Art & Photography

Giorgio Vasari's The Lives of the Most Famous Painters, Sculptors and Architects (1550 and 1568) is a classic of cultural history. (read more)

Giorgio Vasari's The Lives of the Most Famous Painters, Sculptors and Architects (1550 and 1568) is a classic of cultural history. A monumental assembly of artists' lives from Giotto to Michelangelo, it paints a vivid picture of the progress of art in the hands of individual masters. This illustrated standalone edition of Vasari's Life of Raphael offers a new translation of this rich and remarkable 'Life', elegantly rendering Vasari's literary text in modern terms.

A work of authoritative skill and precision, the translation preserves Vasari's compelling narrative, while beautifully reproduced illustrations bring it newly to life. Editors Paul Joannides and Rick Scorza bring together the original and expanded Italian editions of 1550 and 1568, with succinct commentary drawing upon their expert knowledge of Raphael's career. (hide)

52 Assignments: Experimental Photography is filled with prompts and projects, nudges and sparks, innovations and inspirations, and--most (read more)

52 Assignments: Experimental Photography is filled with prompts and projects, nudges and sparks, innovations and inspirations, and--most importantly--experiments in shooting, processing, and printing, to help you kick your photographic habits, step out of your comfort zone and create your own collection of experimental work. You will be briefed to tackle modern uses for traditional film (hacking vintage film cameras, making pinholes, playing with plastic, collecting the filters that inspired Instagram) and traditional uses for digital (multiple exposures, extreme speeds, timed challenges, focus tricks), as well as lo-tech and hi-tech ways to manipulate your prints (staining prints with water, digital effects, photocopy prints, burning photos, printing on flexible surfaces). (hide)

Cath Kidston - queen of vintage-inspired homeware and joyously decorated spaces - grants unprecedented insight into her creative (read more)

Cath Kidston - queen of vintage-inspired homeware and joyously decorated spaces - grants unprecedented insight into her creative process and personal style in this lifestyle-meets-memoir-meets-interior-design book. The name 'Cath Kidston' is associated worldwide with pattern, colour, dreamlike nostalgia, and comforting, cheerful spaces. In her new book, the founder of the eponymous brand invites us on a tour of her Gloucestershire home, sharing stories, decorating tips and inspirational ideas along the way.

The book is divided into four chapters, each of them focusing on the 21 featured spaces in the book, including: Entrance Hall, Sitting Room, Study, Dining Room, Office, Kitchen, Dressing Room, Attic, Greenhouse and Summer House. There are also the whimsically themed rooms such as the Castle Bedroom and Fish Bathroom. Delve into Cath's design process as she reveals the memories and motivations behind her style choices. (hide)

In this evocative book Iain and Anne Fraser take the reader, both visitor and resident, on a personal journey through the centre (read more)

In this evocative book Iain and Anne Fraser take the reader, both visitor and resident, on a personal journey through the centre of one of the world's most unforgettable cities. Working with four talented local artists (Irina, Cat, Keli and Catherine) they reflect the character and cultural history of Edinburgh through 80 pages and 150 beautiful and original illustrations. Their narrative describes the split personality of Scotland's capital city, from the subdued sophistication of a `dreich' February day to the flouncy and frivolous fun of the summer festival season. (hide)

A striking, design-led reference book, A-Z Great Modern Artists features Andy Tuohy's portraits of 52 key modern artists, rendered (read more)

A striking, design-led reference book, A-Z Great Modern Artists features Andy Tuohy's portraits of 52 key modern artists, rendered in each artist's own characteristic style - including Aleksandr Rodchenko in trademark green and red, Andy Warhol as a classic repeated print, and Marc Quinn as a frozen blood head in a box. With text by art historian Christopher Masters, each artist's entry will also have a summary of the essential things you need to know about the artist; their biographical details, why they're so significant, where you can find their works today, and a surprising fact or two about them as well as reproductions of key works. Whether you're already an art expert, or looking for a helpful cheat to navigating around a gallery, you'll love this guide to global artists of the modern age. (hide)

