ancient authors in documenting birds. Further scholarly apparatus include a general index, a bird index, and extensive endnotes. This title complements Birds in the Ancient World A-Z (2012) and belongs in robust classical studies collections and in ornithology departments. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsBirds in the Natural World 1: The Seasons 2: Weather 3: Time 4: Soundscapes Birds as a Resource 5: Hunting and Fowling 6: Cooking and Eating 7: Farming Living with Birds 8: Captivity and Domestication 9: Sports and Entertainments 10: Relationships and Responsibilities Invention and Discovery 11: Wonders: travellers' tales and tall stories 12: Medicine: folklore and science 13: Observation and Enquiry: the beginnings of ornithology Thinking with Birds 14: Omens and Auguries 15: Magic and Metamorphosis 16: Signs and Symbols Birds as Intermediaries 17: Fabulous Creatures 18: Messengers and Mediators 19: Mother Earth 20: Epilogue: then and now Appendix: some bird lists from ancient sources Biographies of authors quoted References Bibliography Bibliography Acknowledgements and picture credits
£999.99
HarperCollins Publishers Inc You Grow Gurl
Book SynopsisDiscover the joys and self-nurturing benefits of plant parenthood, from learning how to begin building your own lush plant family to getting into those fun tips on how to care for your green gurls, with this beautiful, illustrated guide from the dazzling creator of the @plantkween Instagram account. “We all love some new growth, dahling.”Six years ago, Christopher Griffin was just beginning the plant parenthood journey with one small Marble Queen Pothos. Today, this Black Queer non-binary femme plant influencer known as Plant Kween tends to a family of more than 200 healthy green gurls in the Brooklyn apartment they call home. You Grow, Gurl! is Kween’s fun and fabulous guide to becoming a plant parent and keeping your green gurls growing and thriving.Anyone can be a plant parent! It’s all about TLC—taking the time and energy to focus on a plant’s needs, and ultimately your own. Featuring 200 full-color photos and illustrations, practical instructions and tips—on everything from propagating to measuring humidity to repotting—activities, and stories, this fun and joyful guide shows how to green-up any space and have it serving those lush lewks. Self-care takes many forms and tending to your plants’ needs helps you grow too. In addition to information and advice on plant care, Kween provides meditations, mindfulness activities, playlists, and more to help you practice self-care through plant-care. As Kween says, “We can learn a lot about how we treat ourselves, how we treat others, and how we navigate the world from these green lil creatures.” Healing and growing your heart, body, and soul takes time, love, and focus. Taking care of plants teaches you to apply that same attention and love to yourself and helps you find new pathways to explore on your own botanical adventure to self-love.
£17.00
Penguin Random House Group Earthly Bodies
Book Synopsis
£16.19
Dover Publications Inc. The Art of Painting and Drawing Animals
Book SynopsisThousands of years after man first recorded his impressions of animals on cave walls, artists are still attempting to reproduce images of these incredibly diverse creatures of land, sea, and air. This guide by an award-winning artist is designed to aid painters at all skill levels to draw and paint wildlife with precision and accuracy. Fredric Sweney begins by using the horse as the basis for understanding the physical structure of animals, while the wild duck serves as the model for the configuration, wing construction, and flight characteristics of birds. More than 260 illustrations, many in full color, along with step-by-step details, make it easier and more enjoyable than ever to paint dogs, cats, oxen, deer, bears, birds, goats, and more exotic animals ? in every size and shape. An invaluable guide to zoological anatomy, ideal for beginners as well as advanced artists, this complete, practical reference will also serve as an excellent resource for resolving commonplace problems of artistic composition.
