Carle is one of the most beloved illustrators of children's books. This retrospective is more than just an appreciation of his art, however. The book also contains an insightful autobiography illustrated with personal photographs, an anecdotal essay by his longtime editor, a photographic essay on how Carle creates his collages, and writings by Carle and his colleagues. Still, it is the artwork in the oversize volume that seizes the imagination. More than 60 of his full-color collage pictures are handsomely reproduced and serve as a statement of Carle's impressive talent. - Booklist

The real-life story of a family who planted 1,000,000 trees—yes, it’s true!—to fight deforestation in British Columbia. When Kristen Balouch was 10 years old, her parents made a surprising announcement: their whole family was going on a trip to plant trees! Kristen, her sisters, and her mom and dad—and their pet, Wonder Dog!—flew from their California home to a logging site in British Columbia. There, they joined a crew working to replant the trees that had been cut down. In One Million Trees, Kristen reflects on the forty days they spent living in a tent, covered in mud and bug bites, working hard every day to plant a new forest. Young readers will learn a little French, practice some math skills, and learn all about how to plant a tree the right way! The kid-friendly, engaging text is paired with bold illustrations, full of fun details and bright colors. The story ends with a modern-day look at what Kristen's family helped accomplish: a stand of huge trees growing on what used to be an empty, muddy patch of bare stumps. An author's note shares more information on deforestation, sustainable logging practices, and the irreplaceable environmental benefit of old growth forests. . . . Plus, the amazing things even a small group of people can do when they work together. A fun story with an important environmental message, One Million Trees is bound to inspire kids to get their hands dirty to make our planet healthy! A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Drawing Calm teaches artists and non-artists how to find an oasis of calm every day by using the work of master painters to inspire creativity. Maybe it's the colors, or the eye-widening vistas, or maybe it's just the idea that harmony can exist on a square of canvas, but there is something in art that can calm and inspire at the same time. In Drawing Calm, artist Susan Evenson, shows readers how to do the same. It's a book for everyone—non-artists as well as those with plenty of experience in a studio. Using restful, but dynamic works of art as a starting point, Susan Evenson teaches how to capture the light and peace of the master painting. Making use of "soft" techniques such as torn-paper collage, blended pastels, and wet-on-wet watercolor, this workshop encourages stress-free creativity. After you learn how to set up your work space and what materials to gather, choose your soundtrack and get started with some warm-up exercises. Then, unwind with projects grouped by theme: Delight Quiet Warmth Harmony Calm Light Rhythm Put on the music that makes you happy and choose the colors that take you there too!

If you already know your way around Photoshop and Painter and want to use these amazing programs to take your skills further, this book is for you! Much more than a simple "how-to" guide, Susan Ruddick Bloom takes you on a full-fledged journey of the imagination and shows you how to create incredible works of fine art. Supplemented by the work of 20+ world renowned artists in addition to Sue's own masterpieces, you'll learn how to create watercolors, black and white pencil sketches, texture collages, stunning realistic and fantastical collages, and so much more, all from your original photographs. If you are eager to dive into the world of digital art but need a refresher on the basics, flip to Sue's essential techniques chapter to brush up on your Photoshop and Painter skills, and you'll be on your way in no time. Whether you're a novice or an established digital artist, you'll find more creative ideas in this book than you could ever imagine. Fully updated for new versions of Painter and Photoshop and including brand new work from contemporary artists, Digital Collage and Painting provides all the inspiration you need to bring your artistic vision to light.

This is where painting meets collage! You can create beautiful art with amazing depth and texture, using easy collage techniques and paper you paint yourself. Popular workshop instructor Elizabeth St. Hilaire makes it fun and simple no matter what your skill level! Start with materials you probably already have--fluid acrylics, stencils, a few household items and paper--and hand-paint your personalized paper palette using basic techniques anyone can do. Then move through each step of composing your own work of art. You'll find beautiful, meaningful examples of the how and why on every page. You'll learn how to: develop your composition, how to work with simple shapes, important lessons on value and much more. • More than 30 techniques for painting your own decorative papers • Step-by-step instructions for creating your own painted paper collage–from underpainting and directional ripping and tearing to auditioning your papers and combining collage with mixed media • A spectacular gallery of paper paintings to inspire and dazzle--still lifes, figures, animals and landscapes

After her parents get divorced, Emily finds comfort in making and learning about art.

Carla Sonheim is an artist and creativity workshop instructor known for her fun and innovative projects and techniques designed to help adult students recover a more spontaneous, playful approach to creating. Her innovative ideas are now collected and elaborated on in this unique volume. Carla offers a year's worth of assignments, projects, ideas, and techniques that will introduce more creativity and nonsense into your art and life. Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists offers readers a fun way to learn and gain expertise in drawing through experimentation and play. There is no right or wrong result, yet, the readers gain new skills and confidence, allowing them to take their work to a new level.

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

This complete package contains 72 pages of beautifully printed tissue--since illustrator Eric Carle creates his collages with tissues that he paints and then cut into shapes--as well as full-color instructions.

Presents the life and work of Henri Matisse in the form of a child's school report, where Keesia learns that over his long career, Matisse made paintings, sculpture, books, costumes, and cut-outs. Simultaneous.