Library of art eBooks, covering topics from historical art movements to contemporary trends.
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A life-altering journey through the science of neuroaesthetics, which offers proof for how our brains and bodies transform when we participate in the arts—and how this knowledge can improve our health, enable us to flourish, and build stronger communities.
“This book blew my mind!”—Angela Duckworth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grit
A BLOOMBERG BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • Finalist for the Inc. Non-Obvious Book Award and the Porchlight Business Book Award
What is art? Many of us think of the arts as entertainment—a luxury of some kind. In Your Brain on Art, authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross show how activities from painting and dancing to expressive writing, architecture, and more are essential to our lives.
We’re on the verge of a cultural shift in which the arts can deliver potent, accessible, and proven solutions for the well-being of everyone. Magsamen and Ross offer compelling research that shows how engaging in an art project for as little as forty-five minutes reduces the stress hormone cortisol, no matter your skill level, and just one art experience per month can extend your life by ten years. They expand our understanding of how playing music builds cognitive skills and enhances learning; the vibrations of a tuning fork create sound waves to counteract stress; virtual reality can provide cutting-edge therapeutic benefit; and interactive exhibits dissolve the boundaries between art and viewers, engaging all of our senses and strengthening memory. Doctors have even been prescribing museum visits to address loneliness, dementia, and many other physical and mental health concerns.
Your Brain on Art is a portal into this new understanding about how the arts and aesthetics can help us transform traditional medicine, build healthier communities, and mend an aching planet.
Featuring conversations with artists such as David Byrne, Renée Fleming, and evolutionary biologist E. O. Wilson, Your Brain on Art is an authoritative guide to neuroaesthetics. The book weaves a tapestry of breakthrough research, insights from multidisciplinary pioneers, and compelling stories from people who are using the arts to enhance their lives.
The Complete Book of Drawing: Essential Skills for Every Artist
What does every budding artist need to know about drawing? And what quick skills can you pick up to help you on the way? In this instructive book, Barrington Barber shows you just this, offering tips and tricks as he guides you through the fundamental aspects of drawing.
Get to grips with still-life composition, draw dynamic bodies in motion, and capture the spectacular natural world. The Complete Book of Drawing is a distillation of the many skills that the aspiring artist needs to develop.
As Barrington Barber knows from his many years of teaching and practising art, it is crucial for you to develop your own artistic style. And, uniquely among practical art books, this is what The Complete Book of Drawing provides. By revealing the nuances of texture, composition and perspective, this book will enable you to look at the world around you with fresh eyes.
Art Class: The Complete Book of Drawing Nature: How to Create Your Own Artwork
This full-colour drawing book guides readers through the many aspects of the natural world, written by internationally bestselling practical art author Barrington Barber.
Presented in a useful lay-flat landscape format, this essential reference guide includes accessible step-by-step drawing projects starting with a close observation of plants and flowers, before exploring the possibilities of still lifes that can be made in the comfort of your own home.
Other subjects include:
- Outdoor elements, including tress, rocks, water and sky
- Animals, from crabs to tigers
- Landscapes and their composition
Whether you are drawing in a garden, a park or the open countryside, you will find it extremely rewarding to create a record of where you have been and a feel greater connection to the natural world.
With clear, practical advice for every step of the process for artists at every level, from the basics of choosing supplies to advanced techniques, this is the ultimate guide to nature drawing.
ABOUT THE SERIES: Arcturus’ Art Class books are a curated series of instructional art and craft titles designed to inspire artists of all levels, from beginner to professional. Stunningly presented in full colour, and in a highly usable landscape format, these comprehensive books are packed with all the ideas, inspirations, step-by-step projects, and techniques you’ll need to master the subject covered.