Drawn To Nature

This beautiful book explores the beloved writer’s achievements as a storyteller, artist, and naturalist. Beatrix Potter’s universe of characters—Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Jemima Puddleduck—have delighted audiences for over a century. A creative pioneer and determined entrepreneur, she combined scientific observation with imaginative storytelling to create some of the world’s best-loved children’s books. This volume showcases Potter’s charming charac-ters against the backdrop of her exquisite botanical drawings, humorous illustrated letters to friends, Lake District landscapes, and rarely seen photographs. Beatrix Potter’s endearingly hand-painted world of animals and gardens made her one of the most celebrated children’s book authors of all time, yet this is but one facet of her creative life. Drawn to the picturesque English countryside after a London childhood, Potter had a passion for nature that influenced her many achievements as a naturalist, artist, storyteller, and later in life as a fervent conservationist and “gentlewoman” farmer. This book sheds light upon the connections between her art, entrepreneurial success, and legacy in preservation.

The natural world as seen through the eyes of British artists including Eric Ravilious, Clare Leighton, and John Piper Since its publication in 1789, Gilbert White's Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne has inspired generations of artists, writers and naturalists. From Thomas Bewick to Eric Ravilious and Clare Leighton, many artists' depictions of animals, birds and wildlife have illustrated White's celebrated book, together providing a microcosm of natural history illustration from the eighteenth century until today. In Drawn to Nature, Simon Martin has gathered joyful and beautiful images of the extraordinary array of wildlife described by White, providing an insight into the continuing appeal and relevance of the Natural History. This fascinating account takes us from some of the earliest published depictions of birds and animals, to pioneering nature photography, the revival of wood-engraving in the 1920s and 30s, and responses to White's message about the natural world by contemporary illustrators such as Angie Lewin and Emily Sutton. The book also includes an introduction to the life of Gilbert White by Sir David Attenborough, an essay by Virginia Woolf, poems by modern and contemporary poets, and a jacket design by Mark Hearld.

Reveling in the wonders of nature doesnÕt have to be reserved for vacation. By simply taking a few minutes to look up and observe the hawks hovering over their nest at the top of a city building, or to look down and note the variety of weeds growing in a small patch of earth, or just to glance through the window and appreciate the shapes of the clouds moving by, anyone can connect with natureÑanywhere, anytime. Clare Walker Leslie, author of the bestselling book Keeping a Nature Journal, has spent 25 years teaching and showing people how simple and rewarding it is to notice and record local nature. Nothing is more inspiring than the pages of her nature journals, which feature her daily recordings of small, but amazing natural events sheÕs seen while walking the dog, sitting in a park with her children, or driving around city streets. Drawn to Nature features a selection of LeslieÕs journal pages, arranged to inspire the reader to do as she does: look up, look down, look out and around, bring bits of nature indoors to observe and study, or take your eyes for a walk around the neighborhood. Using a combination of quick, impressionistic watercolors with more detailed pen and pencil drawings, along with the written word, Leslie invites readers to share in the pleasure of her nature watching, and to experience the joy of seeing and connecting with nature wherever they live, amidst the whirl of daily life. For journal keepers, nature lovers, birdwatchers, artists, and anyone interested in using nature as a source for self-reflection or meditation, this book will be a welcome companion and source of inspiration.

Drawn after nature presents a vivid and complete picture of a unique historical collection of botanical watercolours. Botanists, art lovers, historians as well as the general public will enjoy this publication of the watercolours, their annotations and their history, but above all their supreme beauty and display of craftsmanship. For over 300 years, the Preußische Staatsbibliothek in Berlin held a most remarkable collection of botanical watercolours. They were catalogued as part of the library’s illustrated manuscripts, or Libri Picturati. These magnificent works of art, rich in colour and detail, were made in the second half of the 16th century in the southern part of the Low Countries. In the 1970s the complete set of watercolours had been rediscovered and sparked the interest of historians, art historians and botanists alike. Together they set out to unravel the many secrets still held by the Libri Picturati’s watercolours: who had collected them, and why? A team of pre-eminent European scientists worked together on these and other intriguing questions surrounding the collection. They unveiled the important role played by the famous Dutch botanist Carolus Clusius, who later founded the University of Leiden’s Botanical Gardens. Drawn after nature contains accessible and informative chapters on the collection’s history, but most importantly: it brings together all of the original 1429 watercolours and sketches, for the first time in one volume, accompanied by their original annotations.

Using nothing but pressed plants, artist Ahpornsiri takes readers on a journey through the four seasons and captures the wonder and magic of the natural world between the pages of a book. Full color..

Drawn from Paradise is David Attenborough’s journey through the cultural history of the birds of paradise, one of the most exquisite and extravagant, colourful and intriguing families of birds.