I first heard of Art Tokens from Twitter and instantly knew I wanted to know more about them.  Was it like National Book Tokens - the great scheme that allows you to buy a ‘gift certificate’ for book lovers?

I contacted them via Twitter and asked if they could do a Guest Blog to help enlighten myself and others on what ‘Art Tokens‘ were. Annie from  Art Token accepted the invitation and the sent the following:

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Art Tokens are ideal for locavores who are interested in art. Art Tokens let you give an art gift where the only taste you impose is that of your desire to support the arts. You buy Art Tokens, we send them, they choose a work that suits their preferences or décor.  And as every artist has their location given, the lucky recipient of your Art Token gift can choose to go and meet an artist that lives near them and choose or commission a work.

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Along the same lines as 50 Modern Artists You Should Know, authors Kristina Lowis and Tamsin Pickeral have chosen 50 powerful paintings from renaissance to pop/contemporary and everything in between in this very comprehensive book from Prestel Publishing which is a most have for any art student or fan.

For the most part, each painting has a comprehensive biography listing the important factors in the creators career. There is a detailed timeline on the top of the page highlight important dates in history within a century timeframe. This helps show the influences of the artists.

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Anyone with even a passing interesting in modern art needs to own, at the very least, have access to this informational book by Prestel Publishing.

While I originally debated some of the artists (Whistler and Cezanne), it is fascinating to read a fact cheat sheets on each of the 50 artists. The book is designed so you don’t have to read front to back, however, it does make for an incredibly interesting read when you do.

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Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery organized Exploring Leonardo Study Day as part of the Ten Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration exhibition.  The day saw four leading experts speak on Leonardo’s strategies for innovation in art, the pitfalls of working with him, da Vinci’s anatomical studies and the work that went into restoring  the famous Leonardo cartoon at the National Gallery following its damage in a shotgun attack in 1987.

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Did you know Jan van Eyck was the first person (known) to do a self-portrait?  Or the Master Wenceslas created the first ‘weather in art’ painting?

13 Art Inventions Children Should Know is 45 pages of griping, fun, quirky and oh so interesting facts on inventions that we take for granted but were so important to today’s artists. Although the book is geared towards kids, best for 8+, I could see this book being used for college art courses for beginners.

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Was Jaan Vermeer a Photographer?  Who is Banksy?

These are a couple of the mysteries author Angela Wenzel poses in this intriguing book by Prestel Books.

13 Art Mysteries  Children Should Know is 45 pages of unsolved mysteries that date back thousands of years.  This book is more geared to Children (as opposed to 13 Art Inventions Children Should Know) but still best for 7+.  The mysteries themselves are interesting regardless that they are related to art!

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This book starts with a powerful question:

 What is a sculpture?

Then it goes on to state:

‘The word ‘sculpture’ comes from the Latin word ‘sculpere,’ which means ‘to chisel’ or ‘to carve’. Read the rest of this entry »

Straight away author Alison Baverstock answers a question we had:

‘It was very difficult to choose just 13 British Artists to explore in this book.’

The British Artists chosen represent a range of eclectic people who influences, training, and family encouragement also varied. One common thread they all seem to have is that they weren’t particularly famous in their own time.  This is something that is often the case with artists with exceptions like Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst and Banksy.

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Being American, I was really interested in this book. I must admit that some I didn’t recognize but that was the point – each of these American Artists belong in this book and it was for us to learn why they are important. Even if you’re not American, this book is an insightful and fun book to have. Read the rest of this entry »