Take a journey with the master, Lian Quan Zhen! From landscapes and architecture to people and animals, Lian Quan Zhen has painted it all. Inside Chinese Watercolor Journeys with Lian Quan Zhen, you will see beautiful paintings in both the Chinese and Western styles. Filled with tips and stories, you'll learn about Lian's techniques and artistic journey. The large, colorful images will inspire you to take a journey of your own.
Capture the essence of animals like never before! Using Chinese and watercolor techniques and materials, you can create animals with elegance and grace. Let award-winning artist Lian Quan Zhan show you how with his clear and basic step-by-step instructions. Artists at all levels will benefit from Lian's deep understanding of both art forms. He guides you through the process by beginning with the basic properties of Chinese materials such as rice paper and ink, and leading to more advanced techniques such as loading a brush with multiple colors. He also teaches watercolor pouring techniques so you can create vibrant animals and beautiful backgrounds. So much of Chinese painting stems from observation and interpretation of nature. Apply these principles by painting cats, birds, tigers, and many other animals in seventeen step-by-step demonstrations. Find your inspiration within the animals of this book, and breathe the spirit of the East and West into your own art.
Philosopher Jacob Needleman's groundbreaking study of America's alternative spiritual movements is back in print with a new introduction by the author. Originally published in 1970, The New Religions was the first full-scale study of alternative spirituality in America. It remains unparalleled for the intellectual depth and seriousness with which it regards Eastern, New Age, and alternative faiths on the American landscape. Needleman’s writing and reportage are unfailingly thoughtful and incisive as he illuminates topics that other scholars failed to consider or could not fully grasp.
In this step-by-step guide, Lee Hammond reveals secrets that will help you turn your drawings into professional-looking fashion illustrations. &break;&break;You'll start with the basics - like how to draw the human figure as a combination of simple, interlocking shapes and how to use shading to give your work a realistic, three-dimensional quality. Next, you'll learn how to make the fashions look real - with convincing folds, drapes, patters and textures.&break; &break;Exercises and easy-to-follow demonstrations how you how to give your models expressive features, fashionable hair styles and just-the-right accessories. &break;&break;You'll learn how to add impact with cropping and creative backgrounds as you combine pose, expression and lighting to strike a mood and create attitude. &break;&break;If you have a feel for fashion and a creative flair, try your hand at fashion illustrations. This book makes it easy!
A deep-dive into the art and philosophy of making the perfect hamburger, with recipes for game-changing burgers and all the accoutrements. Chris Kronner has dedicated his creative energy, professional skills, and a lifetime of burger experiences to understanding America's favorite sandwich. In his debut cookbook, this trusted chef reveals the secrets behind his art and obsession, and teaches you how to create all of the elements of a perfect burger at home. Including tips for sourcing and grinding high-quality meat, musings on what makes a good bun, creative ideas for toppings (spoiler alert: there are more bad ideas out there than good, and restraint is the name of the game), and more than forty burger accompaniments and alternatives—from superior onion rings to seasonal salads to Filet-O-Fish-inspired Crab Burgers—this book is not only a burger bible, but also a meditation on creating perfection in simplicity.
"Picturing the True Form investigates the long-neglected visual culture of Daoism, China’s primary indigenous religion, from the tenth through thirteenth centuries with references to both earlier and later times. In this richly illustrated book, Shih-shan Susan Huang provides a comprehensive mapping of Daoist images in various media, including Dunhuang manuscripts, funerary artifacts, and paintings, as well as other charts, illustrations, and talismans preserved in the fifteenth-century Daoist Canon. True form (zhenxing), the key concept behind Daoist visuality, is not static, but entails an active journey of seeing underlying and secret phenomena.This book’s structure mirrors the two-part Daoist journey from inner to outer. Part I focuses on inner images associated with meditation and visualization practices for self-cultivation and longevity. Part II investigates the visual and material dimensions of Daoist ritual. Interwoven through these discussions is the idea that the inner and outer mirror each other and the boundary demarcating the two is fluid. Huang also reveals three central modes of Daoist symbolism—aniconic, immaterial, and ephemeral—and shows how Daoist image-making goes beyond the traditional dichotomy of text and image to incorporate writings in image design. It is these particular features that distinguish Daoist visual culture from its Buddhist counterpart."
A comprehensive reference to Mongolia and the Mongols includes alphabetically arranged entries on the region's history, political movements, key figures, culture, languages, religion, economy, sociology, medicine, and climate .
This extraordinary spiritual odyssey "transcends the tangible and points to the mysteries of all we can imagine and all we cannot" (Los Angeles Times). Part adventure, part parable, this true story of the making of a Taoist ma ster leads readers through a labyrinth of Taoist practice, martial arts discipline, and international intrigue. Line drawings.
Did you know that Vanilla was formerly served as aphrodisiac by Cassanova and Madam Pompadour, and Elizabeth I loved its flavor? This is the first book that provides a complete worldwide coverage of orchids being employed as aphrodisiacs, medicine or charms and food. Opening with an in-depth historical account of orchids (orchis Greek testicle), the author describes how the Theory of Signatures influenced ancient herbalists to regard terrestrial orchid tubers as aphrodisiacs. Doctors and apothecaries promoted it during the Renaissance. Usage of orchids in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Indian Ayurvedic Medicine; by Tibetan yogins and Amchi healers for longevity pills, tonics and aphrodisiacs; by Africans to prepare 'health promoting' chikanda or as survival food when lost in the Australian bush are some highlights of the book. Early settlers in America and the East Indies often relied on native remedies and employment of orchids for such needs is described. Also covered are the search for medicinal compounds by scientists, attempts to prove the orchid's efficacy by experiment and the worry of conservationists.