£16.57
Thames & Hudson Ltd Archipelago An Atlas of Imagined Islands
Book SynopsisA new atlas of imaginary islands conjured up by an international gathering of illustrators, including work by Coralie Bickford-Smith, Bill Bragg, Marion Deuchars, Chris Riddell, Maisie Paradise Shearring, Hervé Tullet, Aušra Kiudulaite and more. Islomania is a recognized affliction. But what is it about islands that is so alluring, and why do so many people find these self-contained worlds completely irresistible? Utopia and Atlantis were islands, and islands have captured the imaginations of writers and artists for centuries. Venetian sailors were the first to make collections of them by drawing maps of those they visited in their isolari literally the island books'. Then in 1719 Daniel Defoe published his tale of a castaway on a desert island, Robinson Crusoe, one of the first great novels in the history of literature and an instant bestseller. Defoe's tale combined the real and the imagined and transformed them into a compelling creative landscape, establishing a whole literary genre and unleashing the power of an island for storytelling. To celebrate the tercentenary of Robinson Crusoe's publication, a truly international range of leading illustrators imagine they too have been washed up on their own remote island. In a specially created map they visualize what it looks like, what it's called and what can be found on its mythical shores. In a panoply of astonishingly creative and often surprising responses, we are invited to explore a curious and fabulous archipelago of islands of invention that will beguile illustrators, cartographers and dreamers alike.Trade Review'A work of creative cartography and magical fabrication in equal measure' - Stuff.tv
£21.21
Faber & Faber Shell Life on the Seashore
Book Synopsis''Armed with this intrepid survey, we can see a brave new world down there on the beach ... Exquisite revelation, of the most wonderful, watery kind.'' - Philip HoareFor many, the highlights of seaside holidays are rockpooling and gathering the glorious array of shells left strewn on the beach after the receding tide. Attracted by the infinite variety of shapes and colours, visitors can never resist making a souvenir collection of their own - but little do they suspect the fascinating lives of the animals who once occupied them. What if each shell had a story of its own to tell us, if only we knew the language? Mr Street's delightful, informative guide uncovers the secret history of each common shell, revealing not only which marine creature once inhabited it but the unique challenges of its watery habitat it had to solve. From barnacles to oysters, cockles to
£9.49
British Museum Press Curious Beasts Animal Prints from the British
Book SynopsisVisually stunning, entertaining and intriguing, this book explores humankindâs enduring curiosity about the animal world.
£9.49
AA Publishing landscapephotographeroftheyear
Book SynopsisShowcases the best pictures from amateur and professional photographers alike, from the fifth annual Landscape Photographer of the Year competition.
£21.25
Workman Publishing Unlikely Loves
Book SynopsisAn exploration of animal attachments that, in human terms, can only be called love. Take, for instance, the dog living in a wildlife sanctuary who treats an orphaned leopard cub as his litte beloved sister. Or the dalmation who mothers an abandoned newborn lamb - a lamb who just happened to be covered in spots like her adopted mama.
£13.29
Running Press,U.S. The Borderlands Tarot El Tarot de Tierras
Book SynopsisThis deluxe, fully bilingual tarot deck (in English and Spanish) is a beautifully hand-painted evocative exploration of the ecosystem inspired by the border between the U.S. and Mexico, complete with a bilingual guidebook for card readings and housed in a keepsake box. Unique, inclusive bilingual deck in English and Spanish: This tarot deck takes the traditional tarot elements (Major and Minor Arcana) and interprets it through the lens of the natural world, inspired by the landscape of the border between two countries.Filled with references to the animals that roam the landscape, the cool desert tones, and the spirit and traditions of borderlands, this is an enchanting take on traditional tarot, exploring ?in between? physical and spiritual spaces. Deluxe Set: This set includes 78 full-color illustrated tarot cards (3 X 5 inches), shrink wrapped in an interior travel case; a 208-page, full-color illustrated flexibind book (4 3/4 X 6 inches); and a keepsake magnetic closure box. Fully illustrated guidebook: The flexibind guidebook provides an illustrated introduction to the tarot deck,uses, and a breakdown of elements, with descriptions of each card and suggested interpretations, as well as instructions and diagrams for sample readings. When the reader flips and reverses the guidebook, they will find the Spanish version of the text. Beautiful, full-color art: The Borderlands Tarot/Tarot de Tierras Fronterizas features inspiring and magical hand-painted and drawn art, filled with bright colors and unique illustrations ofthe natural world. A perfect gift: A perfect gift for the mystical and nature lover
£19.80
Citadel Press Inc.,U.S. Bee People and the Bugs They Love
Book Synopsis
£12.59
Rizzoli International Publications Experiencing Africa
Book SynopsisA collection of 100 unparalleled photographs of African wildlife and the indigenous communities who live alongside them by one of the world s best-known sports personalities.
