Pencil Drawings | Realistic Portrait Art | Sketches and Painting

How to draw Tutorial or Paint realistic style colored pencil portraits drawings and fine Art lesson - techniques by Famous Artist

The Secret artist from United Kingdom is known for the amazing and intriguing digital illustration, watercolor painting and design of celebrities. The artworks from her portfolio invite the viewers to dream and admire their beauty. Some of them look like real photos, the others are just sketches, but all of them depict the characters close to reality Angels. It seems that her works are dedicated to beauty in all its diversity and it is quite true, because it is hard to take eyes from them. So, I offer you to enjoy the wonderful illustrations Gallery by Innes McDougall.

Top 10 Romantic Castles | Most Beautiful Romantic Castles

At the center of every fairy tale is a castle with towers and parapets. The original castles were rustic fortresses designed for war. Centuries later, castles became lavish and often fanciful expressions of power, wealth, and luxury. For castle enthusiasts everywhere, here are some of the world's most romantic castles, including medieval castles and modern-day recreations of castle architecture.

1. Dunguaire Castle in Ireland

With its 75 foot tower, the 16th century Dunguaire Castle is one of the most often photographed castles in Ireland.

2. Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain

Perched on a hilly terrace on the southern edge of Granada, Spain, Alhambra is an ancient palace and fortress complex with stunning frescoes and interior details.

3. Biltmore Estate in North Carolina

With 255 rooms, the magnificent Bilmore Estate is often called an American Castle. It was constructed in the late 1800s.

4. Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle is often compared to the castle in Disney's Sleeping Beauty. King Ludwig II ("Mad King Ludwig") began constructing Neuschwanstein castle in the late 1800s. Modeled after Medieval architecture, the castle was planned as a homage to the grand operas of Wagner.

5. Johnstown Castle in Ireland

Overlooking a river, the turreted Johnstown Castle looks like a medieval castle, but it was actually built in Victorian times.

6. Abbassid Castle in Baghdad, Iraq

Abbassid Castle in Baghdad is famous for the detailed tilework on the front portal.

7. Hearst Castle in California

Julia Morgan designed this lavish modern-day "castle" for publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst. Furnished with Spanish and Italian antiques, the romantic Moorish home has 165 rooms and 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools and walkways.

8. Boldt Castle in the Thousand Islands, New York

Boldt Castle is not a medieval castle, of course, but a modern interpretation. It's a jigsaw puzzle of medieval and Victorian styles pieced together by a wealthy American businessman. Like many homes from America's Gilded Age, the eleven-building complex is exuberant and outrageous, as though its creators had taken five hundred years of architectural history and spilled it across the craggy island.

9. Prague Castle in the Hradcany

Prague Castle in the Hradcany royal complex has towered above the river Vltava for a thousand years.

10. Leeds Castle in England

Leeds Castle is widely known as "the ladies' castle" and "the loveliest castle in the world." Surrounded by a picturesque lake, the preserved medieval castle is a treasure trove of art, antiques, and history. Our About.com Guide to Romantic Getaways has travel tips.

Luxury Catamaran Sailboats With Solar Panels Power For Sale

A Catamaran is a type of Multihull boat,yacht or ship consisting of two hulls, joined by some structure World's largest solar-powered Luxury boat docks at Cancún giving UN climate delegates something to think about... before finishing record-breaking round-the-world sail

As the United Nations climate talks continued this week in Cancún, on the east coast of Mexico, a huge boat quietly breezed into the harbour… and gave environmental delegates plenty to think about.

At 102ft long, 29ft wide and 25ft high, it’s hard to miss the Tûranor PlanetSolar catamaran, the largest solar-powered sea vessel.

And with 500 solar high-efficiency units that cover some 540sq. ft the 200-person capacity boat, which is silent and pollution-free, can motor along at a fair old lick, too: the top speed is about 15 knots.

It cost a cool £10million to build and is in the process of achieving a series of record-breaking feats as it circumnavigates the globe, while also promoting the use of sustainable energy.

Building of Tûranor (which means 'The Power of the Sun' in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings language) by Knierim Yachtbau at Kiel, Germany, was completed in March this year.

And on September 27 it set off from Monaco on the round-the-world trip, which should be completed in the spring of 2012 at a average speed of eight knots an hour, if everything goes to schedule.

Completion of the 31,000-mile journey will see the vessel set the following world records:

* First solar-powered circumnavigation by any means of transportation
* First round-the-world voyage by a solar-powered boat
* First Indian Ocean crossing by a solar-powered boat
* First Red Sea crossing by a solar-powered boat

How does it work? Here's the science bit... Styled by LOMOcean Design, Tûranor uses over 5,780 photovoltaic (PV) solar panels which, in turn, connect to one of the two electric motors in each hull.

SunPower, a California-based solar-panel company, are the best in the business according to PlanetSun spokesman Dany Faigaux.

He said: 'The advantage of SunPower is they have the most efficient cells available on the market with more than 22 per cent efficiency.'

The boat's hull was model tested in wind tunnels and tank tested to determine the hydrodynamics and aerodynamics.

And, as German investor Immo Stroether - who partnered Swiss adventurer Raphael Domjan to bankroll the project - believes, the clever design heralds a 'new generation of catamaran'.

'This is a milestone in the progress of solar mobility,' he said. 'It is my vision to see solar power take its rightful place - not only on rooftops, but also on the roads, seas and in the skies of the future.

'The aim is to offer future-proof solutions for sustainable living in major cities and environmentally responsible mobility concepts. Solar mobility can make a significant contribution to this endeavor.'

According to the mission statement on the website, 'the Planet Solar team intends firstly to show that current technologies aimed at improving energy efficiency are reliable and effective, and secondly to advance scientific research in the field of renewable energy.

‘At the heart of this project is the conservation of our planet by the promotion of solar energy, energy efficiency and eco-mobility.

‘This is a great occasion to advance knowledge and to inform and make the general public aware of the importance of renewable energy.’

But there is no sun-bathing on deck allowed, as it will interfere with the efficiency of the panels.

Captain of the expedition is Frenchman Patrick Marchesseau, and he, along with Mr Stroether and Mr Domjan, is joined by Swiss Christian Ochsenbein, Michaela von Koskull from Finland and German Jens Langwasser.

And after the epic, record-breaking trip, the boat will be used as a luxury yacht.