4 comments about Vintage Furniture Painting.

1. As an artist, I'm continually searching for fresh, new, inspiration and information. This book presents page after page of beautiful painting ideas and instructions. I was very pleased with the information provided- start to finish, with each project. The beautiful worksheets covering layout ideas, borders, and artwork illustrations were extremly helpful. I have been painting with the one-stroke technique for years and now have a new avenue to explore. This book would be of great value to a longtime painter like myself or someone ready to try furniture or home accessory painting for the first time. I have paid far more for many books that had much less to offer. A great value!



2. As a small antiques and collectibles dealer, I have had the opportunity to purchase hand painted furniture and gift items from Karen Petrus Williams for the last twelve years. I knew she had a book coming out and was expecting great things. WOW!! She exceeded even my expectations. I have purchased books to display with her work in the shop. This review is to encourage other artists to follow her techniques. There is a market out there. Grandma's Keepers Katy, Texas



3. Ok, so I wrote it- this is Karen and I want you all to know I did my best to put everything I look for in a painting book- in this book. As an artist I am very visual so there are design ideas, adaptable patterns, and step by step instruction to turn your simple brush strokes into your own beautiful designs. And all the designs can be used on multiple surfaces- not just furniture.
   My purpose in writing this book was to give you the tools, the information, and the tricks of the trade I have learned for the past 15 years to create your own pieces and enjoy doing it! I did my best and I hope you learn and enjoy the wonder of paint and design transformations.
   And yes I did give it a 4 because I think its good but you always want it to be a little better. If you are an artist you always see where you could make improvements. Maybe on my next book. Thank you for your time and to all who helped me and encouraged me on this project. I truly hope you enjoy this book- but mostly I hope you learn from it.



4. I'm not artistically inclined, but think that after reading this book, I might actually be able to transform one of my old pieces of furniture into something quite nice! The photos and instructions are well thought out. There are patterns to enlarge and follow, too. Pretty much everything you need but paint and brushes is in the book. I'm going to give it a try. I've been inspired! There are 'workbook' pages for vines and roses and so on, so I think I'll practice some of the easier looking ones and then jump right in and paint my furniture and see what happens. Wish me luck!

1 comments about 1000 New Designs and Where to Find Them: A 21st-Century Sourcebook.

1. This book is excellent if you are interested in Interior or product design this is perfect.
   Great photographs and some information on the products, the best part that it gives you the websites for each item (1000) so you can use this as a great reference.

5 comments about The Art of Pencil Drawing (Collector's Series).

1. I'm just beginning to draw and this book doesn't offer much in the form of directions. It is an awesome book, but if you are just learning this book is to advanced. I will put it on a shelf for now and save it for future use.



2. a good book... you should get if you like drawing.



3. That Gene Franks is an amazing artist is unquestionable, yet I wouldn't recommend this to the aspirant. It doesn't give much advice on actual techniques, there are no photos to work from, and the writing style is quite monotonous. Having said that, the pictures are a joy to look at, so this gets an extra star for this alone :D



4. If you really want to see how amazing pencil can look on paper when you have master it, get this book. Gene Franks creates all his own textures with just simple strokes and the drawings come off the page! I used to use a blender for most of my shading. Not any more! It will take alot of practice to be able to even come close to his style, but you will get so many amazed faces when people see what you can do with a simple pencil and a blank sheet of paper. I highly recommend it!



5. The book contains impressive drawings of Gene Franks in pencil. It offers a wide spectrum of drawing models for the reader-- from toys to cars, animals, portaits and landscapes. By mere study of his drawings, one gets a pretty good idea of the many ways varying pencil strokes maybe used to define the texture of a still life drawing. His drawings look like the real thing, except that they're in black and white. His notes and tips on how to render each drawing are also very helpful to the reader. This book is something you'll keep using for the rest of your drawing career.

5 comments about Model Making: A Basic Guide.

1. Good book for what it is, but it really is very basic and the techniques are not for anything complex.



2. A very well illustrated introduction to the art of architectural modeling. Good discussion of materials and methods, as well a some introduction to the aesthetics of the business. Excellent for beginners.