£46.40
Amberley Publishing The South Downs
Book SynopsisNew paperback edition - A delightful depiction of a year in the life of the South Downs of Sussex. Will appeal to anyone with a love of the Downs and the natural world.Trade Review'This is a most delightful book, a joy to behold with superbly painted colour illustrations. This is one of those books that will appeal to a wide audience, and a good book to keep in your backpack on walks in the South Downs.' -- Westender
£15.29
Arcturus Publishing Ltd Alexander Marshals Nature Colouring Book
Book SynopsisEnjoy in the rich beauty of the natural world with this delightful colouring book, with artworks based on the classic botanical illustrations by 17th century artist Alexander Marshal, published in association with The Royal Collection.For Alexander Marshal (c.1620-82), the cultivation of rare plants was essential to the study of the natural world. His interest was stimulated by specimens imported to England from the Near East and the New World in the 17th century. Marshal was not a professional artist, but his florilegium - the only English flower book to survive from the period - contains some of the most beautiful plant studies in botanical art. The 44 illustrations in this coloring book are from Marshal''s florilegium, taken from the private art collection of the British royal family, The Royal Collection . These full-colour plates are shown beside black and white versions to fill with colour.Features: • Thick, high-quality pa
£9.49
Abrams Beaches
Book SynopsisGray Malin is the artist of the moment for the Hollywood and fashion elite
£28.00
Abrams The Wonder Cabinet of Fabulous Insects
Book Synopsis
£24.00
Workman Publishing Farm Dogs: A Comprehensive Breed Guide to 93
Book SynopsisGain a deeper understanding of your canine friends through these in-depth breed profiles that showcase how working dogs think. From familiar breeds like the Border Collie, Corgi, and Dachshund to the lesser-known Akbash, Puli, and Hovawart, Janet Vorwald Dohner describes 93 breeds of livestock guardian dogs, herding dogs, terriers, and traditional multipurpose farm dogs, highlighting the tasks each dog is best suited for and describing its physical characteristics and temperament. She also offers an accessible history of how humans bred dogs to become our partners in work and beyond, providing a thorough introduction to these highly intelligent, independent, and energetic breeds.
£19.80
teNeues Calendars & Stationery GmbH & Co. KG Butterflies QuickNotes
Book SynopsisOur Butterflies QuickNotes collection of full colour notecards are a selection of beautifully reprinted watercolour paintings from the very talented Becca Stadtlander. Our QuickNotes boxed notecards are full colour, collectable greeting / notecards that are blank inside and can be used to convey personal greetings, thank-yous and invitations. 20 5x4 notecards and envelopes 5 cards each of 4 images Packaged in a keepsake box with magnetic lid Measures 140 x 114 x 38mm. We choose the best images from well-known classic and contemporary fine artists, plus talented emerging illustrators and designers from around the globe.
