2 comments about The All New Print Production Handbook.

1. Smaller than Johansson & al. book - thus, shorter. And even shorter since all even pages are filled with pictures (of machines etc),only odd pages holding the texts. Very nice though, thanks to clear explanations. Sentences are elliptical but not confusing. The writer gives you advises and stretches important points. He seems to have a lot of working experience. Photographies are great and show the most up-to-date machines. An excellent beginner's book that I recommend...but you will need the big Johansson & al. book to understand thoroughly all technical aspects.
   
   Pros: Clear. A good insight to up-to-date technics.Nice pictures of all kind of devices
   Cons: lack of details. This book wont make you an expert.



2. This book is an excellent practical introduction to printing for a beginner. It's especially useful if you'll be dealing with books, magazines and other text-intensive items.
   
   The survey of origination, pre-press, proofing/platemaking and printing processes is broad and adequate, though not especially deep. Most topics are covered in 1-2 pages of text plus an equal number of pages of illustrations -- way too short to qualify as a "handbook" for a professional, but enough to get you oriented when you're starting out. The discussions of color printing and of finishing aren't going to satisfy you if you're interested in producing high-end brochures and other specialty goods with fancy graphics. For these topics, Ambrose & Harris's "Print & Finish" in AVA's Basics Design series would be a good supplement to the present book. But the last section, called "Working with a Printer", is very helpful and, judging by my own brief experience anyway, seems to be hard to find elsewhere. It includes detailed discussion of how to make enquiries and prepare specifications for working with printers, and some of the common pitfalls of each. A lengthy glossary of terms, plus several conversion tables and other reference charts are also above-average for this type of book.
   
   I read the book while preparing to write a business plan for a new publication. It alerted me to lots of practical issues and expenses that I'd never have thought of from reading most other books on this topic, which tend to stress graphic design rather than practicality. Finally, the book itself is handsomely and durably produced, especially considering its reasonable price. Very solid, in both form and content.

5 comments about Landscape Meditations.

1. When you are weary from toiling over your masterpiece, you must grab this book by Elizabeth Mowry, curl up in your favorite spot and just enjoy this wonderful book. The author & artist wants you to get involved with your painting and learn to FEEL what your eyes see, so that what you put on paper is part of yourself. It's your story, your vision of life. Ms. Mowry is a very talented artist who shares with the reader her thoughts & ideas that went into the many beautiful paintings she rendered in pastels & some in oils. The book is so beautifully done, with many, many beautiful landscapes she painted during her travels all over the world and her narrative about her travels and her personal thoughts about the many scenes she painted, that I didn't realize until I got well into the book that she was also giving the reader many valuable lessons in such things as structure of a painting, light source, theme painting, & individualizing one's work. Wow, what a book. It's a joy.



2. This book is so well done I can't do it justice. It is a treasure and valuable reference for any paselist beginner to advanced. Elizabeth Mowry
   is indeed a Master,her work is breathtaking!!



3. I am absolutely in awe over this book. It has to be the most beautifully written and illustrated art book on the market. Ms. Mowry lives her paintings and her descriptive narrative transports you inside of her paintings. I will refer to this book again and again. Outstanding!



4. I found this a very inspiring book. The paintings are really nice whether you are into pastels or oils.



5. Every artist of every level and every art lover should read this book,for the artist the writings and paintings are inspirationalshe not only can she paint but she can write as well.

4 comments about The Pencil Box: A Treasury of Time-Tested Drawing Techniques and Advice.

1. This book contains several articles by leading artists and teachers who have devoted their energies to drawing,including color pencils...It contains very practical methods and hints to improve drawing skills for all---beginner to advanced students.



2. This book is very good item for those that are just learning how to draw. The topics that are covered are very well written and are is to follow. I recommend this book to anyone that is just starting.



3. I just got this book and read most of it on my vacation. Probably it would make more sense to read it in smaller chunks or for specific projects. The book is organized by topics, starting with materials. From there it goes to techniques, then landscapes and portraits. I can't remember all the topics now. I would guess that the last 20-25% of the book presents articles on colored pencils. I haven't gotten to that section yet, but glancing at it, I see that it covers almost every topic that was in the colored pencil class I took.
   
   The great thing about this book is that it has culled articles from American Artist magazine for the contents. I can't afford to subscribe to that year after year, so having the articles I really want collected in a separate book saves money and time. If you are not into colored pencils, which I am not, the book is still worth it.



4. I found this book to be very helpful. I am getting back into drawing after many years and the author provided many good points and great illustrations. The section on colored pencils was especially helpful. I bought the pencils listed in the exercises and did a few of the drawings. The suggestions for blending and shading were wonderful.

No comments about Short Lessons in Art History: Artists and Their Work.

1 comments about Graphic Communications: The Printed Image.

1. As a college level educator and graphic arts/electronic prepress professional, I highly recommend Z.A. Prust's "Graphic Communications, The Printed Image". It is easy for students to understand and is a wonderful teaching tool. The book explains all of the important aspects of working in the print industry. The only reason that I didn't give this book 5 stars is that it is a little outdated, but I hear Prust is publishing an updated version that will be out soon. I'm looking forward to using it with my students!

1 comments about Classical Art: From Greece to Rome (Oxford History of Art).