3. The book was not detailed enough, but it had some very insightful tips. All the pictures were hand drawn. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners. If you are causal beginner, you might try something SIMILAR to a Warhammer Terrain how-to book (table top games would be too specific). Something like that would have more step by step photographs and detailed instructions for making models.



4. Very basic. Lots of different techniques, none covered in depth. For the very beginner.



5. This is an elegant little book of line illustrations dealing with the art of architectural model building. It is not really a "how to" book. This book is ideal for people who already posses plenty of artistic talent. They will see basic concepts and be able to go from there.
   
   If like me, you want to make models to help out with your kid's school projects, this book is not for you. For anybody looking for a step by step guide to making models, I would recommend a book by Games Workshop called, "How to Make Wargames Terrain", a beautifully illustrated guide book aimed towards teenagers

5 comments about Illustrating Fashion: Concept To Creation.

1. Illustration Fashion: Concept to Creation appears to be popular with a wide range of students who are both beginners, intermediate students and advanced designers. This book offers a step-by-step approach to movement of designs from the croquis (base, working sketch) to the final copy. It has references to designs for facial and body features and it has detailed illustrations of a huge range of different pieces of clothings. Stipelman explains as well as gives examples of ways to successfully convey the mood of an outfit.
   
   Overall - it's very handy. For advanced students, however, bear in mind that it would probably be more of a reference for you than anything. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a look at other books available here on Amazon.



2. I found this book to be extremely helpful and useful, far superior than some I have encountered.



3. I must admit that I am not too keen on this book. Although it doesn cover the basics of fashion illustration I just don't think its a great illustraton book. Its a great referance don;t get me wrong but I know for a fact that Bina Abling's Fashion Sketchbook (the most recent veersion) has a heck of alot more than this book and it may be a bit pricer (just buy it used!) but The Fahsion Skecthbook it well worth it. TRUST ME!



4. I am intrested in fashion design and this book has helped me to learn how to draw the figure and face, etc. If you are a beginner in fashion design this should be your first book to get. This book is a keeper!!



5. I did not realize how resourceful a book this was until I actually sat down and looked through it. I had this book and another fashion illustration book (by Kathryn Hagen) for six months and all this time, I was referencing the other book only to gain insignificant knowledge of fashion illustration. While the other book contains beautifully drawn illustrations, it did little to enlighten me to the techniques, which is important when learning.

   I didn't look through Steven Stipelman's book before because I deemed it boring and uninteresting based on a brief flip through. When I actually sat down to start reading it, it all seemed to make sense. What Mr. Stipelman does that other books on this topic fail to really do is to talk about technique and concepts. He outlines standards for drawing croquis (working sketch) in steps, which is a must because a croquis is a foundation for fashion illustrations and will eventually lead to a final drawing.

   He also applies the step by step explanation of how to do different poses and how clothing rests on the body in different ways. A big bonus is that he also provides a historical background wherever he can to each section because each period of time had its own ideal for "the" silhouette or body type. It really just ties in well because you get a broader understanding of fashion's past and its relation to the current ideals of fashion.

   Whereas some fashion illustration books merely display pages of illustrations done by the author or professionals in the fashion industry, this book is written and arranged in such a way that you feel you're actually in the classroom being taught one-on-one all that it takes to illustrate fashion effectively and beautifully.

5 comments about First Steps Painting Acrylics (First Step Series).

1. I like this instructional book very much. It has a lot of information about the products needed to paint with acrylics and good ideas too. I just wish I had more time to use the book! I'm soon starting a new art class, Life Drawing. Perhaps I will be able to use some of my new knowledge to create a masterpiece!



2. This book like so many so-called beginner's acrylics books follows the usual pattern: a chapter on materials (this book's section is rather sketchy) and then an immediate huge jump into technique. Right after the sketchy materials section the author devotes a chapter on composition before getting into technique. The technique chapter is not very helpful; it shows you a catalog of the results of various techniques but provides no real help in how to achieve them. On the plus side the paintings shown (and there are lots of them) are appealing to me; however, I after reading the book I wouldn't have the slightest chance of even making a faint resemblance of them.
   
