This extensively illustrated book is devoted to the art of Dame Elizabeth Blackadder, one of Scotland's best-loved painters. Blackadder's art explores a diverse range of subjects through many mediums. The artist draws on experiences of foreign travel, as well as plant forms and animals closer to home, to produce highly original works that appear to breathe with their own life. Her deeply analytical eye allows her to see the underlying structure, design and colour harmony in both the exotic and the everyday. This book tells the fascinating story of her career, from her early days as a student in Edinburgh, and her friendships with Scottish painters William Gillies, William MacTaggart and Anne Redpath, to her very recent work. Exhibition: National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, July/Jan 2011/12.