2 comments about Draw 50 Airplanes, Aircrafts, and Spacecraft: The Step-by-Step Way to Draw World War II Fighter Planes, Modern Jets, Space Capsules, and Much More... (Zephyr Book).

1. Great book for the budding artist who loves aircrafts! Each one is fairly easy and helps them to be creative even outside of the book. Highly recommend.



2. Draw 50 Airplanes has been around for a while. I'm glad that it is still in print. Wish it had been around when I was a kid, doodling airplanes. A bunch of my favorites are there: Sopwiths, P-40s, Spitfires, F-86 Sabres, P-38s. Hopefully, someday, there will be a revised edition that can capture some late arrivals to the first century of flight that today's kids really like- the Space Shuttle, the SR-71 Blackbird, the F-117 Nighthawk. There are dozens of "how to sketch", "how to draw" titles out there. This is not one of those books. This book skips the nuances of perspective and the agony of descriptive geometry. It is not about fine art... it is not about drafting... When you sign a note to a friend, did you ever want to be able to add a quick Spitfire with a flourish? One that someone else thinks looks like a Spitfire? Or how about a sketch of the Wright Flyer? This is THAT kind of a book. This is about the serious business of producing a happy characture of the airplane that dances in your head. It will egg you on until you pick up a pencil and make an airplane appear on the page. It will help you perfect that skill. A curved line here, a pair of straight lines there. One pencil stroke at a time. And it obviously wasn't written just for kids. This book can help just about anyone create some really neat airplane doodles. Who knows what comes from that... So many rich experiences in life depend on having some early successes, the hopeful satisfaction that causes you to press onward... J. Campbell Martin

5 comments about Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy.

1. The book does have some insights into human anatomy, however it is all bland with no feel for it.
   Most importantly it concentrates more into male anatomy and not give you a healthy dose of the female anatomy as well.
   As a male artist, studying my own body will be more educational than this book.



2. this book is not helpful to anyone who is a serious artist. if you want to get good at drawing, want to learn more about anatomy, get an anatomy book. this book is suited for people who don't really care about anatomy, and just want to know enough to scrape by.
   I did not like this book.



3. The drawings are wayyyyy old school. Nothing like the comic book looks yyou see now. It reminds me of that old school superman show where he jumps on a trampoline and then flies into the air. So for the guys body it's very old school western muscular (so not very. not much of a six pack and stuff)
   
   i would have loved this book if he had used the drawing style of some of his other books!



4. This books has a very specific function, and is not for everyone. I would reccomend this book for any casual artists who want to draw cartoon or comic-book / manga style art, and need to reference a basic anatmony.
   
   This books is NOT for people who want to do realistic art. This books is NOT for someone who wants to draw a specfic style of art (i.e. how to draw manga). This books is NOT for people who needs to learn how to draw from the ground up.
   
   This books is best suited to casual artiststs / fan artists who already have an idea of how to draw, and already have their own style, but need a reference for simplified anatomy seen in comic books and manga.



5. I admit this book is a lot better than I thought it would be.
   I'm glad I didn't pay the nay sayers any mind.
   Though I have decent drawing skills not good enough to be considered a master but not a beginner either.
   
   I still think in order to improve your Artistic understanding of anatomy this book is a good start in the right direction though I still recommend you draw people who are willing to model for you or take a life drawing class if you are of age.

5 comments about Enchanting Fairies: How To Paint Charming Fairies and Flowers.

1. A beautiful book with clear, easy to follow instructions. A great addition to any collection for fairy lovers/artist. As a lover of fantasy and creator of fantasy art for many years I enjoyed this book very much. I especially love the fairy babies included in this book,
   since they often seem be left out.



2. I thought the step-by-step painting technique demonstrations were excellent. Aside from being a how-to on painting fairies, there is a lot in the book about rendering natural details like flower petals, bubbles, leaves, water, hair, flames and snowflakes. All of the techniques Barbara Lanza uses to create her enchanting worlds can be applied to landscape and still life painting, as well as portraiture. I've learned a lot from her book.