   As my growing collection of unsatisfactory "beginner's" acrylics shows (the nearest big bookstore is almost three hours away) there is a huge difference between a gifted artist and a gifted art teacher, though in fairness what is probably lacking are gifted art instruction authors. When writing these books they apparently don't have any reader feedback (why not?) who could slow them down by asking questions like how do I thin the paint, how thing should it be, what's the best way to mix colors, how do I clean the brushes, how do I keep the paint from drying out on my palette or my painting, etc., etc., etc.
   
   The only painting book I've found so far which can truly claim to be a beginner's book is Jack Reid's "Watercolor Basics: Let's Get Started". That book is full of exercise paintings that let the reader learn a technique on a simple painting; the paintings are simple enough so that the beginner doesn't get lost in the detail yet have some artistic character.



3. I love this book. It is very good for the beginner-----and I mean for someone who has never picked up a brush. I have really enjoyed it.



4. I purchased three books about acrylic painting and find this book to have the best instruction and information of the three. I would reccommend this book.



5. Not a lot of information in this book (i.e. 'tiny lines must be drawn with an inky or soupy like substance'. However the book does not tells you how to get this substance. Water, a medium or what and how much?).
   
   Much book space has been spent on showing paintings.

5 comments about Painting Houses, Cottages and Towns on Rocks.

1. I was enchanted by the ideas in this helpful and instructive guide to painting gnome houses from rocks you can find in your yard. I showed the book to my crafty ladies group and I had to order 3 more. There are such darling villages and imaginative scenes that are shown in this book,that your imagine just explodes with new ideas of your own. I hightly recommend this book for making something out of nothing!



2. Lots of great ideas of rock to houses. Cute & warm samples.



3. I'm very satisfied with the books i've bought.
   They are very instructive and complete.
   They teach the reader to paint rocks step by step, allowing consisting apprenticeship.



4. This is a well written and very specific guide to painting houses on rocks. It is beautifully illustrated and offers very specific, understandable and do-able instructions. It is not possible to read this book without feeling encouraged and motivated to get going.



5. I love the book. It is filled with ideas that will keep me busy for a long time. We enjoy our yard and garden so making these little houses, cottages, and towns will be fun to add to our stepables garden. So thanks Lin for being so creative and for sharing your ideas with others like me.

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.

1 comments about Exploring The Basics of Drawing (Design Exploration Series).

1. I teach drawing at the college level and have seen a multitude of drawing books. All though many of them are very nice this is the first one I have ever been compelled to recommend. It may not have all the bells and whistles of costlier books but it explains the basics of observational drawing in a concise way that could be understood by beginning drawing students. The illustrations explain in a visual way what the author explains verbally and are easy to view and understand. This book would be the one to pick if you do not have an instructor and need to teach yourself. If you read the book and work from observation you will improve your drawing skills. I like the book so much I am selecting it for my students as the class text for Basic Drawing I.
   
   If you are advanced drawing student and have the rudimentaries of drawing down then this may not be the book for you.

5 comments about Pastel for the Serious Beginner: Basic Lessons in Becoming a Good Painter (Serious Beginner).

1. The title of Larry Blovits book "Pastel for the Serious Beginner" really tells it all.
   Never having used Pastels Blovits book sets one on the path of producing some really acceptable paintings.
   The instructions are clear...and step by step he moves you along the path of creation.
   But, as the title declares, it does take some serious effort.



2. Good coverage of concepts, but not enough specifics on color applications, etc. No step by step instructions.



3. Lots of good information and tips for using pastels. The illustrations and step by step activities were very helpful. The beginning information on supplies is very valuable.
   Knowing what type of tools you need and the best types of paper make starting to work with pastels much more enjoyable.



4. From reading the other rewievs it seems like the best book in the world, but somehow this book was of no help for me. I do not particularly like his artwork, neither is the text any help for me. I've had it for about half a year and tried many times to study it, but I keep finding it most frustrating. I am not able to pinpoint what is wrong. Maybe it is something to do with the style of painting and teaching.



5. I have used this book now for 2 years and have found it a great help. My first really wonderful painting I did was from this book. I found this book great because it had beautiful paintings that I would want to copy and for the beginner copying others work is usually where you start. The fundamentals on how to use the pastels for different backgrounds is also very good. I hilly recommend this book.