5 comments about Watercolor Basics - Painting Flowers (Watercolor Basics).

1. Different artists depict flowers differently and not all of them appeal to my eye. I am very much attracted to Sharon Hinckley's painting style. I am a fan of the bright colors of Gauguin and the vivid up-close and personal semi-abstract flowers of Georgia O'Keefe, and although they both mostly worked in oils, I think Hinckley has merged elements of both of their styles with her own and produced some wonderful watercolor painting.

   Watercolor painting is more difficult than oil painting because you can't really paint over your mistakes without making a mess. Hinckly not only explains how to create flowers step by step (beginning with a discussion of the appropriate supplies and an explanation of color), she shows the reader how to make what she describes as "leaf soup" which forms the basis of the foliage in her watercolors. Hinckly says while many would-be artists can create flowers, most have difficulty with the stuff that grows with flowers, i.e. leaves, stems, and bark. One photo shows Hickley's palette, "leaf soup" mixture.

   There are many books on the market offering instruction on "how to" draw-paint flowers, but if you are fond of the "colorist" approach to painting, you may find it hard to beat the techniques described in WATERCOLOR BASICS, PAINTING FLOWERS.




2. Ms. Hinckley's book Watercolor Basics: Painting Flowers is a delight to read. At first glance her paintings seem to have been created so effortlessly they can be intimidating (how can I ever paint this well! ). But only for a moment. Her writing is so warm and friendly, and the techniques presented so clearly and sometimes whimsically (check out the painting at the bottom of page 29--one of my favorites) that you've absorbed a host of tricks and tips before you know it. From valuable advice on materials, organization, palette arrangement and mixing strategies to step-by-step demonstrations that culminate in truly breathtaking results (Calla Lilies, pages 118-121, is my absolute favorite for its depth and richness) I have never had an instruction book offer so much helpful information while being such an enjoyable read.



3. Sharon's watercolor illustrations are beautiful, as are her paintings. I love the vibrant colors. Why not learn from the best?



4. Wanting to make watercolor postcards for holiday messages, I picked up Sharon Hinckley's book for pointers. Her teaching approach not only helped me create personal postcards, it nudged me over the hump of over-thinking words too; as a writer, my inner critic often edits my thoughts, sometimes before they are shaped into words. This book is great for students learning to release fear and let the paint flow. Hinckley's approach, plus beautifully clear instructions and illustrations, make Painting Flowers an excellent source for learning and unlearning bad habits that thwart the creative process. Dive IN!



5. In her book called Watercolor Basics: Painting Flowers, Sharon Hinckley goes far beyond watercolor technique. The author is a phenomenal watercolorist ( the illustrations are worth the price alone ). However, she is also a great teacher, explaining the painter's way of using a specified palette and "sculpting " light and color on paper. The result is a practical and humorous guide (it's like your best friend telling you to relax and enjoy it ! ) that allows me, the painter, to let go and paint. This is what a book like this should do: give "tips", inspire, console, laugh with you, and really mentor beginning and...resuming artists like me.

1 comments about The Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam (Dover Books on Architecture).

1. I most say that this possible is one of the best and most inspiring books available for anyone interested in classical architecture. The Adams brothers style together with Louis XV is possibly the most modern interpretation of classical architecture. Highly recommendable and a must for anyone interested in classical architecture, beaux arts, etc.

5 comments about Bucky Works : Buckminster Fuller's Ideas for Today.

1. I've been interested in the ideas and work of Buckminster Fuller for a long time but whenever I've tried to read his books I can't get through them, they're too dense for me. J. Baldwin has a clear and concise writing style which he enhances with illustrative photographs. His book really shows the practical applications of Bucky's work. I highly recommend this book to anyone.



2. I bought tis book several years ago based on a recommendation as a good intro th Buckys work. This book is a gem for all of those who are inclined to engineering and design, not only because of the explanations and ilustrations, but also as testimonial to the thought of the great genius.
   
   Im still amazed that Bucky's thought have not been embraced by us modern citizens.
   
   I am trying to introduce a revolutionary solar coating here in Venezuela [..], I think of the aluminum domes built in Ghana that used natural convection for cooling, and people thoight they were in fact to cold!!! sustainable development has been around longer than we thought, are we ever going to strat smelling the coffee???



3. Inventor Richard Buckminster Fuller, "Bucky," died in l983 at age 88. He is known the world over for his invention of the geodesic dome. The author of this book knew him for 31 years.
   
   Bucky, as he was known to everyone, (except his wife of 66 years) was not a college graduate, yet he received 47 honorary degrees during his lifetime. His influence on architectural and product designing was--and still is--tremendous.
   
   This book is of interest not only as a tribute to his inventiveness, but for detailing why many of his concepts, to this day, have not been accepted. The full-page cartoon on page 20 is a classic example of his frustration. It depicts an automobile being made on the driveway of a home. Bucky argued for years how ridiculous it is that we build houses 'from scratch' on a house lot. If we built cars that way, as the cartoon shows, they would cost $300,000! It should be noted that the American Institute of Architects (AIA), in 1928, passed a resolution "...on record as inherently opposed to any peas-in-a-pod-line reproducible designs." Others, sewer system builders, carpenters, electricians, etc., indicated they too would oppose home-building innovations.
   
   One reason the geodesic dome concept succeeded was that the military did not need to consult zoning and codes when it needed a transportable light weight and super strong structure for a mountain top or an Arctic location.
   
   You will be amazed at how much his 1934 car designs resemble today's vans. Equally amazing is his "traveling cartridge," a small car transportable by air or rail. No need to rent a car. It could even be used as a sleeping unit.
   
   His "Triton City" was designed as a floating city (100,000 people) for Tokyo Bay. You see variations of this idea almost every year and it is invariably presented as a new idea. His "Fly's Eye" dome is now under commercial development and you may be seeing into the future when scanning this section of the book.
   
   An example of the tremendous respect for Fuller's concepts can be seen in the naming of the 60-atom carbon molecule discovered in the early 1970s. It is called "buckminsterfullerene" and is often referred to as "Buckyball." Its soccer-ball-pentagon-hexagon pattern very much relates to Fuller's icosahedron-based constructions.
   
   Fuller maintained that the entire universe, from atoms to galaxies, "is make made up of islands of compression in a continuous sea of tension." This "tensegrity" concept may even apply to biological cells according to a recent (1993) paper by Dr. Ingber.
   
   As the author often notes, Fuller--as a person and as a designer--had his faults. However his accomplishments and his influence on others far outshine his failures. Many inventors can relate to the problems due to being "before your time" and to the difficulty of displacing the "established way" of doing something.
   
   This book is crammed with photos, many never before published. Buy it, enjoy it. Donate it to your local school library. There is a whole new generation out there that can be inspired by it.



4. Buckminster Fuller has fascinated me since my teens because of his borderline science-fictional ideas and his quest to use technology to provide for 100% of humanity -- which unfortunately is a moving target during an era of population growth. Baldwin's book doesn't quite satisfy my curiosity about the current state of Fuller's posthumous work, since he gives me the impression that it's stuck somewhere back in the post-Hippie 1970's. I certainly hope that the field has advanced further along than the dumbed-down "Whole Earth Catalogs" version which celebrated geodesic model kits and "sustainable" (i.e., voluntarily hardship-inducing) technologies.

   What I would like to see in a proper review of Fuller's legacy includes (a) mathematicians' assessment of his synergetic geometry, which is more radically anti-Euclidean than non-Euclidean in that it rejects the whole Greek paradigm of "abstraction" from physical objects; (b) economists' assessment of his argument that with proper resource use and rational design decisions we really could take care of 100% of humanity; (c) a discussion of why, if Fuller's goal is indeed practical, after 250 years of industrial and technological progress we've devolved from objectively useful work -- making and moving stuff on farms, in mines and in factories -- into to a situation where we hold absurd, time-wasting and nonproductive "jobs" in "services" (which sociologist Daniel Bell characterized as postindustrial "games between persons"), while billions of other humans don't even have the basics for a materially decent life; (d) and why this goal isn't on the agenda of any major politician or other world-recognized and respected figure.

   In other words, I find implicit in Fuller's work the question, "When do we declare victory in the Industrial Revolution, and go on our long-overdue vacation that futurists used to call 'The Postindustrial Leisure Society'?" Although Baldwin supplied me with some useful information on "Buckminster Fuller's Ideas for Today," it wasn't quite what I wanted.




5. I haven't actually read this book but JB is my professor and a fascinating human. Everyday of class is a treat to listen to his life experiences and stories. He was a student of Fuller and clearly understands his theories and has furthered them in ways that would make Bucky proud.

4 comments about Cuba: 400 Years of Architectural Heritage.

1. WONDERFUL PICTURES AND YES, THE PAPER IS EXCELLENT QUALITY. DEFINITIVELY A COFFEE TABLE PIECE. CAN ANYONE SAY COHIBA? THE TEXT IS VERY CLEAR AND TO THE POINT AND INFORMATIVE ALL AT THE SAME TIME. ARCHITECTURE YOU NEVER THOUGHT EXISTED THERE.



2. great book. awesome pictures and paper quality. Very good price in amazon.
   Thanks.



3. Lots of beautiful photography (by Andrea Brizzi) for anyone who dreams of Cuba and would like to feel the cobblestones of Old Havana underfoot, taste the mojitos in the lobby bar of the Hotel Nacional, hear the strains of the mariachi band at sunset, and learn about the history of our most enigmatic, so-close-yet-so-far neighbor through it's architecture and the very readable text by Rachel Carley.



4. One of the best pictorial books on Cuba that has ever been published. It's the realization of profesionals and very objective, a very difficult achievement considering Cuba. Highly recommended to those willing to discover the real Cuba.

1 comments about Verb Crisis (Verb) (Verb).

1. The latest in the avant-garde Verb series, Verb Crisis explores potential architectural solutions to the problems of an increasingly dense and interdependent world. Offering a diverse assortment of projects and investigations complemented with full color photography, essays, and exclusive interviews with experts in architecture, urban planning, and environmental, economic, or global affairs, Verb Crisis reveals how social needs can transform the effective structure and function of quality architecture. An excellent testimony to experimentation with a purpose, especially recommended as a source of inspiration to professional and aspiring architects preparing to build for the unique challenges of the twenty-first century.

5 comments about One Thousand Buildings of Paris.

1. This is a huge book with hundreds of beautiful black and white pictures of Paris buildings. Photos are absolutely carrying out Paris soul and give you that special feeling of the city, that of art, history and grace. Turning the pages one by one, you just walk around this glorious city. I've been to Paris several times and I think this book is the second best thing after actually being there.



2. Clearly a lot of exhausting work went into this book, but as in any catalog, the quality of the descriptions varies in quality and depth, and there are typos. The author mixes casual language with more formal reporting in a way that is sometimes stylistically jarring. I heard the author speak in Paris, and evidently it was not possible to obtain permission to photograph some buildings, so the collection while in some ways comprehensive doesn't contain all the author had wished or that the reader familiar with Paris might hope for. This isn't the author's fault, just some French craziness, but it is unfortunate. I keep the book in my apartment in Paris, and use it to familiarize myself with buildings I walk by regularly. As the Parisians say, walking in Paris is "very pleasant," and this book makes one a more informed walker. The description of the Hotel de Sully in the 4th is especially nice. Pair it with the catalog of the Atget exhibition for some interesting contrasts, both historic and photographic. Paris is a sublime feast, and this is a book for those who will take the time to taste it more fully. I don't believe any other book like this exists.



3. I love it!! It's very comprehensive and detailed, and the pages are big enough to accomodate all of the photographs and text. The quality of the book itself is also good.



4. 
   This book was given to me,along with the London's one.
   One does not need to be an archictect or a professionnal builder to appreciate this masterpiece.
   In the last 100 years, Paris has eluded any massive destruction and as such has kept its historic,poetic and romantic characters.
   The book is precised,well mapped,and the photos are top notched.
   It would not be easy to carry around while visiting Paris! however one can list ahead of time the buildings of interest.
   the book is photographed and written, by three Americans, which makes it even more interesting ,with their artistic objectivity and a view with a non parisian or gallic optic.
   well worth the investment,and a real treasure.



5. all 1,000? No way. Too big to have as a travel companion but so many memories that it should be owned by everyone who loves Paris.

