In a magnificent showcase of subjects and styles, the American Society of Marine Artists express their unique visions using watercolor, oil, pastel, acrylic and pen and ink, in 11 demonstrations and 15 mini-demos. Instructions for rendering a variety of nautical elements are featured, from painting dramatic cloud formations and colorful twilights, to depicting calm, wavy and rough water. The artists also reveal their secrets for painting ships, sailboats and other craft with attention to detail such as how to "settle" a boat into the water.This guide also illustrates the keys to capturing the textures of a variety of marine images, including translucent snails, weathered wooden boats, fine sand and sea shells. Additionally, these featured artists offer their valuable advice on gathering source material, painting on location, and choosing materials and tools.

Boats and coastal scenery have always inspired artists. This book celebrates that inspiration and explains many aspects of painting the coast, from creeks and tidal rivers to bustling beach scenes, boats and harbours, with a strong emphasis on capturing light, mood and atmosphere.

The Potential of Watercolor Revealed Luminous, dynamic and expressive, watercolor is an intriguing medium for artist and viewer alike. Splash 9: Watercolor Secrets invites you to push your own creative potential to new heights as you explore the work of more than 100 of today's best watercolor artists. Page after page showcases a diverse array of styles and subjects, from quiet still lifes to animated streetscapes to mood-filled portraits. Each featured artist punctuates this collection with his or her own distinctive mastery of the medium. In every work, you'll see how color, composition and personal inspiration blend with years of practice, commitment and experimentation to create resonant works of stunning beauty. Created specifically for artists and art lovers, Splash 9 invites you to discover watercolor on a deeper level, providing detailed commentary from the artists themselves on every piece. You'll learn about their influences, their challenges and, most importantly, their specialized painting techniques. Delight in the secrets of this inspiring collection!

Set sail and dive into Europe's magnificent port cities with Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports! Inside you'll find: Rick's expert advice on making the most of your time on a cruise and fully experiencing each city, with thorough coverage of 23 ports of call Practical travel strategies including how to choose and book your cruise, adjust to life on board on the ship, and save money Self-guided walks and tours of each port city so you can hit the best sights, sample authentic cuisine, and get to know the culture, even with a short amount of time Essential logistics including step-by-step instructions for arriving at each terminal, getting into town, and finding necessary services like ATMs and pharmacies Rick's reliable tips and candid advice on how to beat the crowds, skip lines, and avoid tourist traps Helpful reference photos throughout and full-color maps of each city Useful tools like mini-phrasebooks, detailed instructions for any visa requirements, hotel and airport recommendations for cruise access cities, and what to do if you miss your ship Full list of coverage: Provence, Marseille, Toulon and the Port of La Seyne-sur-Mer, Cassis, Aix-en-Provence, Nice, Villefrance-sur-Mer, Cap Ferrat, Monaco, Cannes, Antibes, Florence, Pisa, Lucca, the Port of Livorno, Rome, the Port of Civitaveccia, Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii, Herculaneum, the Amalfi Coast, Venice, Split, Dubrovnik, Athens, the Port of Piraeus, Mykonos, Santorini, Corfu, Olympia and the Port of Katakolo, Crete and the Port of Heraklion, Rhodes, Istanbul, Ephesus, and The Port of Kusadasi Maximize your time and savor every moment in port with Rick's practical tips, thoughtful advice, and reliable expertise. Heading north? Pick up Rick Steves Scandinavian & Northern European Cruise Ports.

The Splash series has earned a reputation as a premier showcase of contemporary watercolor. Year after year, artists and art enthusiasts look forward to its big, beautiful images, innovative approaches and insightful commentary. Continuing the tradition, this 12th edition celebrates artistic vision—delivering a stunning diversity of ideas, inspiration, and breathtaking art—in short, everything fans of this series have come to expect, including the wonderfully unexpected. Explore how artists seize upon moments of beauty and wonder, inject emotional content and personal interpretation, and translate it all into brilliant standout paintings. Impossibly red tomatoes picked fresh from the garden...A chance pose by an impatient child model...The simple view through a weathered door... These are just a few of the "sparks" behind the more than 120 striking paintings on these pages. Captions offer insight from the artists themselves who share the approaches they use to bring their visions into focus. The late Henry Fukuhara painted the scene on page 90 when he was 96 years old, completely blind and bedridden, a profound testament to the power of an artist's vision. His advice: "Don't be a reporter; be an entertainer." Page after page, Splash 12 offers up this kind of hard-earned wisdom, personal epiphanies and artist-to-artist advice for making others stop, look, and enjoy the view. Dive in, and see where 100 of today's brightest watercolor visionaries have taken this celebrated medium.

A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but the less expected routes are what more often lead artists from inspiration to great paintings. Splash 13 explores the paths less traveled...real solutions and alternative approaches from 100 of today's masters of the medium. Pulsing with the spirit of play and experimentation, over 100 paintings are accompanied by insight from the artists revealing how they pushed the limits of color, blurred the boundary between realism and abstraction, embraced accidents, and did away with expectations, traditional thinking...and sometimes even brushes! Filled with stunning paintings, fresh inspiration and ground-breaking innovation, Splash 13: Alternative Approaches is a must-have showcase for artists and art-lovers alike.

"Do not only draw what you see," encourages artist Gary Rudisill (p55), "create what you feel." In Strokes of Genius 5, that feeling is delivered through strong and inventive design. Covering a tantalizing range of styles, the work within illustrates the many ways today's best artists choreograph shape, value, line, texture and color into compositions that create drama, tell a story, and pull viewers in. Featuring unusual perspectives, tantalizing contrasts and other dynamic design elements, Strokes of Genius 5 delivers fresh inspiration for artists of every skill level and medium. • Art and inspiration from 91 contemporary masters in charcoal, pencil, pastel, colored pencil, scratch board, pen and ink, and more. • 120 masterful works--landscapes, figures, portraits, urban scenes, animals and still lifes--in a wonderful diversity of styles. • Expert tips, techniques and stories behind the designs.