A scintillating glimpse into the lives of acclaimed writers and artists and their inspiring, often surprising convergences, from the author of Monsieur Proust's Library With the wit and penetration well known to readers of Anka Muhlstein’s previous books, The Pen and the Brush revisits the delights of the French novel. This time she focuses on late 19th- and 20th-century writers--Balzac, Zola, Proust, Huysmans, and Maupassant--through the lens of their passionate involvement with the fine arts. She delves into the crucial role that painters play as characters in their novels, which she pairs with an exploration of the profound influence that painting exercised on the novelists' techniques, offering an intimate view of the intertwined worlds of painters and writers at the time. Muhlstein's deftly chosen vignettes bring to life a portrait of the nineteenth century's tight-knit artistic community, where Cézanne and Zola befriended each other as boys and Balzac yearned for the approval of Delacroix. She leads the reader on a journey of spontaneous discovery as she explores how a great painting can open a mind and spark creative fire.

French symbolist artist Odilon Redon (1840–1916) seemed to thrive at the intersection of literature and art. Known as “the painter-writer,” he drew on the works of Poe, Baudelaire, Flaubert, and Mallarmé for his subject matter. And yet he concluded that visual art has nothing to do with literature. Examining this apparent contradiction, The Brush and the Pen transforms the way we understand Redon’s career and brings to life the interaction between writers and artists in fin-de-siècle Paris. Dario Gamboni tracks Redon’s evolution from collaboration with the writers of symbolism and decadence to a defense of the autonomy of the visual arts. He argues that Redon’s conversion was the symptom of a mounting crisis in the relationship between artists and writers, provoked at the turn of the century by the growing power of art criticism that foreshadowed the modernist separation of the arts into intractable fields. In addition to being a distinguished study of this provocative artist, The Brush and the Pen offers a critical reappraisal of the interaction of art, writing, criticism, and government institutions in late nineteenth-century France.

Create beautiful lettering projects, quotes, birthday cards, and more once you’ve learned the basics of hand lettering from artist Sarah Ensign. Have you always wanted to learn the secrets to create stunning letter art? Now you can! This book takes you through different hand lettering styles such as faux calligraphy, brush pen lettering, and creating basic font styles such as monoline, elegant, and brush pen scripts. Sarah Ensign, author and influencer shares this fascinating craft with you through pages of colorful examples and worksheets that allow you to practice what you’ve learned. She also shares practical tips on supplies such as pen and paper, creating beautiful fonts, and master tricky connections, and planning layouts for quotes. Simple Techniques and Endless Possibilities In this colorful, hardcover book, you’ll find hands-on lettering worksheets and step-by-step guides that will quickly build your confidence. Explore your creativity with this fun, creative craft. Hand lettering for Beginners has a fun, non-intimidating approach to guiding readers through hand lettering techniques and possibilities. This book will start a fascinating hobby that will allow you to grow your hand lettering skills and create your own unique projects.

The Art of Brush Lettering offers a meditative approach to learning all the facets of lettering with brush pens.

Create beautiful hand lettering with the first book dedicated entirely to the use and mastery of modern brush pens. Drawing gorgeous letters, words and phrases with a brush pen doesn’t have to be difficult! Brush Pen Lettering will show you how to create your own unique style. To help you on your lettering journey, this comprehensive how-to guide includes: • DIY projects • Tips and Tricks • Color Photographs • Inspiring Ideas • Step-by-step instructions • Practice exercises

Capture the Magic of the Sea with Claudia Nice Nobody captures the misty splashes and weathered details of seascapes quite like Claudia Nice. In this step-by-step guide, Claudia shares her special approach to creating dynamic watercolor compositions textured with pen and ink, acrylics and gouache. Claudia starts with the basics, so you can advance at your own pace as you follow along through more than 60 step-by-step demonstrations ranging from short mini demos to full-scale paintings. Take a look inside to see how simple and inspiring Claudia's instruction can be. Each chapter focuses on a different element of coastal scenery, including crashing waves against rocky bluffs, wide sandy beaches and gently rolling surf, colorful boats and harbors, luminous ocean sunsets, and warm tropical scenes with kids and dogs at play. You'll find complete instructions for mixing the colors of active and still water, as well as creating the textures of sand and rock. Claudia also features her own reference photos and field studies to show you how to build solid compositions from a variety of sources. Dozens of quick tips teach you the details that add drama and realism to your seascapes, and 30 complete paintings will inspire you to create your own beautiful coastal scenes. With Claudia Nice, learning to paint lively seascapes is like spending a day at the beach!