£12.48
Insight Editions Sacred: In Search of Meaning
Book Synopsis
£52.50
Birlinn General My First Colouring Book Scottish Animals
Book SynopsisYoung children will love these colouring books featuring simple illustrations of a variety of Scottish animals.Contents feature:Puffin * Ducks * Garden birds * Hedgehog * Hare * Owls * Capercaillie * Wildcat *Geese * Eagle * Scottie Dog * Pine marten * Squirrel * Badgers * Deer * Butterflies * Salmon * Highland Cow * Sheep * Farm animals * Clydesdale horse * Otters * Beavers * Seals * Seagulls * Dolphins * Haggis
£6.50
Granta Books Between Light and Storm: How We Live With Other
Book SynopsisHumans have long believed themselves to be the superior species: we consume other animals for food, experiment on them and slaughter them for sport. But as well as the ethical issues surrounding our treatment of other animals, our attitudes are responsible for massive species loss and extinctions, the extensive destruction of habitats and a growing threat of zoonotic pandemics. Drawing on philosophy and theology, art and history, Between Light and Storm is a penetrating account of our fraught relationship with animals. It is also a timely and necessary plea for a more humane approach to those with whom we share a planet.Trade Review'Elegiac, haunting and piercingly intelligent, Esther Woolfson's exploration ofour relationship with other species is sometimes painful to read but her articulacyand lightness of touch, and her own beautifully observed experiences, are a joy. Aprofoundly moving and important book' - Isabella Tree'A powerful, poignant, and urgently important reflection on our relations withthe non-human world. Immaculately researched and compulsively readable' -Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast'We live in a time in which our disrespect for nature is coming back to bite us.Timely and wide-ranging, Esther Woolfson's book offers sensitive reflections onhow we relate to the animals around us as well as the animal within' - Frans deWaal
£9.49
The Crowood Press Ltd Painting Rivers from Source to Sea
Book SynopsisRivers can be enchanting or exciting, but are always absorbing. They provide a myriad of painting opportunities and challenges for the artist. Focusing on watercolour - one of the most direct of mediums - this practical book explains how to paint a river and capture its life, light, movement, colour and interest. With over 200 colour images, Rob Dudley shares his methods, techniques and ideas to make this beautiful book a must-have for all landscape and en plein-air artists.
£16.14
Orion Publishing Co The Book of the Flower: Flowers in Art
Book Synopsis‘Art is the flower, life is the green leaf’ – Charles Rennie Mackintosh Haphazard bunches, formal bouquets, chance arrangements, quiet and thoughtful rural encounters – The Book of the Flower is a sylvan collection of beautiful depictions of flowers by artists, photographers and illustrators. Interspersed through the illustrations are short texts about the artists and their interest in particular flowers, from Georgia O’Keeffe’s sumptuous close-ups of Jimson Weed and cactus flowers to Matisse’s roses, Keika Hasegawa’s chrysanthemums and Albert York’s close study of zinnias. A wonderful collection for art-lovers, gardeners and flower-fanciers.
£14.24
Reaktion Books Shells: A Natural and Cultural History
Book SynopsisShells have captivated humans from the dawn of time: the earliest known artwork was made on a shell. As well as containers for food, shells have been used as tools, jewellery and decorations for dwellings, and to bring good luck or to ward off spirits. Many indigenous peoples have used shells as currency, and in a few places they still do. This beautifully illustrated book looks at the scientific and cultural history of shells, showing how their diverse colourful forms take shape. It examines pearls, the only gems of animal origin, as well as how shells have inspired artists throughout history. The book looks at shells used in architecture and ritual, but also how shells are indicators of changing environmental conditions.Table of ContentsCHAPTER ONE THE SHELL MAKERS CHAPTER TWO TRIBAL SHELL USE CHAPTER THREE SHELLS AND RELIGION CHAPTER FOUR PICKING UP MONEY ON THE BEACH CHAPTER FIVE HOW THE COWRIE GOT ITS SPOTS CHAPTER SIX IRIDESCENT BEAUTY CHAPTER SEVEN SHELLS IN THE ARTS CHAPTER EIGHT MOLLUSCS AND MEDICINE CHAPTER NINE SHELLS IN A CHANGING WORLD REFERENCES SELECT BLBLIOGRAPHY ASSOCIATIONS AND WEBSITES LARGE COLLECTIONS OF SHELLS PHOTO ACKOWLEDGEMENTS INDEX
£18.00
Steven Stone Modern art: Art illustration
Book Synopsis
£40.49
Quarto Publishing PLC If Animals Could Talk
Book SynopsisGet Dad chuckling this Christmas!If Animals Could Talk is a side-splitting gift book packed full of animal dads doing their thing. Because even in the animal kingdom, dads make us all groan! This is a charming celebration of the universal qualities of ‘Dadness’: telling terrible jokes, ignoring instruction manuals, failing to spot things in clear view, and more classic, comical capers. Included in this book: A collection of 40 so-bad-they’re-good dad antics Hilarious, high-definition animal photos Relatable qualities that will have you nodding along as you recognise your own dad! Whether it’s a grumpy beaver losing his car keys, a penguin getting lost or a brown bear impersonating Winnie the Pooh, prepare to see Dad cracking up, shaking his head and calling loved ones as he flicks through the pages.
£7.59
Kulturalis Can the Seas Survive Us
Book SynopsisPublication accompanies the exhibition season at Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich, 15 March - 21 September 2025. Addressing one of the urgent issues of climate crisis, this book aims to raise awareness by exploring through art the challenges of humanity's relationship to the sea.
£22.50
Amber Books Amazing Gardens
Book Synopsis
£16.99
Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd Mist and Fog in British and European Painting:
Book SynopsisMist and fog engender fascination and mystery, enticing with their wispy veils and vapourous moods, and they are the stuff of dreams and visions. 'The mists of time' and 'in a fog' are common expressions that substantiate the long association of mist and fog with the passage of time, the vagaries of memory and feelings of uncertainty. Mist and fog obscure, conceal and when they dissipate, reveal. Vapourous atmosphere in art and life masks evil and can elicit presentiments of death. It also has been used in art to convey the splendours of the spiritual world and the terrors of the supernatural. The metaphorical meanings that have accrued to mist and fog, encouraged by their indeterminate and transitory nature, and the emotions to which they give rise, are variously evident in the work of major artists and their contemporaries. This book focusses on mist and fog from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries in the places they most proliferated. Examples of literature that employ mist and fog as metaphor and in allegory from antiquity to Joseph Conrad serve to amplify many of the paintings discussed. Table of ContentsList of Illustrations; Preface and Acknowledgements; Introduction: A Brief History of Mist and Fog in British and European Painting; Mist and Gothicism in British Painting; Friedrich and Romantic Landscape; Turner: Mist, Memory, Time; Impressionism: The Atmospheric Envelope; Conclusion: Another Look at the Sublime; Bibliography
£54.00
Batsford Ltd Farmyard Set
Book SynopsisAn informative and beautifully illustrated celebration of our favourite farmyard animals. Readers of The Country Set and Flying the Nest should dust down their wellingtons once again and come and meet The Farmyard Set. This handsome and lavishly illustrated gift book features 50 of farming's best-loved creatures, brought to life by award-winning artist Hannah Dale. Among them are old favourites, such as the Jersey cow and the Gloucester Old Spot, the Indian Runner duck and the Shetland pony, known for their charm and striking appearance. Descriptions and helpful facts illuminate these evocative paintings. Trade Review'Charming' * Evergreen *
£9.49
Batsford The Farmyard Set
Book Synopsis An exciting larger edition of a beautifully illustrated celebration of our favourite farmyard animals. This beautiful new edition ofThe Farmyard Setis bigger in size,ensuring a closer look at the world''s favourite farm animals. Readers ofThe Country SetandFlying the Nestshould dust down their wellingtons once again and come and meetThe Farmyard Set. This handsome and lavishly illustrated gift book features 50 of farming''s best-loved creatures, brought to life by award-winning artist Hannah Dale. Among them are old favourites, such as the Jersey cow and the Gloucester Old Spot, the Indian Runner duck and the Shetland pony, known for their charm and striking appearance. Alongside each illustration, Hannah Dale provides detailed descriptions and fascinating facts that help us learn more about the character and background of each beloved animal.
£10.80
National Portrait Gallery Publications Yevonde: Life and Colour
Book Synopsis'Yevonde’s ’30s portraits of high-society beauties and Hollywood stars are finally getting the attention they deserve.' - British Vogue 'Yevonde: Life and Colour opens at the revamped National Portrait Gallery ... and will feature a comprehensive selection of works dreamed up by this brilliant artist across a 60-year-career. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more joyful show anywhere in the country.' - Jennifer Higgie, The Telegraph ‘Be original or die would be a good motto for photographers to adopt…let them put life and colour into their work.’ - Yevonde. ---------- Yevonde (1893–1975) was a businesswoman and tireless creator, as an innovator committed to colour photography when it was not considered a serious medium, her work is significant in the history of British portrait photography. Yevonde championed photography during a time where there were few women photographers working professionally, and this book tells the story of her life, works, and 60-year career. Yevonde: Life and Colour brings the photographer’s works together again for the first time in 20 years and features previously unpublished works. This book showcases her experimentation with a range of techniques and genres including colour photography, portraiture, still-lifes, solarisation, and the Vivex colour process, and repositions her as a modern artist of the twentieth century.This highly illustrated publication provides in-depth context to Yevonde’s images, considering their aesthetic and mythic references. Yevonde’s portraits embody glorified tradition countered with a desire for the new. Her most renowned body of work is a series of women dressed as goddesses posed in surreal tableaux from the 1930s.