3. I bought Barbara Lanza's book and was thrilled. Great product for the price! Her beautiful, delicate illustrations and clear instructions were easy to understand. I also liked that her love of fairies came across and inspired me. The variety of fairies and flowers was also refreshing. I would recommend this book if you would like to learn fantasy art!



4. I am a self taught oil painter and craft artist who was raised on Fairy stories. When I saw this book advertised I hoped it would help me and it has. I like her Fairies, not to baby type of cute.
   
   She has great pictures with detailed instructions of how to achieve her art work using two different media. The way the book is written, her instruction is also adaptable to any media or type of work you want to do. A friend was having trouble painting a nice drape of fabric on one of her projects. I showed her my Enchanting Fairies book and it showed her exactly what to do. This is a good investment.



5. I bought this book for my daughter who loves to draw and loves fairies. She has read other fictional works by the author and enjoyed them. This drawing guide had the right mix of how to and fictional background to keep her interested and inspired to draw the various examples as well as take them a step further. It also has enough detail in the information and interesting presentation to keep the "child at heart". If you want to draw this particular fantasy subject or just people, it is an enjoyable read that contains many useful details.

No comments about Collectivism after Modernism: The Art of Social Imagination after 1945.

5 comments about The Big Book of Painting Nature in Watercolor (Practical Art Books).

1. This book is helpful in understanding how to develop a painting, but the author's color mixtures are surprisingly awful. Well over half the paintings in this book show us EXTREMELY dull and chalky skies and landscapes. The author appears to have no understanding that watercolor paints have different qualities--nonstaining, staining, and opaque. Mixing and glazing these colors without understanding these differences result in the mud paintings throughout most of this book. If you compare these paintings to other watercolor books, such as those by Dobie, Carbonnetti, Nechis, Speckman, and many others, you'll see a huge difference. Jim Kosvanec's "Transparent Watercolor Wheel" [this is a book, not just a color wheel] is extremely helful in bringing out the most in watercolor.



2. This book provided step by step progessions and explanations that were easy to follow. Great for beginner or intermediate painter.



3. Great book for learing to paint. Good examples and explanations for techniques. I recommend it.



4. By profession I am a scientist, but I have always had an interest in the visual arts. Only in the last few years have I had much time to devote to such endeavors and even then it has been rather catch as catch can. My main interest in art is in the capture of natural images (I took scientific illustration in college), but I appreciate the fact that art and stark realism may express somewhat different truths about the subject. As a rank amateur in watercolor art I also appreciate deeply such roadmap-like guide books as Ferdinand Petrie's "The Big Book of Painting Nature in Watercolor." At first the title turned me off, but in perusing a copy (and later acquiring it) I found it to be an excellent guide to capturing the essence of a natural scene in one of the most difficult of all media- watercolor (only pen and ink may be more demanding from my experience!)
   
   The coupling of Petrie's step by step paintings and the exquisite photographs of John Shaw has produced a book that is both visually beautiful and informative. Using the techniques described and with one's own reference photos in hand (or under an open sky direct from nature) a novice painter can slowly gain the knowledge and skill necessary to succeed in producing credible paintings.
   
   A while back a scientist colleague of mine asked me why make a painting or drawing when you can photograph any subject with clarity. As a person who takes my own reference photos and enjoys doing so I can say he has a point, but reality does not necessarily come only from an exact replication of a scene. In the process of painting from nature (or from a reference photograph) you often notice more complex details, even in apparently simple subjects, then you would ordinarily notice in a photograph by itself. Petrie has emphasized the observation of these complex details and their interpretation in watercolor. If nothing else the instructions that point the artist toward this close observation of complexity in nature are worth the price of the book.



5. This book is one to read through to learn -- not just do the practice paintings. Being a newbie to watercolor, this book has really helped me to view nature through a different set of eyes. He helps you see the "what do I want this picture to focus on" instead of microdetailing every possible detail in view. I am now finding myself looking at nature figuring out the details and what would I want to paint as the focus. I think this book goes very well with Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Watercolor by Marian Appellof -- good pair with minimal redundancy.

2 comments about How to Draw (How to Draw (Dover)).

