5 comments about Bettie Page by Olivia.

1. Olivia strikes again with another beautiful publication. Olivia's books are always printed on high quality, glossy paper which emphasize her stunning work. I am proud to say that Olivia and I have shared thoughts on Ms. Page. Olivia is a very generous and gracious lady and her paintings will always amaze me. I now own all of her books and trading cards.



2. This book is for the Art lover, and fans of Betty Page. Each page has something to offer. I recommend this book for any collector of the arts. Well done!



3. One of the best books by Olivia with nice pics from his works focused on Bettie. A must for pinup lovers.



4. Nice book, no nudity, which is fine, because I was looking for nose art for my airplane.



5. This book appears small and thin but contains a very large amount of amazing Bettie inspired works by Olivia. Included are a few pages of the progression of sketches to reach a completed work. The opening comments from Hugh Hefner are excellent. If you love Bettie, Olivia and especially both, you will love this book.

5 comments about Elements of Writing Fiction - Description (Elements of Fiction Writing).

1. The best writing book I ever read. This may sound strange, but I couldn't put this book down. It is filled with example after example on what bad descriptions vs. good and great descriptions look like and how to write them. I would highly recommend this book to any one who likes writing.



2. This is an excellent writing aid.
   
   Here's why: If you want to know how to make a watch, most writing aid's only give you the correct time or make testimonials about the quality of specific watches. You never learn how to make a watch. This book details how to make watches with excellent examples of the significant steps in the process. And it illustrates how the right steps work, with examples of how other things dont work as well. Plus it provides examples of how hybrids sometimes work better for what you want.
   
   The author is impressive because she knows what she professes, and knows how to make you competent too.
   
   This book will make you happy.



3. As a writer, I've always considered description to be my strong suit, so I read other books in this series before I picked up this one. I wish now that I'd read it first. Monica Wood clearly articulates the difference between strong description and weak description and provides so many examples that it is easy to see her point, and easy to make the leap in your mind and change your way of thinking about description. I realize now that although I've always been good with imagery, my images lacked purpose. I'm a photographer by nature. I've been busy presenting my readers with snapshots when I should have been painting art for them. My images were clear, vivid and real, but they told my reader little about the underlying structure of either my characters or my theme. My descriptions created texture, but didn't incite emotion or meaning. I looked at my manuscript and realized I've got 70,000 missed opportunities. So far, I've revised three scenes and already I know my characters better. The writing is tighter, the characters sharper. Those scenes pack so much punch now that I'm faced with the opposite problem I had before- how to let the story breathe for a bit between those scenes. Pacing is going to be a different challenge for me now.



4. This is an excellent source book for any new writers. I highly recommend this and the other books in the Writers Digest Elements of Fiction Writing series.



5. This is the worst of the Elements of Fiction book series that I've read. Instead of using examples from classic works of fiction, like the other books in the series, Wood comes up with her own examples, which are poorly written and often obscure the topics she's trying to cover. Check out Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King instead, which has a much better chapter on Showing vs. Telling. Also check out How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey, which has better descriptions on how to write scenes vs. narration.

1 comments about Colour (Documents of Contemporary Art).

1. This is an interesting look at the history of color theories. It has writings by artists and theorists. It follows a historical progression. As an artist I was drawn to comments by other artists. Much of the writing is detailed and some color theory would be helpful but certainly not necessary. David Batchelors work is wonderful and thought provoking and this book is likewise.

4 comments about The Eternal Army: The Terracotta Army of the First Chinese Emperor (Timeless Treasures).

1. I ordered this book so I could read about the terracotta warriors prior to visiting the exhibit currently at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, CA. The other reviews are really what sold me on the book - especially the review by B. Evans.
   
   I ordered the book July 31 (Sunday) and paid for shipping so I could receive it prior to my museum visit August 7. I expected it to arrive the 6th but it arrived on the 4th! I was very pleased with the fast service. I was astounded when I saw the book. It surpassed the reviews by far. It's gorgeous! There's so much background information and the writing style is excellent and the photos are superb.
   
   If you have an opportunity to see an exhibit, please go! But first - buy this book! I'm so glad I'd read the background information (I skimmed a lot - there's a lot of information!) and looked at the very detailed photos prior to my visit. It made it so much more enjoyable (there's an audio guide and great written plaques at the museum but I liked knowing all that information beforehand). I also appreciate the photos even more now because the museum has low lighting and that makes a difference when you're over 50! Seeing the warriors in person is a great experience - but having this book is even better because the details are sharper and you get a vast amount of information. The exhibit had the 2 chariots with horses and so many of the warriors and animals that are featured in the book that you have your own museum tour right there in the book.
   