£32.00
Merrell Publishers Ltd Garden in Art
Book SynopsisRich in symbolism and metaphor, and blessed with its own varied and dramatic palette, the garden has proved to be an extremely fertile source of artistic inspiration. In The Garden in Art, acclaimed art historian Debra N. Mancoff reveals the many different ways in which artists from all periods of history - from ancient Egypt to the present day - have employed the motif of the garden. Featuring more than 200 illustrations of both renowned and lesser-known works, the book approaches its subject thematically, exploring such topics as working gardens, the garden through the seasons and artists' gardens. Complete with a detailed timeline and a suggested list of gardens to visit, The Garden in Art is an absorbing and highly rewarding examination of the meaning and significance of the depiction of the garden.Trade Review'For a gardener it is a joy - ' - THE TIMES 'A tome so beautiful and appealing that even if you have no interest whatsoever in the subject matter, as an artist you will want to own it. The Garden in Art is not simply enticing because of the pictures, generously reproduced both in terms of size and clarity, but also because of how Debra N. Mancoff draws from such a variety of sources, in order to give a full account of how the garden has been depicted throughout the history of art. Mancoff writes with depth and enthusiasm on each image of the book.' - ARTISTS AND ILLUSTRATORS MAGAZINE 'This captivating and beautifully illustrated book will appeal to the armchair gardener and art lover alike.' - PERIOD HOMES AND INTERIORS MAGAZINE 'An expert in impressionism... Brief, intelligent essays... An added bonus is the list of suggested artists' gardens to visit at the end.' - ROYAL ACADEMY MAGAZINE 'I am going to relish this book and drink in every page' - VAL BOURNE, THE OXFORD TIMES 'Providing huge inspiration, The Garden in Art by Debra N. Mancoff - it is pure bliss!' - THE ENGLISH HOMETable of ContentsIntroduction Through the Seasons The Garden as a Metaphor Famous Gardens Pleasure Gardens Working Gardens Behind the Garden Wall Home and Garden Public Gardens Artists' Gardens Garden Favourites Notes Timeline Select Bibliography Gardens to Visit Picture Credits Index
£25.46
Two Rivers Press Birds, Blocks and Stamps: Post & Go Birds of
Book SynopsisRobert Gillmor, one of Britain's most influential wildlife artists, illustrated four sets of pictorial stamps featuring birds for Royal Mail's Post & Go. Brought together and reproduced here for the first time, in larger-than-stamp size, these prints demonstrate the author's lifelong love and appreciation of our nation's birds. His own account of the process by which his linocuts are made, along with anecdotal descriptions of his bird encounters, bring the pictures to life. This beautifully produced collection will be coveted by wildlife lovers, artists and stamp collectors alike.
£11.88
HarperCollins Publishers Birdsong
Book Synopsis Beautiful bird illustrations by Madeleine Floyd Details of the wonderful songs and sounds of our birds A celebration of our feathered creatures and their songs for all bird lovers A celebration of British birds and their songs, from the sought-after artist Madeleine Floyd. Some 50 of her exquisite drawings of birds, along with their specific eggs are captured here for fans of her work and wildlife enthusiasts. It includes details of the songs and sounds made by each of the birds, from sparrows, tits, to the lyrical nightingale. The latter has up to 250 different phrases in his song and each performance is made up of a unique composition. The art of Madeleine Floyd is beautifully presented in this gem of a book and should delight all bird lovers.
