Dick Frizzell

'The universe -- and everything in it -- is always expanding into tomorrow . . . What a scene, eh? More magic than magic. Magic, mysterious and beautiful. And here we are. On the third rock from the sun, figuring it out.' In this enchanting book for readers of all ages, renowned New Zealand painter Dick Frizzell takes his lifelong interest in the stars, the planets, space, and the universe and turns it into a book that demystifies everything from White Dwarves and black holes to space travel. His artist friends, including John Pule, Greg O'Brien, John Reynolds, Judy Darragh, Reuben Patterson, Grahame Sydney, Karl Maughan, Ani O'Neill, Reg Mombassa, and Wayne Youle, provide the illustrations.

Age 5+ Sam is an eccentric old sailor who lives alone in an old tramcar by the sea. He loves scouring the beach for treasures. One morning after a big storm, he finds a small dog among the debris washed up by the sea, and the fluffy little fella is only just alive. Sam rescues him and nurses him back to health, and an enduring friendship forms between the lonely old man and the abandoned dog.

Throughout his long career, New Zealand painter Dick Frizzell has often gone way out on a limb to see where it would take him. From his early Pop art influenced approach to his experiments with landscape and the contested area of appropriation, he's always been brave. Now, he takes on the history of art, starting right back at cave art to discover the key threads of Western art that sit in his DNA as a painter in the 21st century. The approach is essential Frizzell: bring everyone along for the ride. It's a fun romp, but despite the humour, it sits on a bedrock of serious scholarship and reverence for the painters of the past. And there's one thing that makes this book different from any other: all the reproductions of significant paintings, from Rubens and Tintoretto to Cezanne and Lichtenstein, are by Frizzell himself, heroically painted over a twelve-month period. Me, According to the History of Art is the art history education you've been missing. Painting tips included.