   I almost bought a book that featured a large fold-out of the warriors lined up in the pit. I saw that book in the museum and looked at the fold-out (and another fold-out was placed on the wall). The photography was inferior to the photography in this book. I looked at all the books the museum had and was thrilled with this book. It's really the best. So thank you to the first 3 reviewers! You sold me and I'm grateful! One thing no one mentioned was the quality of the paper in this book. That struck me immediately. It has very high quality, glossy paper which makes it easy to read and makes the photographs stand out. With tax and shipping, it came to $41.79 and is worth so much more than that.



2. I bought the book for the friend to give as a gift. I thought she had given it for Valentine's Day, but here's what she said when I asked her for a review: I didn't give it to him - I decided to wait til his b-day in Nov but yes, the book is excellent - exactly what he wants - the pictures are beyond excellent and extremely detailed - it's an excellent book!



3. I bought THE ETERNAL ARMY to learn more about its discovery, the reason for its creation, and above all, for its many incredibly stunning/revealing photographs. So closely are the soldiers shown, for example, that one can clearly see the different facial expressions of each. But I was even more amazed by how detailed and different the backs of their heads are, especially the ones with braided hair. And that each soldier's armor is made up of a myriad plates absolutely astonished me.
   
   In addition to the famous soldiers and bronze chariots (also shown in incredible detail), the camera treats the reader to close-ups of the chariot driver, archers, functuaries and the scantily clad figures now thought to perhaps be gymnasts or wrestlers "ready to engage in an exercise of martial arts." Shown too are many artifacts, such as bronze birds, that were found along with the army. But perhaps most mind-boggling of all are the photographs of finds yet to be reassembled, for they attest to how monumental the task has been to excavate and restore but a fraction of the emperor's army.
   
   Had the above, including the fascinating information about the army, been all that was in this book, I still would have gladly spent every dollar I did to purchase two copies. But much to my amazement, there was even more: approximately 90 pages of background about ancient China and the Qin empire--pages laced with stunning photographs of related artifacts and watercolors, pages so interesting that I learned much about a period that I'd had absolutely no interest in. And as an added bonus, the entire book is written in prose not the least bit pedantic. For these reasons, there are neither superlatives nor stars enough to convey how highly I recommend this book. --B. Evans, 12/11/07
   
   Incidentally, photographs from this tome were used to make the four jigsaw puzzles of the terracotta army in a slim, $6.99 remainder book with the same title that currently is available at Border's.



4. The striking feature of this book is its inclusion of unusually large photos of close-ups of some individual soldiers. Two individual chariots, in addition, receive in-depth illustration of various aspects. If you really want to have a taste of what it feels when seeing as different each of the soldiers' faces, you will never be disappointed with this book in hand.
   
   Several historical incidents that happened in this period also attract elaboration from this book. How the Emperor burnt thousands of scholars and books in order to take control of people's mind, is something that is explained through a model of the scene by the authors.
   
   At the end of the book, the authors also explain how they, with the help of the Chinese officials, took the photos, with equipment weighing over 1000 pounds.
   
   In the middle of the book the authors also attempt to delineate the long tradition of the Chinese philosophical thought as expressed in different schools, that preceded the rule of the Emperor over the unified China, which lasted only for 15 years!
   While the discussion of the philosophical thoughts might not be deep enough, I guess the readers who are interested in this book would not count this as any issue. For overall each of the faces of the soldiers that feature in the photos already tell thousands of different stories, given the reader's own imagination.
   
   I would recommend this book as a highly collectible gem!

5 comments about The Practical Handbook for the Emerging Artist.

1. The Practical Handbook for the Emerging Artist is a general introduction to the mundane tasks of the working artist. There's nothing glamorous here. If you're serious about art, you're probably familiar with most of what's covered in the book, but it never hurts to reinforce that knowledge.
   
   This is a handbook and not a coffee table or shelf piece, so take the price break and buy it used.



2. I am a serious starter and enjoy the barrage of intelligence in this book. Great advice that keeps me going.



3. Why is this book so expensive??? Plus it's out of date. Not worth the $50-$60 you're expected to pay, especially if this is a required text for a college level course.