£999.99
Carpet Bombing Culture Hey Human See What You Do
Book Synopsis
£9.45
Clearview The Gardens At Rousham
Book SynopsisRousham in Oxfordshire was one of the first landscape gardens created in England and is, still, one of the most influential. Designed by William Kent in the late 1730s for the Cottrell-Dormer family (who are its owners today) it has become a place of pilgrimage for landscape architects and garden designers worldwide as well as garden lovers. Its magical glades and sculptural set-pieces have long intrigued Francis Hamel, who has lived and worked there for 25 years. Since the beginning of 2020 he has composed an extraordinary collection of paintings that capture the gardens and their magic. With essays by Tom Stuart-Smith, Joanna Kavenna and Christopher Woodward, the reader is led down its mysterious pathways; from tree-shaded walks peopled with statues of Pan, Venus and other immortals to sun-dappled meadows carpeted with wild flowers. It is just as Kent left it– a secret garden that is open to all.
£24.00
D Giles Ltd Looking Up: The Skyviewing Sculptures of Isamu
Book SynopsisIsamu Noguchi's Skyviewing Sculpture was created by invitation for Western Washington University, north of Seattle, in 1969. The 14-foot high sculpture, which sits in the university's central quad, acts as an observatory, encouraging viewers to enter and turn their gaze to the sky. 'Skyviewing' was a leitmotif in Noguchi's art throughout his long career as an artist and landscape architect, from his early work alongside Constantin Brancusi in Paris in 1928 to his death in 1988. Some sculptures act as reflecting telescopes with polished stone that mirror the firmament while others trace the path of the sun with cast shadows or lead the eye up towards the sky. The work at Western invites the viewer in, and guides the eye upwards to observe the sky in all of its variety. Looking Up explores Noguchi's work on the themes of space, and our place in the universe; examines the changing artistic climate during his long career; and places Noguchi in context with a younger generation of artists, including Robert Smithson, Nancy Holt, James Turrell, and Charles Ross. The book includes essays by leading specialists, as well as a plate section and contemporary photos of the creation, transportation and installation of Skyviewing Sculpture .Table of ContentsAcknowledgments; Looking Up by Hafthor Yngvason; Noguchi and the Jantar Mantars of Northern India by Matthew Kirsch; Plates by Kate Wiener with Matthew Kirsch; Sculpture in Progress; Bibliography; Picture Credits; Index
£29.71
HENI Publishing Vegan Art: A Book Of Visual Protest
Book SynopsisTommy Kane brings together, for the first time, a collection of contemporary vegan artists whose works grapple with one of the biggest issues of our century and confront our conflicted relationship with animals. With diverse contributions, Vegan Art combines a passion for art as a language with the rebellion against animal abuse and exploitation, with the belief that art should be a mechanism for social change. The complex visual language of the book is purposefully graphic and controversial. From utopian depictions of a world that vegans are fighting for, to dark dystopian impressions and brutal, bloody mutilations of non-human animals in industrial agriculture, the project tests the potential of our humanity and asks for equality for all species. With violent imagery and references to major food corporations – such as McDonalds – the project is unflinching in its advocation of veganism and animal rights. Vegan Art engenders a sense of humility with a shared view that art has the power to move people to be informed consumers. Featuring artworks by Tommy Kane, Andrew Tilsley, Milk DoNg Comics, Dan Piraro, Melinda Hegedus, Tommy Flynn and Cynical Coyote.