1. This book is for those who wants to teach their student or children very basic drawing.



2. I bought this as a present for my six year old. She loves to draw and has a passion for art. I feared the book might be too advanced for her skills however I was wrong. The book was a hit! In fact the whole family is having fun drawing pictures!

5 comments about John Singer Sargent: Figures and Landscapes, 1874-1882; Complete Paintings: Volume IV (John Singer Sargent).

1. Sargent excelled in all media and this book, the third in a series, clearly shows why he was the best of late 19th century American artists. Many of his paintings have become icons of American art, and here they are shown in the context of his life and artistic development. The color reproductions are superb and the book offers many hours of repeat perusal.



2. These books are the epitome of scholarly research into Sargent's work, made even better by the researchers inclusion of intimate personal and professional details. This presents a great background to viewing the well printed illustrations. One should not just purchase one of these volumes, indeed the experience palls UNLESS all three are not bought . One cannot praise this sort of in depth research and the resulting publications highly enough. The only quibble is one of size, given that Sargent revelled in life-size compositions, it is a a pity that pure economics forbid the printing of larger volumes- I mourn the death of the "elephant folios" so derided by librarians.



3. A wonderful collection of amazing images. This book will be looked at for many, many years.



4. The best book on a painter I have been able to buy for quite a while. As with the other three volumes so far published of Sargent's catalogue raisonne, this is absolutley stunning. Paintings are all in colour unless they have been lost, and the figures and landscapes are breathtaking. The text is anecdotal and interesting, with contemporary correspondence and criticism. This is what a catalogue raisonne should be, and never is - something exhaustively illustrated and investigated, rather than an artist's lifetime crammed into one volume with highlights followed by black and white "postage stamps" at the back (as long as the artist is worth it - and Sargent is worth it). A great tome on a great artist, and unbelievably good value. Go out and treat yourself.



5. The color reproductions are awesome. This books is a collection of Sargent's less known work which is refreshing. Some oils are not as polished as the more well known work which helps to show his technique in early stages---a plus to serious professionals and students. To me, this book provided a wealth of visual clues to understanding his thought process and technical principles. The writing, however, is the typical stuff used to fill most coffee table books. No insight whatsoever into Sargent's painting principles, tonal procedures or color palette. The author obviously knows little in that regard but there is so much information out there the text could have been more illuminating. Buy it for the reproduction quality and awesome collection of works. Worth every penny in that regard.

5 comments about Manufactured Landscapes: The Photographs of Edward Burtynsky.

1. Edward Burtynsky is an extremely talented photographer and manages to capture the most dramatic and mysterious of scenes. Extraordinary photographs of some extraordinary subjects.



2. I am a great admirer of Edward Burtynsky - and I will not hide my dissapointment with the book. I've seen an exibition "Manufactured Landscapes" twice, and have to say that reproductions in the album are of a poor quality, not to mention that at least in this particular case size does really matter...
   
   The album is good to have a general idea about the author, his work and his workshop (nice introduction, and interview with Edward Burtynsky - that's what I've missed from the exibitions) but if you haven't seen full-size prints before, do not buy this book - otherwise it might spoil your opinion about one of the best photographers ever...



3. I discovered Ed Burtynsky by chance when waiting for my dentist...
   It was a chock : over its technical knowledge, this guy is capable to find the perfect angle to show what he wants to show !
   
   as we say in France "respect !"



4. the reproductions in the book were awful. i had seen his exhibition and purchased th e book because of it. the reproductions were not any where up to the originals. i am a photographer and the book is useless to me.
   ronald meyerson



5. I viewed the original exhibition at the National Arts Gallery in Ottawa a few years back. The images are breathtaking, unnerving and awe inspiring.

No comments about Posters for the People: The Art of the WPA.

1 comments about Edgar Degas: Paintings That Dance: Paintings That Dance (Smart About Art).

1. As a teacher looking to add to her biography collection, this series is a dream come true. It's written in a style that is attractive and holds a child's attention. There is a mixture of real art pieces and drawings done by the book's illustrator. It's a painless way of learning new information. I highly recommend all books in this series for any 3-5 grade teacher.