Splatter, stamp, scrape, repeat. A quick-start guide to beautifully layered and textured abstracts! While there are many approaches (read more)

Splatter, stamp, scrape, repeat. A quick-start guide to beautifully layered and textured abstracts! While there are many approaches to painting abstract art, Jodi Ohl's philosophy is to simply start. In this book, the successful, self-taught artist helps you "dive in with an open mind and fearless heart." Everything inside is geared toward kick-starting your creativity:* An exciting series of 22 fun-to-follow, step-by-step projects.* A tantalizing variety of approaches and inspirations for applying and manipulating paint, crayons, pencils, ink, paper, photos and more.* Quick and loose exercises for building a library of ideas, color palettes, patterns and designs to use in future paintings.* Loads of practical advice, including how to stock your studio without going broke, the five must-haves mediums, and how to finish and protect your artwork.For beginners eager to get to the "good stuff" and for artists looking to expand their repertoire, it just doesn't get any better.

Every action-packed page will have you trying something new and pushing your boundaries!Make marbled acrylic skins * Add a stain * Discover instant gratification with Yupo paper * Achieve the wonderfully aged look of image transfers * Play with graffiti-style art * Experiment with gel mediums * Incorporate non-commercial add-ins like eggshells and netting * Create incredible abstract landscapes and cityscapes * And so much more! (hide)

A celebratory look back at one hundred years of passenger flight, featuring full-colour reproductions of route maps and posters from (read more)

A celebratory look back at one hundred years of passenger flight, featuring full-colour reproductions of route maps and posters from the world's most iconic airlinesFrom the first faltering flights over plains, water, and mountains to the vast networks of today, air travel has transformed the world and how people see it. Maps played their part in showing what was possible and who was offering new opportunities. As tiny operations with barely serviceable airplanes pushed out farther and farther, growing and merging to form massive global empires, so the scope of their maps became bigger and bolder, until the entire world was shrunk down to a single sheet of paper. (hide)

A groundbreaking artist, Alice Trumbull Mason (1904-1971) was one of the earliest painters of the twentieth century to embrace abstract (read more)

A groundbreaking artist, Alice Trumbull Mason (1904-1971) was one of the earliest painters of the twentieth century to embrace abstract painting in America. Mason's early paintings have been compared to those of Gorky, Kandinsky, and Miro, and in 1936 she became a founding member of the American Abstract Artists (AAA) and one of its leaders in the promotion of abstract work by artists such as Josef Albers, Ad Reinhardt, Piet Mondrian, and many others. Mason was a true artist's artist whose efforts helped lead to the great movements of later twentieth-century art, such as Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Post-Modernism, and Conceptual Art.

Published:15 Jul 2020 (hide)

Pub Date:24/09/2015 - To celebrate 150 years since the first publication of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, this (read more)

Pub Date:24/09/2015 - To celebrate 150 years since the first publication of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, this gorgeous collection of one hundred postcards features a mix of Sir John Tenniel's original and iconic illustrations coloured by various artists including Harry G. Theaker, Diz Wallis and John Macfarlane, alongside stunning modern designs. Curious Alice, the bossy White Rabbit, the formidable Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter all feature in this exquisite collection.

Each card has an appropriate quotation on the back, setting the image in context of the stories, or the history of this iconic publication. Celebrating the extraordinary beauty and imagination of Wonderland, Alice: 100 Postcards from Wonderland is the perfect gift for anyone that loves Alice, illustration, or design. (hide)

Anatomy for Artists is a concise, user friendly anatomy book that tackles the specific challenges faced by artists. Acclaimed author (read more)

Anatomy for Artists is a concise, user friendly anatomy book that tackles the specific challenges faced by artists. Acclaimed author Barrington Barber provides clearly annotated diagrams showing the detail of the bone structure, the muscle layers and the surface of each part of the body. Each chapter deals with a different part of the body, making it easy to look up different body areas.

There are also sections that deal with how each part of the body moves, showing how artists can use their anatomical knowledge to improve their drawings of the body in movement. (hide)