Nothing creates a stronger sense of "life" in your wildlife art than realistic textures. This book, a collection of some of the finest art instruction ever published by North Light Books, will show you proven ways to paint fur, feathers and other realistic wildlife textures. You'll find easy-to-follow instruction and step-by-step demonstrations from top wildlife artists in a variety of mediums, including acrylic, oil, watercolor and pastel. No matter what your medium or how long you've been painting, these "keys" will unlock new possibilities in your wildlife art.

The award-winning "Sweet, Funny, and Strange" series of anthologies from the Bethlehem Writers Group, continues with this collection of twenty-five tales about real, legendary, or imaginary animals. From snakes to ducks to unicorns, there are tales here to match any mood, provide a chuckle, or warm a heart. Among our tales, Peter Barbour recounts a legend in "Why Bats Live in Caves,'' Jerome W. McFadden asks the question of what animal to choose to be in "Recycled,'' A. E. Decker shares an appreciation of cephalopods in "Tipping Point,'' Ralph Hieb imagines an unconventional pet in "Buttons,'' and Diane Sismour, in "Critter,'' reveals that mules are not the only equines that can have a stubborn streak. In addition, we are happy to present the winning stories from the 20 I 9 and 2020 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Awards. Angela Albertson, our 20I9 winner, shares her heartfelt "Oranges and Roses,'' and our 2020 winner, Brett Wolff, gives us a good laugh in "Hubbard Has a Fancy Bra." This eclectic assemblage of stories includes terrific tales from beloved BWG authors including Courtney Annicchiarico, Jeff Baird, Jodi Bogert, Marianne H. Donley, DT Krippene, Emily P. W. Murphy, Christopher D. Ochs, Dianna Sinovic, Kidd Wads­worth, Paul Weidknecht, Carol L. Wright, and Will Wright. So cuddle up with your favorite pet-real or imaginary. No matter. You'll find just the right story to share.

Saddle up for some creative fun! The pure beauty and spirit of horses makes them a favorite subject for artists. With the friendly instruction in this book, rendering these magnificent animals is both achievable and fun, even for beginners. Step by step, Jeanne Filler Scott shows you how to draw and paint the elegant lines, graceful movements and unique personalities that capture your heart. • 12 start-to-finish projects cover a variety of poses and subjects, from stately portraits of race horses to cute foals at play • Step-by-step demonstrations show how to depict accurate anatomy, powerful legs, flowing manes, expressive eyes, authentic coat colors and other key elements of realistic likenesses • Profiles outline the distinguishing characteristics and proportions of popular breeds and various stages of maturity • Rundowns on basic tools and techniques help you get started in pencil, acrylics and oils From taking reference photos to painting backgrounds, from formal portraits to everyday pasture scenes, this book covers everything you need to turn your love of horses into enjoyable and lifelike art.

Capturing the details is what makes wildlife painting come alive. Getting the fur, facial features and anatomy right with subjects that refuse to stand still adds to the challenge. Artist's Photo Reference: Wildlife saves the day by allowing you to concentrate on what's important - creating great art. Artist and photographer Bart Rulon provides hundreds of gorgeous full-color images showcasing nearly four dozen animals from a variety of angles. Each one has been taken with the needs of the artist in mind, ensuring that you save time, effort, money and worry. Stop wasting hours combing through endless magazines and books. You'll find all the high-quality reference photos you need right here! Rulon also provides guidelines for taking your own reference photos, plus five demonstrations in a variety of media, that illustrate how professional wildlife artists create extraordinary works of art by painting from photographs. Wildlife is the perfect addition to your reference library! Use it to save time, get inspired and create beautiful art of your own.

This book offers tips on how to accurately capture the anatomy, colors and textures of specific animals, along with insight on how to study and photograph them, recommendations on the best art tools and materials to use, and guidance through the entire painting process.

In this guide Susie Wynne shows how to draw and paint a range of popular pets in watercolour - dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, horses - in step-by-step detail. Most doting owners want some record of their pet, and in this book Susie shares the secrets of her success. She starts by taking photographs of the animals, then does a loose pencil sketch and gradually builds up the right body proportions and the texture of the fur in watercolour. Susie believes the important thing is to capture the animal's character and personality and that to do this you have to get to know the animal first. Draw and Paint Your Pet includes plenty of practical instruction and 13 full step-by-step demonstration paintings of dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea-pigs and horses.

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The beloved Pulitzer Prize–winning author tells the story of a lovable loser who's trying to get his life in order. Barnaby Gaitlin has been in trouble ever since adolescence. He had this habit of breaking into other people's houses. It wasn't the big loot he was after, like his teenage cohorts. It was just that he liked to read other people's mail, pore over their family photo albums, and appropriate a few of their precious mementos. But for eleven years now, he's been working steadily for Rent-a-Back, renting his back to old folks and shut-ins who can't move their own porch furniture or bring the Christmas tree down from the attic. At last, his life seems to be on an even keel. Still, the Gaitlins (of "old" Baltimore) cannot forget the price they paid for buying off Barnaby's former victims. And his ex-wife would just as soon he didn't show up ever to visit their little girl, Opal. Even the nice, steady woman (his guardian angel?) who seems to have designs on him doesn't fully trust him, it develops, when the chips are down, and it looks as though his world may fall apart again. There is no one like Anne Tyler, with her sharp, funny, tender perceptions about how human beings navigate on a puzzling planet, and she keeps us enthralled from start to finish in this delicious new novel.

Sarah J. Maas hit the New York Times SERIES list at #1 with A Court of Wings and Ruin!

Presents step-by-step instructions for painting pictures of small animals, including rabbits and hares, squirrels, prairie dogs, foxes, raccoons, woodchucks, otters, ferrets, and small rodents.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A coming-of-age classic about a young girl growing up in Chicago • Acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the world—from the winner of the 2019 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature. “Cisneros draws on her rich [Latino] heritage...and seduces with precise, spare prose, creat[ing] unforgettable characters we want to lift off the page. She is not only a gifted writer, but an absolutely essential one.” —The New York Times Book Review The House on Mango Street is one of the most cherished novels of the last fifty years. Readers from all walks of life have fallen for the voice of Esperanza Cordero, growing up in Chicago and inventing for herself who and what she will become. “In English my name means hope,” she says. “In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting." Told in a series of vignettes—sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous—Cisneros’s masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery and one of the greatest neighborhood novels of all time. Like Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street or Toni Morrison’s Sula, it makes a world through people and their voices, and it does so in language that is poetic and direct. This gorgeous coming-of-age novel is a celebration of the power of telling one’s story and of being proud of where you're from.