4. It is a long road from Art School graduation to solo shows in major galleries. Lazzari's book is a vital tool to help navigate that road. The book is filled with practical information, on the business of being an artist, and opportunities in the arts.Much of the information is information you don't, normally, get in Art Schools.
   Every serious artist needs help with the practical out of the studio stuff. If you do not have a dealer (you trust) or someone who manages your career and finaces, you can use this book. I have bought this book for friends and serious students in the arts.



5. Sorry to disagree with Ms Lazarri's friends but this book should be accurately titled "artist-lite". It is strictly for an amateur - a Sunday painter - and not for an artist serious in pursuing a career in the visual arts.

   If this is how you define yourself then this is a book for you.

5 comments about No More Secondhand Art.

1. ANOTHER ART TEACHER HAD RECOMENDED THIS BOOK TO ME. I HELP TEACH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. I LOVE THE VARIETY OF LESSONS, THE IN DEPTH TEACHING AND EXAMPLES GIVEN. (THEIR ARE A FEW LESSONS THAT ARE TOO ADVANCED FOR SOME OF THE STUDENTS, BUT I MYSELF HAVE FUN WITH THOSE.)



2. -this is a good companion to it. He's a bit verbose occasionally but gives you difference insights on the same material. The "creative encounters" are exercises to increase creativity and can be used alone or with a group. This is an old book, but I'd seen it cited several times. Still well worth a read if you're interested in creativity and how to open people to being creative.



3. This is one of the most inspiring books you can read if you are an art student or just interested in art. Peter London tells the artists to go out and find themselves, make their own art, an experiment with encounter. Encounters are excises that are designed to help you know yourself and find out maybe unknown things about you. Since, he is an art therapist, the exercises are very creative and geared to giving you incite into how you can go out and create your own art based on what you have learned from encountrs with self.
   This may be a very unique approach to art-making but it's a journey through your own soul and I believe you need to make that journey to make your artwokd say what you want it to say.
   London's title is roughtly based on a book by Buckmaster Fuller, who wrote "No More Second-Hand God". Fuller states that if you want to know God, go out and find him for yourself. Don't just except whar yu've been told. That is someone else's experience. Peter London also suggest that other aqartist's work is about them, not about you. Go out and find yourself , then you will be able to communicate visually your unique fellings and deepest thought. Presuasive and inspiring,would recommend you pick it up today.



4. Having studied with Peter London over the past ten years I can assure readers that as a teacher he lives what he writes. He embodies what every teacher should bring to students: careful listening, respectful attention, thoughtful questioning. His writings have won the deserved respect of his educator and artist colleagues nationwide. Treat yourself to a fine book.



5. I've read this book three times from cover to cover in the past ten years; every now and again for just certain sections. I wish every teacher taught with the respect and care that comes through in the words of this book; won't you try? It is an invaluable resource for the teacher; covering subjects such as setting up classroom environments, critiques, media, and even giving art experience ideas. If you listen carefully to his words you will be given precious pieces of knowledge for your classroom and your studio, from someone who undoubtedly practices and believes in what he knows to be good. It's that real; and that important.

5 comments about Acrylic Painting With Lee Hammond.

1. This book is good for a beginner
   I have 3 of her books and they are all the same basic techniques
   can be a bit boring but I see where she comes from in her work
   these books can definitely help a new artist venturing into these areas



2. This is a good book for anyone interested in acrylic painting. It covers various techniques and subjects. Very good !



3. I have thoroughly enjoyed using this book on acrylic painting. It shows step by step how to produce fantastic paintings using all kinds of techniques and ideas. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone wishing to know how to make your paintings look professional and have a great time doing it.



4. I am really enjoying this book. It illustrates some of the different techniques used by Lee Hammond. I am taking some local art classes, and this book gives me some interesting projects to work on at home. Even the simple example of making a round ball or shere look three-dimensional is helpful to a new painter and is not as easy as it looks. She stresses that there is an "Awkward Stage" in any painting, and she points this stage out in each of the projects in the book. This has helped and encouraged me to give my paintings the final details needed to make my paintings more realistic.



5. I picked this up hoping to learn something. There are a few things that are okay, but I was not really impressed by Hammond's paintings in this book. Perhaps they aren't her best works, or maybe they are 'dumbed down' to make this a beginner's book. I think this book is better suited for a beginner. I might also recommend skipping this book, and trying out Hammond's Paint People in Acrylic With Lee Hammond. The work in it is much more fine tuned, and a lot of the same techniques are conveyed in both books.
   
