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Creativity Through Nature: Foraged, Recycled and Natural Mixed-Media Art
A passionate and purposeful book on finding real creativity through nature.
An essential book for our times and all artists at whatever level. In her most passionate and personal book to date, acclaimed watercolour artist Ann Blockley takes both budding and more experienced artists through a series of ideas for working with nature – in its widest sense – to nurture our creativity, inspire us, make us more sustainable artists, and replenish energy and flow when our artistic streams run dry.
In ‘Go Outside and Play’, the author exhorts artists to recapture a fun, no-pressure way of being outside and use that feeling when creating. In ’Connecting Materials to Place’ she creates her own paint from the local pond. In ‘The Slow Movement’, the artist reveals her year of working on a specific local hedgerow and painting a series of different interpretation in its every-changing detail. She created regular creative rituals, using her weekly playing card as a starting point for a new painting to reflect the season each week. She reuses old paintings, and tissue and paper – wabi-sabi style – to create new textures and even new paintings.
Including work from other artists as well as her own, she shows the ideas and work from textile and mixed-media artists. From allotment inspiration to reusing old painting and from nature prints to the alchemy of found materials, this is a journey to find new creativity through our connection with our natural world.
An essential book for our times and all artists at whatever level. In her most passionate and personal book to date, acclaimed watercolour artist Ann Blockley takes both budding and more experienced artists through a series of ideas for working with nature – in its widest sense – to nurture our creativity, inspire us, make us more sustainable artists, and replenish energy and flow when our artistic streams run dry.
In ‘Go Outside and Play’, the author exhorts artists to recapture a fun, no-pressure way of being outside and use that feeling when creating. In ’Connecting Materials to Place’ she creates her own paint from the local pond. In ‘The Slow Movement’, the artist reveals her year of working on a specific local hedgerow and painting a series of different interpretation in its every-changing detail. She created regular creative rituals, using her weekly playing card as a starting point for a new painting to reflect the season each week. She reuses old paintings, and tissue and paper – wabi-sabi style – to create new textures and even new paintings.
Including work from other artists as well as her own, she shows the ideas and work from textile and mixed-media artists. From allotment inspiration to reusing old painting and from nature prints to the alchemy of found materials, this is a journey to find new creativity through our connection with our natural world.
- GenresArt
244 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 13, 2021
16 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 3, 2021
Such a creative book! I love nature and I love painting nature, but I never thought of painting with nature in the way Ann Blockley does - making her own pigments from local materials, using organic material, making collages... There are some really cool techniques in here, like making your own inks and watercolours, or using rust to make intriguing patterns. This approach is so beautiful and inspiring.
I also loved to read about her thoughts and mindset when it comes to nature and environmentally friendly artwork. And of course, many examples of her gorgeous artwork.
I also loved to read about her thoughts and mindset when it comes to nature and environmentally friendly artwork. And of course, many examples of her gorgeous artwork.
October 24, 2021
Another great book by Ann. Lots of ideas to stimulate creativity getting ideas from the simple things surrounding us outside.
May 25, 2023
Beautiful book but very little how to. Don't buy it
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews