1 comments about Figure Drawing: The Structure, Anatomy and Expressive Design of the Human Form, 6th Edition.

1. There's good and not so good in this book. The good is, it is very comprehensive, well organized, and authoritatively written. The bad news is, many of the concepts are complicated and difficult to follow. The writer assumes you understand many things because he doesn't bother to verbalize them very well. This is typical of an academian in my experience. Academian's like to throw something out there and wait for you to ask them what they mean. Unfortunately, that approach does not work so well in a book. To his credit, if you dwell on the ideas long enough they eventually do sink in and approach brilliance. So understanding this book is like understanding art. It takes a while to digest. That said, I recommend the book and be prepared to have your head expanded. This book turns over every stone in the quest to better understand drawing.
   As an example here is a random passage I picked describing "Location and Proximity". "The relational energies of location and proximity are produced by the association of like or unlike elements according to their position on the picture plane or in a field of depth." You see what I mean? You gotta love it.

5 comments about Helen Van Wyks Favorite Color Recipes.

1. My wife and I lived in Rockport when Miss Van Wyk was still painting. We have the first version of her color recipes book in its original three ring binder form. Her book offers the beginning painter great suggestions and solutions on many typical color mixing problems. Thanks Helen.



2. I love this book. It's been very helpful for times when I just can't seem to mix the color I'm looking for. I look in this book and it always has good information.
   
   Even though I have a BFA many things that would have been helpful in the real world, just weren't taught. This book fills in a lot of blanks.



3. Helen is a great teacher. I have taken art classes and learned 1/10th of what I learned by reading her book. I am colorblind and people argue with me about it because of my ability to use the right colors. I only wish she was still here so she could produce even more information etc.



4. An excellent book that covered many subjects of painting, and how to use particular colours successfully for that area, I found this very helpful and informative.



5. I have not had enough time to give a very detailed review on this book 'however from what I have read I am very impressed with the clarity in her descriptions on mixing colors and their use.

5 comments about Drawing and Painting Animals: How to Capture the Essence of Wildlife in Your Art.

1. THIS BOOK IS MORE TO THE POINT. THE COLOR PLATES AND EXAMPLES ARE EXCEPTIONAL. THE EXAMPLES OF DRAWING AND PAINTING TECHNIQUES ARE VARIED AND WELL DONE. THE LAYOUT IS WELL PLANNED AND EXPLANATIONS ARE CLEAR AND CONCISE. THE AUTHER TALKS TO ME AS IF TO A FRIEND. I LIKE THAT. THE USE OF
   SEVERAL ARTISTS TEACHING THEIR METHODS IS EXACTLY WHAT I LOOK FOR. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE STEPS IN THE DEVELOPEMENT OF A PAINTING HOWEVER.
   WHAT WE NEED AS ARTISTS IS CLOSER SCRUTINY OF THE EXAMPLES AND REALLY DIGGING INTO THE ARTWORK BY THE ART INSTRUCTORS. WE NEED EXAMPLES OF WHAT NOT TO DO. HOW DO THE ARTISTS TREAT WORK THAT DOESN'T GO THE WAY THEY PLANNED? SHARE SOME OF YOUR FAILURES AS WELL AS YOUR SUCCESSES. THE FEATURED ARTIST IN THIS BOOK IS RIGHT UP THERE WITH ISAACS, BRENDERS AND BATEMAN. MOVE OVER GUYS. OVERALL, BUY THIS BOOK AND LEARN GOOD ART.



2. THis has excellant instruction on drawing or painting animals .
   Unique color combinations.
   This book would be good for anyone wanting to learn how
   to improve their skills with animal art.
   Wonderful color intensity in book.
   thank you DB



3. There's a lot of 'how to paint animals' books out there, but after looking through a bunch of them, this one rates at the top for me so far. The author is really generous with his knowledge and shares his whole process very clearly from start to finish. Comprehensive and helpful and page after page of great tips, insights and examples.
   For someone this good to be willing to commit it all to paper like this, - this book is a real find. Even new painters not really interested in painting animals would benefit from this one. This book is a real keeper.



4. I CAN ONLY ASPIRE TO HAVE A SMIDGEON OF THE TALENT DISPLAYED IN THIS BOOK.



5. I found this book good for painting backgrounds for wild animals and settings to place the wildlife in, something I have not always found easy.
   It also gives examples of different lighting effects which I found useful.
   It covers all types of mediums.

1 comments about El Greco to Velazquez.

1. In addition to the artistic renaissance that was underway in late 16th and early 17th century Italy, a comparable movement was flourishing in Spain from 1598 to 1623 under King Philip. A time of cultural and political fervor, Spain was experiencing the evolution of a naturalistic style of painting that showcased detail and space in court portraiture, still life, religious themes, and the development of polychrome sculpture. While El Greco and Velazquez were two of the most notable figures in this era of the Spanish art world, "El Greco To Velazquez: Art During The Reign Of Philip III" covers not only these two legendary artists, but examines the works of lesser-known but highly talented artists who contributed to and influenced the development of the Spanish school of art. Knowledgeably compiled and deftly co-edited by Ronni Baer and Sarah Schroth, "El Greco To Velazquez" is enhanced with informed and informative essays by academicians and art history scholars Laura Bass, Antonio Feros, and Rosemarie Mulchay, as well as the co-editors Ronni Baer and Sarah Schroth. The beautifully illustrated text provides an historical, literary, cultural and religious context for this illuminated and illuminating study of a critically important period of Western Art History in general, and Spanish Art History in particular.

5 comments about Writing Life Stories.

1. Roorbach guides you step-by-step with exercises and examples that help you write about your life. He also explains what makes good writing different from not-so-good writing. In other words, he holds you to high standards and helps you meet them. Your eventual readers should be grateful!



2. Brief Summary: Bill Roorbach understands that memoir writing is not as simple as putting everything you can remember about your life on paper. Memories are no different than any other source - the characters and the plot must be interesting. To that end, he combines instruction and advice with a series of exercises to produce "the bones" of a good memoir. Starting at the beginning, he covers: finding a good place to write, mapping your memories, scene making and exposition, the ethics of writing about real people, method writing and voice, metaphor and adumbration, and texture. You might not do every exercise in this book - there are 94 in all - but most seem worthwhile. Roorback encourages his students to think of the exercise work as "good, clean rocks for an eventual stone wall." Several of the exercises use a process which Roorbach calls "cracking open," which might involve finding a sentence or phrase from something you previously wrote that condenses or skims over a possible scene, and building a scene of at least two pages. (As a writer, I like thinking of myself as a cracker and polisher of stones and a builder of walls.) Other great exercises include: looking at as many books as you can to make a list of your ten favorite first sentences, making a map of the earliest neighborhood you can remember, and making a list of the subjects upon which you are an expert. The final chapter gives some good, practical advice about how to locate appropriate editors and agents, with a final cautionary suggestion: "The only helpful ambition is to write something good, something that will satisfy readers unknown to you in both predictable and unpredictable ways. If your ambition is about the work, the dream of publication won't eat at you and make a fool out of you."
   
   Sample Excerpts: Roorbach doesn't just "tell" us the rules, he "shows" us the rules. In this example, he shows us how a good scene replaces many pages of explaining. "Instead of a passage about your family's socioeconomic status, you show your dad pulling up in the brown Ford wagon, muffler dragging. Or does he pull up in a shiny Mercedes? Or does he walk up the hill with his jacket over his shoulder, car traded for shares in a new invention? Let the reader write the passage about class."
   
   Primary Strength: Writing Life Stories is to memoir what Joy of Cooking is to cooking. If you can follow directions and do what the book tells you to do, you'll have everything you need to create a fine memoir or a tasty meal.



3. This book has lots of exercises for those just beginning to edge near the writing-ledge and will help you dig into your own story. However, this book is only for those wanting to write an auto-biography and those just beginning to venture forth in their writing. If you buy this expecting help on writing someone else's life story you won't find what you're looking for. If you're not a beginning writer and you purchase this, it's likely that you'll be the proud owner of a book full of exercises you've long outgrown.



4. Good book. Instructs with small easy-to-follow "chunks". Writer has a good sense of humor--evident in his writing. Writing isn't overly academic or political (unlike some of the other "memoir-writing" books out there).
   
   After following Roorbach's lessons, you should be able to competently put out a very nice selection of some of the turning points in your life, special occasions, and those great memories. You'll have enough vivid "word-pictures" that folks will enjoy reading about your experiences rather than fall asleep from extreme boredom.
   
   Overall, this is a good book that will get you started with getting your own story out there. Don't let your part in history be lost--start writing now with this book as a guide.
   
   Regards,
   Dave (aka "EditorDave" -- Capture_the_Memories on Squidoo)



5. This book is full of insights into the writing process.
   It offers lots of assignments ,it helps me with writing my life story.

No comments about Royal Weddings.

5 comments about The Secret Architecture of Our Nation's Capital: The Masons and the Building of Washington, D.C..

1. A remarkable amount of research has gone into this book. The previous reviewer complained that it was "undocumented" but why does the author need to document a road, a building, or a statue if it exists in plain sight and is common knowledge? This proves that the author's thesis touches a raw nerve to those who are comfortable only with conventional understandings of history that sugar coat the past and pull the wool over our eyes. Clearly, there was a powerful cult behind the formation of the United States. They were not devout Christians, but were committed only to the esoteric ideals of their own secret society. Ideals that apparently originate in ancient Egypt, not Jerusalem. The author, however, coming from a Christian background and perspective dances around this truth. He prefers to view them as Christians who were simply outside the mainstream. Their obssession with "Virgo" proves this, because as everyone knows Virgo represents the Virgin Mary, right? Wrong.
   In the heretical thread of Western history, the Virgo was always Venus, otherwise known as Mary Magdalene. This was the Mary so beloved by the Knights Templar and inheritors of their occult traditions. Not the mother of Jesus. The author fails to grasp this nettle and meanders into a neverland that maintains Washington's "Christianity," so we'll have to wait a while longer for the rest of the story.



2. There is not much to be said about this book except that it is total hogwash. Not even the author can pull all of his undocumented assumption together into a sensible hypothesis.



3. Overall its an informative book well worth reading so I give it 5 stars. He rehashes the virgo thing to death throughout the book where I felt he could have laid that out better in 1 or 2 chapters.Also as mentioned by others below he left alot of Masonic stuff out.I recommend watching on video AMERICAS SECRET DESTINY and RIDDLES IN STONE they add and parallel this book quite well.



4. Ever wonder why the city of Washington D.C. was an explicitly designed city, but the streets are laid out in a seemingly illogical manner? Wouldn't you design a simple grid pattern for a city instead of the bizarre pattern found there?
   
   David Ovason attempt to give meaning to this street pattern and for some of the architecture found in the city. His analysis is brilliant but I find myself wandering in the sometimes meandering pattern of his investigation, just like the layout of the city. It would probably help for the reader to have a background in astrology/astronomy to give greater meaning to this analysis, for I often found myself scratching my head.
   
   It was interesting to learn that Pierre L'Enfant, the French Freemason given credit for the design of the city, was later sacked from the construction team for criticism of some of the builders for messing up his design. He would later go broke, wander around the city, and pester congress for a greater share of payments that he thought were his for the design of the city. He died broke and is buried near Arlington House.



5. Proof in stone that America's founding fathers were not ultra-conservative god fearing Christians, not even deists and the guideposts to their secrets were left for all to see in the nation's capital.
   Incorporating astronomy and astrology, Ovason demonstrates the Hermetic adage As above, so is below. Like theories regarding the Great Pyramid and its relationship to Orion, he shows how the stars above are mirrored below in the design of the District.
   