   Lastly, I think Hammond might be a little conceited. Even her simple painting examples for the book have her giant signature stamped right onto the work. Its as though she's worried that someone might think its not her work in her own guidebook.

5 comments about Elements of Writing Fiction - Scene & Structure (Elements of Fiction Writing).

1. Another reviewer said reading this book was "a slog." I had to think whether I wanted to agree with that description or not. I've read four other "Elements of Fiction Writing" and two "Write Great Fictions" within three months (I'm not a fast reader.) Scene & Structure, however, could not keep my attention. I have moved on to another book in the series because I can't stay focus on it to finish it anytime soon. Unless I find another book on the subject, I will go back to complete it though.
   
   I give a rating of a 4 because the boredom maybe in my lack of interest in the author's writing style.



2. This book is an absolute must.
   
   The first book that you should read is Swain's Techniques of the Selling Writer.
   
   The second book is this one.
   
   Both of these books demonstrate fundamental dramatic technique: scene and sequel. Scene is comprised of goal, conflict, disaster and in which the conflict is worked out via stimulus-internal reaction-response. After a scene comes the sequel in which the character emotionally and rationally selects a new goal.
   
   Other reviewers notwithstanding, this is not a write by the numbers book. You are free to vary the pattern as much as you please -- after all, it's your book, and your vision. But for anyone who has written numerous chapters and realizes that something is wrong, this book will give much needed understanding.



3. Bickham was Dwight Swain's student at Oklahoma and went on to write a lot of (I think) pot boilers using what he learned, then wrote Scene & Structure. If you're a working writer (or want to be), the book to read, study and memorize is Dwight Swains "Techniques of the Selling Writer." It's got everything you need to kick start your education in writing fiction. I've published one short story, won several literary prizes for both fiction and non-fiction, and I'm deep into writing my first novel. Swain is the only one I've ever read who really knows how fiction works and can explain it so others can do it, too. Bickham's book is 168 pages, including index. By page 168, Swain is telling the student how the "end of the beginning" needs to be structured to generate suspense. Which one sounds more valuable to you?



4. I just finished reading this book. I read the whole book carefully, then went back and re-read several chapters. I believe I understand what Mr. Bickham is trying to get across.
   
   I agree with the reviewers who accuse the author of presenting a formulaic, by-the-numbers prescription for writing, because that's exactly what he does. The idea that every scene must begin with a clear statement of goal and must end in a disaster is simply ludicrous. Even if by "disaster" Bickham means "setback," his poor choice of word is symptomatic of his own prose style, which is simply dreadful. I thought Dan Brown was a poor wordsmith, but Bickham makes him seem like Shakespeare! Unfortunately 90% of his examples come from his own wretched novels, which makes for some very unpalatable reading.
   
   Still, the idea of scene plus sequel as a basic pattern in a genre novel is probably on the mark. Clearly many variants and deviations from this pattern are possible, and Bickham admits this, even offers some examples. But I think his book might be more useful as a tool for analyzing genre novels than as a blueprint for writing them. The author who follows Bickham's prescriptive formulae is bound to produce a stilted piece of work that very few would want to read. On the other hand, using Bickham's ideas for fine-tuning a scene or sequel might bear fruit. But beware pronouncements such as avoiding narrative summary or extended internalization within a scene.
   
   I am much more in tune with Stephen King's method of writing, in which the plot or structure of the novel evolves organically as it's written. Those who feel otherwise and are looking for a method of plotting a novel may turn to a book like this. But I would caution against plotting out every scene and sequel in advance, as Bickham advocates. If you know in advance every twist and turn the story is going to take, then where's the fun in writing it?



5. I have used this book to teach plotting to creative writing students, so my review is based on how well absolute novice writers respond to the ideas he puts forth in this book. On the whole, they respond positively. Once they grasp the standard three-act structure of a plot, they find his scene-sequel formula to be IMMENSELY helpful figuring out how to work out options for rising action. A few students complain that they don't like being taught a *formula*, and it seems a few reviewers have that gripe as well.
   
