Top Picks: 'The Bookshop,' the Procreate app, and more
Charming 鈥楤ookshop鈥�
, which is available on DVD and Blu-ray, tells the story of a widow who converts her home in 1950s coastal England into a bookshop. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer writes that the movie 鈥渆voke[s] an instant nostalgia for all things literary鈥� and praises Patricia Clarkson鈥檚 performance as an opponent of the bookshop, writing that she delivers 鈥渁 remarkably pure performance, affirming once again the actor鈥檚 truism that a scoundrel should never be played as such.鈥� It鈥檚 rated PG for some thematic elements, language, and brief smoking.
Improving painting
What goes into the process of restoring an old painting? Julian Baumgartner of Chicago鈥檚 Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration recently posted a YouTube video showing the methods he used to restore The Assassination of Archimedes. You can see it at .
Insight into the Boss
Couldn鈥檛 get tickets to see Bruce Springsteen鈥檚 2017 show on the Great White Way? No problem 鈥� is available on Netflix. Springsteen performs and shares intimate stories about his life. It has a lot of foul language, so this is one just for adults, but the insights into Springsteen鈥檚 work are unrivaled.聽
Chats with Alan
You likely know actor Alan Alda from his work on 鈥淢ASH鈥� and 鈥淪cientific American Frontiers,鈥� but the man formerly known as Hawkeye is also a podcaster. His program, Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda, is focused on the idea of connection, and recent guests have included W. Kamau Bell and Rachael Ray. You can find it at .
Digital artist鈥檚 canvas
Painting en plein air is the embodiment of the romance of the Impressionist movement ... but it鈥檚 such a mess. Fortunately, there鈥檚 , available on the App Store for the iPad and iPhone for $9.99. It鈥檚 a digital artist鈥檚 canvas optimized for use with the Apple Pencil, and it works with fingers, too. Pros and amateurs alike praise its precision and emulation of traditional mediums: It鈥檚 great for letting your creative impulses loose on the go 鈥� or on your couch!
