All of science springs from the observation of nature. In this classic book, the late Professor Minnaert accompanies the reader on a tour of nature's light and color and reveals the myriad phenomena that may be observed outdoors with no more than a pair of eyes and an enquiring mind. From the intriguing shape of the dapples beneath a tree on a sunny day, via rainbows, mirages, and haloes, the colors of liquid, ice, and the sky, to the appearance of the sun, moon, planets, and stars - Minnaert describes and explains them all in a clear language accessible to laymen. This new English edition is supplemented by 80 plates, over half of them in color, taken by the acclaimed photographer Pekka Parviainen, illustrating many of the phenomena - ordinary and exotic - discussed in the book.

Everything you need to know to put your drawings and paintings into perspective! If the concept of perspective makes you think of confusing angles, fancy measuring gadgets and complicated theories, get ready for a very pleasant surprise. In this comprehensive guide, Phil Metzger demystifies perspective, presenting it simply as a matter of mimicking the way we see--like the way a distant mountain appears blue, or a road seems to narrow in the distance. The Art of Perspective offers simple but powerful techniques for achieving a convincing illusion of depth and distance, whether it's a few inches in a still life or miles in a landscape. • Start simple, with atmospheric perspective and intuitive techniques, and gradually progress to linear perspective and more complex challenges such as stairways, curves and reflections. • Use the engaging, step-by-step demonstrations and exercises to try out each essential concept for yourself, making lessons clearer and more memorable. • Learn theories that apply to all mediums, with specific advice for achieving effects using acrylic, oil, watercolor and pencil. • Get the inside scoop on professional tricks and shortcuts that make perspective easier than ever! Forget everything you think you know (or don't know) about perspective. This book builds an easy-to-follow, ground-up understanding of how to turn a flat painting or drawing surface into a living, breathing, dimensional scene that lures viewers in. No matter how you look at it, it's the ultimate guide to perspective for artists of every medium and skill level.

John Everett Millais (1829-1896) is undoubtedly among the most important of Victorian artists. In his day, and our own, he remains also the most controversial. While, during his lifetime, controversy centred around his early Pre-Raphaelite paintings, in particular Christ in the house of his Parents (1850), during the twentieth century the most intense criticism has been directed towards Millais's later works, such as Bubbles (1886), which has been widely condemned as sentimental 'kitsch'. These later paintings have been held up as the epitome of the degradation of art, against which avant-garde and Modernist pioneers struggled. None of the existing literature on Millais addresses the fundamental problem that this double-identity reveals. While there is extensive material on the Pre-Raphaelite movement in general, Millais's own work after the 1850s is rarely discussed in detail, despite the fact that he lived and worked for another 30 years after his abandonment of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Time Present and Time Past: The Art of John Everett Millais presents the first comprehensive account of Millais's artistic career from beginning to end. The book considers the question of 'high' and 'low' cultural status in debates during Millais's own day, and in subsequent critical thinking, situating Millais's art as a whole within this cultural framework.

"Offers simple but powerful techniques for achieving a convincing illusion of depth and distance, whether it's a few inches in a still life or miles in a landscape"--Back cover.

"Tessa Wardley is a keen and knowledgeable guide” - Times Literary Supplement The Mindful Art of Wild Swimming explores how swimming in rivers, lakes, and seas is the very epitome of conscious living. Zen-seeker Tessa Wardley reconnects the physical and spiritual cycles of life to the changing seasons and flow of wild waters worldwide and leads the reader on to a mindful journey through the natural world. With expert insight and personal anecdote, she shares a sparkling clarity on why our relationship with open water is so fundamental to pure wellbeing, and reveals how wild swimming can be the ultimate Zen meditation.

Mindfulness in Wild Swimming explores how swimming in rivers, lakes and seas is the epitome of conscious living, guiding the reader through practical mindful exercises and technique tips, and reveals how wild swimming can be the ultimate physical meditation.

Restless, protean, fluid, evanescent—despite being a challenge to represent visually, water has gained a striking significance in the art of the twentieth century. This may be due to the fact that it allows for a range of metaphorical meanings, many of which are particularly appropriate to the modern age. Water is not merely a subject of contemporary art, but also a material increasingly used in art-making, giving it a distinct dual presence. Water and Art probes the ways in which water has gained an unprecedented prominence in modern Western art and seeks to draw connections to its depiction in earlier art forms. David Clarke looks across cultures, finding parallels within contemporary Chinese art, which draws on a cultural tradition in which water has an essential presence and is used as both a subject and a medium. The book features a wealth of images by artists from East and West, including Fu Baoshi, Shi Tao, Wei Zixi, Fang Rending, Leonardo da Vinci, Bernini, Turner, Gericault, Klee, Matisse, Monet, Picasso, Mondrian, and Kandinsky. Fast-paced, accessible, and comprehensive, Water and Art will appeal to the specialist and the general reader alike, offering fresh perspectives on familiar artists as well as an introduction to others who are less well-known.

Hone your senses and learn to read the hidden signs of nature—from master outdoorsman Tristan Gooley, New York Times-bestselling author of How to Read a Tree and The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs “Equal parts alfresco inspiration, interesting factoids, how-to instructions and self-help advice.”—The Wall Street Journal When most of us go for a walk, a single sense—sight—tends to dominate our experience. But when New York Times–bestselling author and expert navigator Tristan Gooley goes for a walk, he uses all five senses to “read” everything nature has to offer. A single lowly weed can serve as his compass, calendar, clock, and even pharmacist. In How to Read Nature, Gooley introduces readers to his world—where the sky, sea, and land teem with marvels. Plus, he shares 15 exercises to sharpen all of your senses. Soon you’ll be making your own discoveries, every time you step outside!

Do you love being on the water? Is holding a rod and reel one of your favorite outdoor activities? Outdoorsman and bestselling author Steve Chapman takes you to lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans to explore fishing and discover life-changing insights from God’s Word. In these devotions about fishing for trout, bass, catfish, shark, and more, you’ll discover: why pestering a water snake isn’t such a good idea how treble hooks turn into reminders to avoid sin where to turn when angling becomes a temptation how cleaning a shark reveals the joy of God’s mercy and grace what unexpected truth is revealed when Jesus walked on water Join Steve as he casts into the deep pools of God’s wisdom to share life-altering insights, uplifting spiritual truths, and unabashed enthusiasm for living for Christ. You’ll enjoy these adventures of being on the water with God, family, and friends.

As a working artist, Leo Buckley was invited to talk to the sixth grade of a local primary school. The resulting question and answer session revealed an enormous appetite of the students for some simple rules to enable them to improve their drawing abilities. They had been unable to find this information, at their level, in any book in the bookshops; saying that the only available books either assumed knowledge which they did not have, or else treated the topics so briefly as to be scarcely helpful. As result, Leo returned with a few instructive talks on some of the basic principles of drawing. Using feedback from the pupils and teachers, the talks were developed into a fairly comprehensive series on the subject which soon become in great demand by other schools. For many years, Leo has presented the talks to schools covering a wide variety of schools and pupils and, eventually, including adult classes. Throughout this extended period the lessons were modified, adjusted in contents and rearranged into the most logical sequence to better suit the need of this widening range of students. At the frequent request of teachers and students (of all age groups) Leo examined the possibility of compiling a book which would follow the successful pattern of his lectures ; even to the extent of displaying the illustrations and text on opposite pages as in a “chalk and talk” classroom environment. This innovative (and easy to follow) method simplified the presentation enormously and he found that the lectures almost immediately fell into book form.