1. This innovative and deliciously illustrated guide to the arts of Greece and Rome is composed in a light-hearted, humorous vein and provides as much entertainment as artistic edification. Furthermore, its unique exploration of Greek art through the prism of Roman culture offers a refreshing new perspective on the development of the wildly influential high classicism of the empire. In short, a delightful and beautiful book.

No comments about Modernism (Movements in Modern Art).

2 comments about 660 Typographic Ornaments CD-ROM and Book (Dover Electronic Clip Art).

1. I was looking for copyright free art for a publication I was working on...Dover never lets me down!
   
   The assortment of styles and topics in this edition is great. It will serve me well in future projects as well as the one I purchased it for!



2. This is a fantastic resource book and the CD makes everything so easy! I have wanted to have clip art for my collages and cards and I was thrilled with the variety of clip art available--nearly everything works! I ordered a larger, hard-bound book in addition to this book, but I found more of the clip art here more usable and classic than in the more expensive, hardbound version. I have been looking for something like this forever and was pleased to find it and find it at such a great price!

3 comments about Art Of The Postmodern Era: From The Late 1960s To The Early 1990s (Icon Editions).

1. I am considering assigning this as a textbook in my contemporary art class. The text IS accessible, and does not follow the conventional art history textbook format. Refreshing is Sandler's emphasis on art-world and other contexts. One emerges, after reading the book, feeling like one understands how the art came about in the first place, rather than simply feeling groundlessly familiar with a few key figures and their major works.



2. Because I believe in upfront honesty, I will say that I am by no means an Art buff. I've taken humanities courses, art history and so forth, but soley as electives. My main interest in academia has nothing what so ever to do with art and my interest in it is only casual.

   That having been said, let me say that after reading literally dozens of academic text books, reference materials, etc, including all those I used in my humanities and art history courses before, Sandlers "Art of the Postmodern Era..." wholly deserves the 1 star rating that I gave it. I say this not because the material doesn't interest me, but because Sandler makes it so terribly thick and impassable. Even if you've taken a small dose of art history before, the manner in which Sandler wrote this book will leave you're eyes bleeding.

   Worst of all, Sandler follows an almost tragic formula throughout the book. Introduce the topic with relevant fact, mention an artist or work, go on obscure tangent about said artist or work, throw in a few black and white (a disservice to both reader and artist) print of the work, then move on to another artist or work. Never do you return to a concrete discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of the movements he discusses. There are passing references to how each particular work or artist is connected with the movement being discussed, but never do you get a clean cut, definitive exploration of the movement. In essence, the only way you can gain any understanding is by finding these sometimes obscure portions of the chapter and putting it together. One should not have to read upwards of 70 pages in order to gain a paragraph's worth of insight about postminimalism.

   The entire book follows this dismall format. As a reference I would never recommend this book to anyone. The photographs are almost entirely devoid of color, not to mention a necessary amount of detail or perspective. The writing itself is dry, unimaginative and lacking in structure. I found myself falling asleep during every reading I've ever done out of this book, regardless of time of day or frame of mind. You simply cannot stay awake through any given chapter of this book, no matter how much coffee, caffine or sugar you keep on hand.

   Do yourself a favor and stay away from this....I would have to be paid a healthy sum of money before I would ever read this book of my own free will. What readings are required of me as part of the course are utter and complete torture, even for a hardcore academic like myself.

   I will not argue that Sandler is knowledgable as one can be about the subject, but a worldly art critic does not a good author make. Something to keep in mind.




3. Content is good but in my opinion, the book is overpriced for its size.

5 comments about Intaglio: Acrylic-Resist Etching, Collagraphy, Engraving, Drypoint, Mezzotint.

1. I'm very happy with this beautiful book. printing and quality of the illustrations is very good. has 200 color illustrations and other black and white. also contained a wealth of information about each technique, explained well, especially the technique of collagraphy, a book modern and contemporary. I recommend it highly.



2. A good reference for the serious printmaker. Clarity sometimes falls victim to awkward writing style, but there is valuable information about working safely, with effective alternatives to traditional toxic materials. Not written as clearly as The Complete Printmaker, which is the must-have book in the field.



3. 
   
   Collography
   
   This is by far one of the best resource books on the subject of intaglio/collagraphy that I have seen so far. Seems that both books that I have recently bought from you are of UK PUBLISHERS, the Intaglio book is now published in the US, but this does not quite mean we over here in the good ole' USA are catchin g up.



4. This is an excellent resource for anyone interested in replacing traditional toxic printmaking techniques with safer alternatives. Nothing lost but the dangers. It discusses the hazards of traditional printmaking and introduces non-toxic alternatives from de-greasing intaglio plates to non-toxic resists and etching solutions, water based inks, photo processes and numerous adjuncts etc. Plenty of supplier lists and suggestions for setting up a new studio. This is an impressive and comprehensive book with lots of photos.



5. This is a beautifully made and illustrated book with sewn pages and thick paper. It includes and excellent synopsis of the history of printmaking. Effort is made to cover many of the "safe" contemporary techniques, but one cannot escape the feeling that it is a marketing tool for Lascaux products (though various dry film resists, and products by Golden, Graphic Chemical, and others are not excluded). Oddly, while the techniques will be of great benefit to someone new to safe printmaking, discussion of setting up the studio is aimed toward a commercial fine art printmaking operation, not the lone printmaker. Take what you need and leave the rest. Techniques are clear, often illustrated, and easy to follow. It is an excellent reference for safe handling procedures and a variety of techniques. The book is a good value.