   Well researched but could have gone deeper to explain what the symbols actually represent to Masonry and the esoteric history of their beliefs. Without the deeper analysis, one wonders why did they go to so much trouble to use symbols etched in stone?
   
   For a deeper explanation of the secret symbols of Masonry and how the modern day Church of Scientology adapted the rituals and grades and philosophy of a particular branch of Masonry, I recommend Solomon's Key: The CODIS Project A Conspiracy Thriller by R. Douglas Weber. While fiction, it gives a clear no-holes-barred account of the innermost, deepest ritual and secret that Masonry's esoteric symbols truly represent.
   Even the keys to the allegorical hidden language of Alchemy. It delivers the final punch as promised.
   
   SOLOMON'S KEY THE CODIS PROJECT: A CONSPIRACY THRILLER

No comments about Exploring Art (ISE): A Global, Thematic Approach.

4 comments about Draw Your Own Celtic Designs.

1. This book provides the building blocks to eventually create your own orignal Celtic designs. Each chapter covers a different motif (knotwork, spirals, key-patterns) and includes several projects beginning with a simple one designed to teach the basics and then further projects applying those basics and increasing in difficulty. Expect to put in your fair share of elbow-grease and practice, especially in the more difficult projects, but in my own case I was able to compose a simple yet elegant design the day I received the book. Definately worth the price if you are serious about learning this form of artwork.



2. Really good book for the beginning Celtic artist or tattoo artist. My bonus son likes to use this book for tattoo inspiration.



3. MARAVILLOSO LIBRO Y UNA GRAN VARIEDAD DE DISEÑOS PARA CREAR UNA SUPER OBRA DE ARTE



4. This is a handsome volume with not just exciting step by step guides to drawing Celtic designs but also some wonderful photographs of carvings, illustrated manuscripts, etc., and fascinating text by David James of the history of the Celts and their art. I've never seen a book quite like this - it really gives one an incentive to try the knots, spirals, birds and other designs. Vitor Gonzalez' art work is always magnificent.

5 comments about Oil Painting For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)).

1. I have thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt as though I learned something the minute I opened this book. It is easy to understand and I am very happy with the my results. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is new to oil painting because everything makes sense. It is written so that even a novice like me can come up with a finished project. Love the book. Well worth the money.



2. I am currently working through this book and it is wonderful... a step-by-step guide that is simple, yet advanced.



3. Excellent book; I'd give it 4 stars for traditional oil painting. I'm knocking one star off because there is very little about water soluble oil painting, which is an important topic these days.
   I wish they had included more about water mixable oil painting facts and techniques. One example would be to warn people that you have to settle on one brand since they are not compatible as they are with traditional oil paints. Also, what about explaining about mediums to use? It's not the same as with traditional oil paints. So I have to go through this book ignoring the talk about how to mix with mediums and thus I have to find that information elsewhere, which interrupts the flow of working through this book.
   
   A couple of minor suggestions also:
   Include a checklist of the projects for readers to track their progress.
   The painting on page 15 showing the various stages of the painting process - explain more in detail, pointing out examples on the painting itself, maybe with arrows and circles on the painting explaining the different parts.
   
   I sure wish they would come out with a "Soluble Oil Painting for Dummies" book or incorporate it into this book, especially about how to use water soluble mediums.
   
   But otherwise this is an admirable book. I'm glad they wrote it.



4. I have read through half of the book and, even though I have some experience with oils, am learning something new or different in each section. It is easy reading and is designed to allow you to read each section independently in any order. However, reading it straight through exposes some redundancy - not necessarily a bad thing. The color mixing study, in the end, helps you to understand how to mix colors to create highlighting and shading. But the mixing proportions are not defined clearly enough - so the exercise does not yield accurate results. The author does not explain that the same color in different brands are not truly the same and produce different results. But you get the idea.



5. This is a great book for all us self-taught artists. It teaches us what all those terms and things are that we never understood, and how to acomplish them. I've been painting for 45 years and this book helped me a lot...."Back to the drawing board!"