   I'll say here what I say in class. First, if a formula happens to have been successful (as you can see if you break down almost any movie or popular novel), eh, maybe just this once it might be worth your time to learn it. Just file it away somewhere or something. Second, just because Bickham advocates a linear tic-tock scene-sequel way of composing your plot, that does not mean, nor does Bickham anywhere say, that you have to TELL the story in simple lockstep straightforward chronology. Once you have the basic idea of what's going to happen and why, you can start the story whenever you darn well please. You can start just at the climax, if you want, and tell the story through disconnected flashbacks, so that readers have to piece together the shards into the picture of the story arc. You can tell the story as an epistolary novel. You can tell it by varied protagonists. The only limit is imagination of the author. If you hate this book because you can't figure out new and creative ways to apply his basic formula, that doesn't necessarily equate with the *book* being worthless.
   
   My students are grateful because (and remember they're all fledgling writers) this book's ideas give them handles to grasp when they sit down to write. I don't advocate the whole 'scene goal clearly stated to the reader' thing Bickham states, but if you as the WRITER have no idea what the scene goal is, or how things are going to wind up worse for the protagonist, chances are pretty high there will be a high Flounder Quotient in your plotting. All in all, it's worth your time and money as long as you are willing to view it as a plotting aid device and not the Magic Potion of Writing. It's a skeleton upon which one can reliably hang decent stories: my students are invariably impressed at the end of the semester both at their own ingenuity in storytelling and how they managed to create a story that *moves* and unfolds logically.

5 comments about The Tao of Watercolor: A Revolutionary Approach to the Practice of Painting (Zen of Creativity).

1. I have changed my entire approach to watercolors because I read this book. Yes, I enjoyed painting, yes, I love watercolors, but this book helped me free my vision and use of colors in self expression. I honestly felt that painting started to become a chore because of some unspoken expectation (in myself). I paint more freely and expressively with the help of Jeanne and I actually enjoy it even more. New vision and inspiration...



2. ...and a handful of very nicely executed paintings. The "tao" part of the book, however, has little to do with watercolor per se, and some of prose is a little fuzzy: "Whichever paper you choose, get to know it well. Allow your paper to speak to you. It will tell you when it's ready to fulfill your desire."
   
   The emphasis is on wet-in-wet techniques, and applied to forested landscapes - in Ms. Cabonetti's talented hands - they often produce stunning results. This approach doesn't work quite as well with most of her other illustrative examples, though. The general wash terms and techniques are better described in other watercolor books, so I would recommend this one mainly for its very innovative and easy to learn approach to forested landscapes.



3. Jeanne Carbonetti has a beautiful refreshing style. She gives us wonderful instructions that are inspiring to all watercolor painters. A truly wonderful book.



4. A friend of mine who is an artist showed me this book, and I instantly fell in love with the beautiful illustrations in it. I plan to try most of the water color techniques in the book--They look like great fun as well as creating wonderful results. The book arrived in excellent condition.



5. If you have read the other reviews, then you realize that this book is about painting watercolor washes. It's a welcome book for those of us who cannot draw well, as the author's technique almost completely eschews drawing. Rarely is even an outline drawing done prior to the painting. Basically, the paper is first covered with a very wet wash of two or three colors suggesting only the most general shape, if any. When that first wash has dried, it is covered with a second wash that vaguely suggests some kind of form... perhaps of flowers in a vase. In order to refine that form into something recognizable, some of the color of the second wash is tinted with additional water, or supplemented by dropping in concentrated pigment, all while the second wash is still damp. There is also the possibility of adding color glazes atop the painting or some portion of the painting after the washes have dried. The author also recommends a separate wash... or even several separate washes... for the purpose of adding spatter. There doesn't seem to be anything uncommon... let alone revolutionary... about this wash technique. Indeed, I have read it explained more articulately in a book titled "Acrylic Watercolor Painting" by Wendon Blake. But while Mr. Blake's book is very instructive, the heartbreaker is that only 16 of its 115 images are in color. Ms. Carbonetti's book also presents many images, all of them in intense color, and many of them filling an entire page. There are about a dozen very lovely paintings among them. It is clear that Ms. Carbonetti's technique is restricted to abstract landscapes and the occasional still life with flowers. I can't recommend this book to someone who is brand new to watercolor painting, as there is some terminology (such as the phrase "pull out the edges") whose meaning is not self-evident. I find that the primary value of the book is in the inspirational nature of the exceedingly lovely paintings. Just leafing through the book makes you want to break out all your art supplies, and give it a go.

1 comments about Miro (Taschen 25th Anniversary).

1. This book about Miro is presented in an interview format and is a wonderful representation of the artist's life, not only in the words but in the reproductions as well.