£31.49
Temple Lodge Publishing Zodiac: An Exploration into the Language of Form,
Book SynopsisFrom ancient times, people had knowledge of the zodiac’s intimate involvement in the creation of physical life. They understood that the twelve realms of constellations of fixed stars in the sky emanated specific forces that were brought to life and movement by the planets. These spiritual energies created and formed all living beings on earth – including, of course, the human being. This traditional awareness has been reenlivened and given new meaning in our time through Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophy. Steiner gave specific indications involving twelve individual gestures and colours that depict the forces of the twelve zodiacal regions. In this richly-illustrated collation of original artistic research – which features exciting new work on the zodiac via the mediums of sculpture, graphics and painting – these new insights are explored and illumined in twenty-seven essays and numerous full-colour images. Led by editor Gertraud Goodwin, the various contributing artists offer a rich tableau of authentic, individual approaches to understanding the zodiac, throwing light on the vast realm of creative forces around us whilst acknowledging their primary source. ‘From the many relationships to other qualities, like the consonants, virtues, areas of the human body, colours, eurythmy gestures, elements (earth, water, air, fire), musical keys and many more, in which the zodiacal forces express themselves as if through different instruments, a harmony begins to emerge, which informs me of an ever rounder picture of one particular force of the Zodiac.’ – Gertraud GoodwinTable of ContentsForeword, Wolfgang Held – Introduction, Gertraud Goodwin – The twelve moods / introduction to Rudolf Steiner’s verses, Gertraud Goodwin – Relations - connections - correlations, Gertraud Goodwin – Rudolf Steiner's verses for the twelve moods of the zodiac, Gertraud Goodwin – Working with the zodiac during the 12 Holy Nights, Gertraud Goodwin – Working with colour during the Holy Nights of 2017-18, Gertraud Goodwin – Working with colour during the Holy Nights of 2018-19, Marije Rowling – The formative forces of the zodiac, Edwin Boeck – Exploration of the sculptural and graphic language of the zodiac, Dorothea Kuth – Zodiac, Manning Goodwin – The twelve constellations (zyklus), Philip Nelson – Twelve coloured exercises on the virtues, Stephan Krauch – Paintings on the zodiac, Rolf Janssen – Zodiac, Doris Harpers – Zodiac, Marije Rowling – Sound images, Gerard Wagner – First zodiac, Gertraud Goodwin – Twelve reliefs on the moods of the zodiac, Gertraud Goodwin – A graphic exploration, Gertraud Goodwin – Meditations on the zodiac, Gertraud Goodwin – Zodiac – sculptures, Gertraud Goodwin – Pisces zodiac, Gertraud Goodwin – Pisces zodiac and the present age, John Salter – The blue window in the first Goetheanum, Torsten Steen & Gertraud Goodwin – Carved reliefs of the zodiac, Reimar von Bonin – Exploring the relationship between Reimar von Bonin’s carved reliefs and the capitals of the small domed space of the first Goetheanum, Gertraud Goodwin – The formation of the capitals of the small domed space as vignettes, Gertraud Goodwin – the small dome of the first Goetheanum, Gertraud Goodwin – References - reading list – Further Reading – References – Biographies
£25.00
Paul Holberton Publishing Ltd Hardy'S Wessex: The Landscapes That Inspired a
Book SynopsisThis fascinating book tells the story of Thomas Hardy's Wessex. Accompanying a multi-venue exhibition, it explores Hardy's life and work.Internationally-acclaimed writer Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is best known for his evocative depictions of the West Country landscape and its people, a region that he called 'Wessex'. What is less well-known is that this landscape also inspired him in many other aspects of his life, from campaigning for animal welfare to questioning the way society viewed women. This publication accompanies a blockbuster, multi-venue exhibition of the largest collection of Thomas Hardy memorabilia ever to be displayed at once. Hardy was born in the West Country, a few years after Queen Victoria came to the throne, and spent most of the rest of his life among its landscapes and people. When he turned writer, these landscapes and people re-emerged as his 'partly-real, partlydream country' of Wessex, in novels like Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd and Jude the Obscure.Hardy's Wessex now conjures up a range of mental images: from raging seas on the coast to haunting ancient monuments, Victorian towns packed with life to peaceful hillsides grazed by sheep. However, through Hardy's 87-year life span, the West Country changed dramatically. Ideas of the role of women, humans' responsibility to animals, the realities of war, love and courtship, superstition, social structure, religion and how people related to the world around them altered fundamentally. Through his stories and campaigning, Hardy was keen to show not only the rural idyll, but also the tensions and difficulties that lay beneath these views.These dramatic landscapes were the lens through which Hardy presented his worldview to his readership. From the tragedy of a woman saying farewell to her sailorlover on the end of Portland Bill, to a shepherd losing his flock and facing ultimate ruin on the chalky hills. The landscapes shape his characters, whose stories in turn convey his messages of social change to his readers.This publication will explore the impact that Wessex had on Hardy's works, and how living there shaped his views on the often divisive social issues of the period. Uniting beautiful landscape imagery with a selection of personal items from Hardy's life, this book will show you the man behind the literature.
£15.00