5 comments about Calatrava: Complete Works, 1979-2007.

1. I received this book as a gift from much cherished colleagues - and I very much appreciate their generosity.
   While the book does offer a comprehensive overview of Calatrava's work I would say this is a book for the lay reader, not the professional. Firstly there is not enough technical information in the form of plans, sections, elevations. Secondly, the amount of real estate allocated to Calatrava's sketches of the human body not to mention the post hoc sketches of his designs suggest a somewhat vain and spurious connection with the architectural work itself. And thirdly, the book is grossly oversized - and overpriced - to be a really useful addition to the office library. In short this is not even a coffee table book, it is a work of overweaning self-regard. not an unimportant lesson for today's architects, but perhaps not the intended message.



2. this a very good book, and of course the price for such a luxury edition is more than reasonable. the only drawback is the lack of planimetric information, which for me as an architecture student is basic if you want to fully understand a work of such complexity....
   anyway, the watercolors are pretty good, and as my title in this review inferred, this is obviously a more artistic focused book rather than architectural.
   so be warned, the book and the whole presentation are breathtaking, but the content is more artistic than architectural, so be prepared not to find blueprints of various of the works presented in this book.
   
   XD



3. This book has everything you need to know about this amazing architect.
   maybe it lacks floor plans, other than that the study sketches reveals a lot of informations on the buildings.



4. I could not agree more with the reviewer below that stated this book is not the end all be all, but for admirers of Calatrava's work, it would be a must have...uh if you have the requisite trust fund that is..this book is SERIOUSLY overpriced, even at 500 plus pages it's just not worth this much bank. The images are quite good and the text interesting though not indepth. I was most intersted in Calatrava's transit station in lower Manhattan, I was a bit disappointed more text and imagery was not given to that. All and all, just really for affluent ardent Calatrava fans.



5. Santiago Calatrava is an astounding architect, engineer and artist. His work has revitalized the organic tradition of Frank Lloyd Wright and Bruce Goff. Calatrava's work is rewarding on both a macro scale and micro scale because he pays equal attention to building details and to his all-encompassing vision (as best expressed at the City of Arts and Sciences complex in Valencia). It should be stated clearly that this is a coffee table book and not a scholarly book. The emphasis is clearly on the photos and on Calatrava's watercolors. Another point that needs to be made is that the title of this book is somewhat misleading. It only includes a bare-bones listing of all his work and covers just a selection of his major built, unbuilt and upcoming projects in depth. For that reason, this is a fine addition to a Calatrava collection, but it is not the be-all or end-all.

5 comments about A-frame.

1. As a kid I remember these things going up. I remember helping others build their vacation home but never got the opportunity to help build an A-frame. When I saw this book, it became the next best experience to building and/or living in one.
   
   The author does a good job capturing the history of A-frames. Of interesting note is R.M. Schindler's A-frame house of 1922. Schindler worked on Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House. You can see the FLW influence in the elevations.
   
   The author also does a good job of explaining the decline of A-frames: The evolution of American lifestyles to make the jump from a "second home" to the consolidation of the permanent home with the vacation home.
   
   The biggest complaint I have is the size of this book. If you buy this book, make sure your bi-focal prescription is current. I found myself having a difficult time reading the tiny little words from this little book.



2. I don't remember where I got this..sorry, not from Amazon. I don't have an A-frame but I have a casual interest in architecture. This book is just exceedingly well done. As many have mentioned, the cover and design have a retro 50/60's look which is very eye-catching. Inside, the images are again fabulous. The whole book is logically and well written with the author delving into the origin and then history of the A-frame to its apogee in the 60's and beyond to today. Interspersed are period photos and advertisements. At the end are plans for an A-frame.
   
   This is not a coffee-table, glossy picture, no substance kind of book. A fascinating fun read and it does look good on our little coffee table. I sincerely hope Mr. Randl delves into similar subjects in the future.



3. big beautiful book, lots of pictures, an easy read, lots of interesting history. I was hoping for something a little more technical, with details for a do-it-yourselfer to actualy build one but its not here. A fun book if you're interested in a-frames.



