Art, Fashion and Architecture – Hellobooks.co.za

How to Paint a Vermeer – George Deem

Anna Howcroft — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 11:00:47 +0000

George Deem has deployed his virtuoso skills as a painter for over forty years, applying the traditional paint effects and glazes of the Masters with modern wit and freshness. This is the most comprehensive collection of his work ever assembled, introduced here by Robert Rosenblum. Deem ‘rebuilds’ much-loved favourites, by Vermeer and Velazquez, among many others, using uncannily authentic techniques that have drawn the attention of art historians. In Deem’s hands, they become something different and surprising: a Vermeer room but without people, turned into an exquisite ‘new’ composition; a heap of familiar Cubist images piled against a wall, seen as though taken out of their frames for the holiday season. The tour of Western art, Deem-style, is an eye-opener. Here are not only wonderfully executed ‘original’ paintings, but also a maverick guide through the styles of Western art, starting with the Renaissance painter Raphael, continuing through Impressionism, and into 20th-century Modernism. These ‘paintings of paintings’, new works from old, are amusing, informative and – above all – testament to the love that George Deem has for painting and all its pleasures

The Encyclopedia Of Painting Techniques – Elizabeth Tate

Anna Howcroft — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 08:43:51 +0000

The book offers artists at all level of expertise a practical, detailed guide to many painting techniques: acrylic, gouache, oil, pastel, tempera and watercolour. Appropriate media and techniques for painting subjects like animals, buildings, landscape, portraits, skies and clouds, still life, water are explained in detail with close-up photographs

Literary Russia – Rosamund Bartlett and Anna Benn

Anna Howcroft — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 15:57:26 +0000

Russian writers have always played a special role in the spiritual, intellectual, and political lives of their readers. This book reveals the warmth and energy with which their legacy is cherished. The authors take the reader on a tour of sites of the most important scenes of Russian literature. Readers can trace the steps of Raskolnikov through St. Petersburg or follow Esenin’s bohemian life in Moscow.
A book to be read at home as much as by travelers, “Literary Russia” sketches not only an extraordinary literary map of Russia but also a whole social and political panorama that unfolds in vivid and remarkable detail

InGuide: Venice

Anna Howcroft — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 12:03:43 +0000

Compact, sturdy and colourful, this InGuide offers a richly illustrated survey of the sights of Venice, a selection of its shops, restaurants and hotels, details of cultural events, introductions to major museums, and guided walks exploring the city’s most interesting places. Fresh ideas on where to sleep, eat and shop, including a host of useful websites, help travelers make the best choices during their stay. The book includes a pull-out map and pages for personal notes and is bound in a mock leather with elastic closure

Interior Design – Jenny Gibbs

Anna Howcroft — Fri, 24 Nov 2017 07:44:20 +0000

This book describes the qualities and skills needed to become an interior designer, examines the varied career opportunities available and gives a balanced inside view of the business today.

Its broad, up-to-date approach unites history, theory and practice. Subjects covered include: how to develop a brief with a client; presentations and sample boards; choosing materials and designs; project planning and management. The book aims to inform and inspire as well as to equip new designers with a valuable route-guide to the profession. Principally written for interior design students, it will also serve as a reliable manual for aspiring amateurs.

Jenny Gibbs is Principal of the KLC School of Design in Chelsea, London. Listed by “House & Garden” magazine as one of the leading contributors to British design, she is a regular lecturer and broadcaster, she also writes for home interest magazines and is the author of “A Handbook for Interior Designers” and “The Country House”

Painting on Fabric – Tharina Odendaal and‎ Anike Pretorius

Anna Howcroft — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 11:27:30 +0000

Advice on the equipment and paint required, different types of fabric available, colour and painting techniques. Chapters are devoted to step-by-step instructions and illustrations on how to paint fruit, flowers and leaves and how to make up the fabric you have painted into tablecloths, serviettes, tray cloths, place-mats, tea cosies, curtains and blinds, and clothing. Black and white patterns of the various designs are also included at the back of the book. Illustrated throughout with full colour illustrations and photographs

Classical Civilization – Nigel Spivey

Anna Howcroft — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 10:17:58 +0000

“Classical Civilization” by Nigel Spivey is a concise and accessible study of the foundations, development and enduring legacy of the cultures of Greece and Rome, centred on ten locations of seminal importance in the development of Classical civilisation.

Starting with Troy, where history, myth and cosmology fuse to form the origins of Classical civilisation, Nigel Spivey explores the contrasting politics of Athens and Sparta, the diffusion of classical ideals across the Mediterranean world, Classical science and philosophy, the eastward export of Greek culture with the conquests of Alexander the Great, the power and spread of the Roman imperium, and the long Byzantine twilight of Antiquity. A secure grasp of the nature of our Greek and Roman heritage is absolutely fundamental to a true understanding of contemporary European society and culture

Tibetan Pilgrimage – Michel Peissel

Anna Howcroft — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 11:04:39 +0000

This book is certain to foster an appreciation for the elegance of Tibetan architecture, confirming the extent of its influence and its remarkable originality. By combining masonry with the skills of nomad tent-makers, Tibetan architects have produced unique, magnificent buildings that, for too long, have remained obscure and underestimated. Fluent in Tibetan, author-illustrator Michel Peissel spent 45 years investigating the remotest regions of Greater Tibet, embarking on 29 expeditions on foot and horseback to reach the lesser-known fortresses, chapels, and monasteries that he sketched and painted for this exquisite volume

Brilliance and Fire – Rachelle Bergstein

Anna Howcroft — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 15:34:01 +0000

Rachelle Bergstein’s cultural biography of the diamond illuminates the enticing, often surprising story of our society’s enduring obsession with the hardest gemstone and the people who have worked tirelessly to ensure its continued allure. From the South African mines where most diamonds have been sourced since the late 1890s to the companies who have fought to monopolize them; from the stars who have dazzled in them to the people behind the scenes who have carefully crafted our understanding of their value “Brilliance and Fire” offers a glittering history of the world’s most coveted gemstone and its greatest champions and most colourful enthusiasts. Brilliance and Fire is illustrated with 16 pages of colour photographs

Watercolours – Miranda Fellows

Hellobooks — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 14:45:44 +0000

“Watercolours – A Complete Beginner’s Guide” is a straightforward and practical guide designed especially for the beginner. Contains 12 exciting projects with step showing how to achieve the final results. Forms a complete beginner’s course in watercolour painting. Includes comprehensive information on the wide range of paints, watercolour pencils and papers available. Gives practical advice on painting techniques and how to use them in your pictures to create the effect you want