Bloomsbury Continuum

Learn the engaging art of Japanese sumi painting, where simple sweeps of the brush capture the essence of nature. The Japanese art tradition of Sumi-e uses brushes and ink washes to combine calligraphic lines with carefully thought out blank spaces. Traditionally focusing on flowers and plants, this mindful art form has roots in Zen Buddhism, striving to capture the essence and natural vitality of a subject, rather than creating a realistic representation. In this beautifully illustrated step-by-step guide, master calligraphic artist Akemi Lucas describes the equipment, brush positioning, ink-mixing techniques and mindset needed to excel at this delightful art form. Ideal both for beginners and accomplished Sumi-e artists, the projects start with orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, and plum blossom – known as ‘The Four Gentlemen’ – and increase in complexity through fruits and flowers to water, insects, and birds. Many of the later projects also include important advice on background washes and other advanced techniques that will add sophistication to your work. Prepare your ink, clear your mind, and create natural wonderlands using simple sweeps of the brush.

Dostoevsky's life was marked by brilliance and brutality. Sentenced to death as a young revolutionary, he survived mock execution and Siberian exile to live through a time of seismic change in Russia, eventually being accepted into the Tsar's inner circle. He had three great love affairs, each overshadowed by debilitating epilepsy and addiction to gambling. Somehow, amidst all this, he found time to write short stories, journalism and novels such as Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov, works now recognised as among the finest ever written. In Dostoevsky in Love Alex Christofi weaves carefully chosen excerpts of the author's work with the historical context to form an illuminating and often surprising whole. The result is a novelistic life that immerses the reader in a grand vista of Dostoevsky's world: from the Siberian prison camp to the gambling halls of Europe; from the dank prison cells of the Tsar's fortress to the refined salons of St Petersburg. Along the way, Christofi relates the stories of the three women whose lives were so deeply intertwined with Dostoevsky's: the consumptive widow Maria; the impetuous Polina who had visions of assassinating the Tsar; and the faithful stenographer Anna, who did so much to secure his literary legacy. Reading between the lines of his fiction, Christofi reconstructs the memoir Dostoevsky might have written had life - and literary stardom - not intervened. He gives us a new portrait of the artist as never before seen: a shy but devoted lover, an empathetic friend of the people, a loyal brother and friend, and a writer able to penetrate to the very depths of the human soul.