4. I live in an A-Frame so this book has much meaning for me. I loved reading about the history and seeing many A-Frames from around the world. I certainly would have let the author come to my house. It's a bit larger than most in the book - 2,800 sq. ft. I highly recommend the book to anyone with interest in the subject.



5. A wonderful survey of the A-frame, including many photos and plans of architect-designed versions. Included are interesting designs from those many Modern lovers will know. Rudolph Schindler was the first to have designed one, back in the 1920's. There is also a refreshing and very modern design by Campbell & Wong, and the one by Robert Broward in Florida from 1960 whose front end cantilevers over the sandy beach is exceptional. The rendering portrays its drama. Broward's design was one of the few structures along the Ponte Verde beach to survive Hurricane Dora in 1964.
   
   But Mr. Randl does not stop at architect-designed A-frames. He carefully traces the historical development of the A-frame and how it became an icon in post-war America, weaving it with plenty of photographs, construction drawings, ideas on variations, and vintage advertisements from magazines to demonstrate its high popularity between the 1950's and 1970's.
   
   The author does well to support the premise that the A-frame became an American icon, making its way from vacation homes to restaurants and motel designs as well as religious buildings. He cites its influence upon Googie's (Lautner) and the Unitarian Meeting House in Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin (Wright). Even the now popular Lindal Cedar Homes of today grew out of Mr. Lindal's first design: an A-frame.
   
   If I had a critical wish for this book, it would be a much larger size, an oversize that perhaps presented many more architect-designed A-frames. I am sure more modern and organic architects have done them and it would be interesting to see those designs. Randl has in fact inspired me to consider one for a country retreat in my own home state. With this book's small size as the only demerit, I give Chad Randl's A-Frame an "A".

5 comments about Architecture as a Translation of Music: (Pamphlet Architecture 16).

1. I picked this book up for some fun reading two years ago, and wow! Did I get more than I expected! As an educated individual I knew a lot about the new directions in contemprary music, and I often dreamed of uniting my love for physics and architecture with my musical talents. This book is a fascinating and well designed introduction to the kind of developments in contemporary architectural/musical circles. These projects discussed in PA-16 are some of the first of their kind, and something I am excited to follow up on in my own lifetime. And it's dedicated to John Cage! I reccommend this book to anyone who is at all curious about architecture or contemporary music. It is always refreshing to learn about people who are pushing the boundaries of our imaginations, whatever the topic.

   "New music will be answered by the new architecture- work we have not yet seen --only heard." (John Cage).




2. Read simultaneously Marc Trieb's 'Space Calculated in Seconds' with Liz Martin's PA16. Both books are elegantly written and designed for those willing to delve-in and consider the possibilities.



3. In the begginning i was impressed by the title but disappointed by the quality of its material besides the font is very bad and hard to read , very small sketches hard to see , and the ideas exploration is not accomplished ,so never start with this book for this subject ....



4. For me, this is a thoughtful 80-page booklet touching, with a big broad-brush stroke, on some very intuative and evocative ideas on interdisciplinary work framed around ideas of time and space. To expect a book in the successful Pamphlet Architecture series to be an end all exhaustive study of any given subject is like looking at Time or Granta magazines renowned fiction writings and comparing it to a 500-page Dostoevsky novel - both are equally valid views of the world, but to compare them is like comparing apples to oranges.

   To cover such an intensive topic in a paperback series format with the aim of bringing interest to a subject that is not explored by many in contemporary theory; to have a current look at an age old topic for students to use as a springboard for research; and for over five years to be rated #18 on amazon.com's bestseller list is quite an accomplishment. I encourage all to keep thinking and writing - taking a chance.

   Hats off to the young authors the Pamphlet Architecture series supports!




5. As the title suggests, I was hoping for a book with a thorough symbolic analysis of the connection between architecture (the design of elements in space; or the configuration of space) and music (the design of elements in time; or the configuration of [the experience of] time). Instead, this book offers some mostly affectatious studies on obscure ideas. If your goal is to find a book which presents ideas as of how to explore the architecture+music marriage, I personally would recommend you look elsewhere.

   Some of the projects are intriguing, granted, but perhaps I expected the kind of book which is yet to be written. In any event, this one was not worth the money.

No comments about Enduring Innocence: Global Architecture and Its Political Masquerades.