The attempts by artists of the Victorian and early Modern period to convey not merely the physical properties of a landscape but also its emotional and spiritual impact – landscape as ‘places of the mind’, as the critic Geoffrey Grigson put it – is the focus of this fascinating new study of British watercolours produced between 1850 and 1950.

Drawing on the British Museum’s impressive collection, this book explores artists’ spiritual quests to capture the essence of landscape and convey a sense of place. Artists of the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries drew on earlier traditions but developed and extended the genre through their imaginative, personal responses to the artistic, cultural and social upheavals of the time.

The book includes works by Victorian artists Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Poynter and by many well known twentieth-century artists, such as John and Paul Nash, Ben Nicholson and Henry Moore, some of which have never previously been published.

Several years ago, Sally Muir began a Facebook project, posting dog art daily, which became the best-selling book  A Dog a Day. Through the project she was introduced to endless people and their dogs, and the distinct personalities and complex emotions that owners attribute to them.  This was followed with Old Dogs, where Sally asked the public to send in photos of their elderly canines. She was drawn to the tales behind their greying whiskers and so the natural next step was rescue dogs with their eventful life stories.

Rescue Dogs is a beautiful collection of loveable hounds with colourful histories and expressive faces. From Mr Bojangles who was rescued after being hit by a car to Molly who found a new lease of life after being rescued from a shelter at age 15, Rescue Dogs will tug at the heartstrings and leave you with a profound sense of optimism for life, new beginnings and kindness. This is the perfect gift for your dog-loving friends, or for yourself to enjoy some mindful moments flicking through delightful, heart-warming canine portraits.

‘Breathtaking and magical. Jackie Morris has created something that you could spend all day looking at’ New Statesman

‘Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris have made a thing of astonishing beauty’ Observer

Discover and share the wonders of the wild world as seen in The Lost Words and The Lost Spells…

This collection of 100 postcards features artwork and words from two beloved modern classics, in which Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane celebrate the creatures, trees and plants of nearby nature, from Acorn to Wren, by way of Curlew and Kingfisher, Silver Birch and Snow Hare, Goldfinch and Gorse.

The front of each card bears one of Morris’s Greenaway Medal-winning paintings; on the reverse, you will find an accompanying quotation from one of the spell-poems in the Lost books, as well as an identification of the species shown on the card. The remaining space is left blank for you to fill in these wild cards with pen, pencil or paint – and then send them out into the world to make and renew connections.

There is something particularly appealing about painting outdoors, surrounded by a never-ending range of subjects, all of which can vary from one moment to the next according to the weather and the time of day. Here Alwyn Crawshaw provides plenty of practical advice about painting on location and explains all the basic techniques you will need to know.

The book includes many practical exercises and step-by-step demonstration paintings of a variety of different subjects, including landscapes, buildings, animals, people, water and boats. There are also useful sections on drawing with a brush, composing a picture, using pen and wash, simplifying nature and recording your holiday.

Landscapes are a very popular and rewarding subject for painters of all abilities. Here well-known and respected TV artist Alwyn Crawshaw demonstrates all the basic techniques of painting landscapes in watercolour and oils.

The book includes many practical exercises and step-by-step demonstration paintings of a variety of different landscapes, featuring mountains, snow, meadows and water. There are also useful sections on sketching, painting skies and trees, and how to add buildings, people and animals to your landscape paintings.

Part of the essential Learn to Paint series, this book provides the best introduction to this fascinating subject.