5 comments about Methods and Materials of Painting of the Great Schools and Masters.

1. It took me several days to bull through the first 50 pages. I found out that must cultures used some sort of "drying oil" -- linseed or other for oil painting. This discovery astounded me so much, that Ii have been unable to continue reading. Perhaps the people who gave it a high rating could tell me something to encourage further reading.
   
   By the way this system won't let me give this book a zero star rating.



2. Out of the thousands of dollars I've spent on art books over the years to understand and improve my knowledge as a realist artist, this has to be the only one I've ever bought so far that I found completly useless.
   If you want to impress another artist, sure, hit them over the head with it. But apart from that I can't really see the point of it being marketed to modern day artists. Written in 1847 with language to match, it just simply describes what most realist artists can usually figure out for themselves by looking at the pictures. And come to much clearer conclusions. Something that your average artist without a generous income and the time to travel round europe during that time period probably couldn't do. Hence the reason I imagine, this book was written.
   
   As a teaching aid for your modern day realist artist, in my opinion forget it. If you want a book this thick and scholastic that will actually help you, get Ralph Mayers 'The Artist's Handbook of Materials & Techniques' instead.
   
   Beware of impressive, studious sounding reviews - I'm sorry I wasted my money on it.



3. A seminal work - referred to by authorities (Ralph mayer, etc) on painting technique. A must have if you're interested in painting technique throught the centuries.



4. My initial reaction on receiving this book was "Bloody hell is it big enough!?" At 1024 pages you're certainly getting a lot of information for your buck.
   
   Eastlake (1793-1865) was a former president of the British Royal Academy, director of the National Gallery, and in his day an major expert on painting techniques. Do note the book was first published in 1847, hence the writing style can be somewhat turbid. Perseverance pays with there being more information in here than you can shake a stick at.
   
   My comment about caution is based upon recent studies of old master paintings. The old masters would typically have a team of apprentices working alongside them, mixing paint, painting parts of the painting that the master was probably too bored to bother with (as well as good training for the apprentice) etc. The Master/Apprentice setup allowed for a continuous stream of knowledge being passed along the generations. However as oil paint technology advanced, in particular the ability to buy premixed paints off the shelf, the painter no longer needed a team of apprentices. He could pretty much get by on his own. Hence there was no longer anyone for the painter to pass on his knowledge to. This resulted in a considerable amount of technical knowledge being lost. (A good example is the recent theory promulgated by David Hockney that the old masters were able to paint such realistic paintings as they used rudimentary projection techniques to place a guide image on the canvas, overwhich they painted. No one knows if he is right or wrong).
   
   From the 1800's on, technical experts such as Eastlake and Max Doerner ("The Materials of the Artist") began to impart their wisdom on how the old master paintings were created. But the techniques thay had available were very rudimentary, more often than not being a case of the expert trying to reproduce a certain style and looking at the painting surface close up. The experts proferred their theories and techniques, often with much aplomb leaving no room for doubt. Unfortunately they were often quite off the mark - they could emulate a style somewhat but never 100%. There are too many variables involved even for a discerning eye. It has only been with recent advances in scientific analysis, chemical and visual, that a truer understanding of the old master technique is finally being determined. Van Wettering's excellent "Rembrandt - the painter at work" book details the findings of extensive research carried out on a number of paintings considered to have been painted by Rembrandt. The book is 340 pages, and they still haven't got all the answers. But what they have done is to throw in to doubt the theories and techniques of the 19th/20th C experts.
   
   There is a welter of information in this book, but if you are trying to perfectly replicate a certain old master painterly technique, and failing to do so, then be warned the experts might not be such experts afterall.
   
   All said and done, I do recommend this book for the wealth of information it contains. Numerous recipes for mediums, varnishes etc. along with many techniques that it lends itself to study in its own right. Dover books have once again provided an excellent product at an excellent price.



5. Okay...the title is a little bit misleading but truth be said....its not a difficult book for the Artist who knows what he or she is at and its certainly not for the hobbiest who would be lost with this book.This for me is a great book as it has enrichened me....information is always good.

3 comments about The Way of the Brush: Painting Techniques of China and Japan.

1. This is the best generally available book on Chinese and Japanese ink-painting in English of which I am aware. Why? Because it is not, primarily, a "how to" book. Yes, there are extensive examples of specific brushstrokes and characteristic forms and techniques, however they are by way of explanation and illustration, rather than instruction. There is much talk of history and aesthetics, but from a practical perspective; this is not, primarily, a book of art history or criticism. Rather, it looks at those things from the point of view of a painter, rather than an academic. While it's not an easy read, I would recommend this every bit as much for beginners as those with more experience.
   
   So, why would this be useful for the beginning painter? While some authors would have you believe that Asian ink work is rooted in a spontaneous expression of feeling, and/or that a meaningful piece of art can be created with just a few, easily mastered, brushstrokes, these are extreme oversimplifications of the actuality of Asian art. Tossing a bit of ink on some rice paper may be spontaneous, but it isn't the same as the Spontaneous school of Chinese painting. In reading this book, which is admittedly dense and occasionally dry, the reader can gain a strong background in the traditions and aesthetics of ink painting. While learning basic brush control from a teacher or how-to book, "The Way of the Brush" will give you not just context and history, but an understanding of how to compose and construct a work -- how to put those brushstrokes together.
   
   It could be said that this is not a book about how to paint in the Chinese and Japanese style, but how to look at a painting in the Chinese and Japanese style. In doing so, it also points the way towards seeing like a brush-painter. Unless you can see, not merely with your eyes, but with your mind, it is impossible to make the jump from brushwork to painting, from technique to art.



2. This is the book from which I learned sumi-e. It is well written, with wonderful examples. If one is seriously interested in the subject and in learning how to paint high quality works, it is the definitive work. The artist, P'u Ch'uan, who illustrates particular styles and strokes, is a master, providing some of the best examples one could hope for. The works of other artists in their instructional books pale by comparison; they fall into the "You too can paint a masterpiece in 60 minutes" sort of thing one sees on TV. Those are acceptable if you accept the limitations and set your sights accordingly. The standards set by this book are extremely high.

   The historical perspectives help a great deal in understanding not only the background of the art, but also in understanding the background of the strokes. These backgrounds are essential to more fully appreciating the work of others and in informing your own work. The great variety of styles and artists presented--contemparary and historical--help one to form one's own style.

   This book teaches both an appreciation of the art form and a sound basis for attempting it. I can't say I have mastered the form by any means, but working based on this book has been a rewarding experience.

   Highly recommended.




3. This is one of the best books about Chinese painting for those who want to understand not just Chinese painting techniques, but also something of the history and variety of traditional Chinese brush painting. The one drawback is the usage of the outdated Wade-Giles romanization (the book was first published in 1962), but that is merely a trivial annoyance compared to the wealth of information the author provides. Most instructional painting books are written by painters who focus on their own style, and give no credit to all the masters who have gone before them. This book shows many examples of paintings by master painters (ancient and modern), along with examples from the author's own teacher, master painter P'u Ch'uan. He thoroughly describes the different painting styles, with excellent examples, and many bibliographical references. I especially liked the fact that he gave 7 different versions of translations of "the Six Principles" of Hsieh Ho; by combining the common threads in all of them, their real meaning becomes clearer.

   Another subject he talks about, although briefly, is the importance of understanding brush strokes in order to be better prepared to deal with forgeries and copies. This subject is almost universally ignored in books on Chinese painting, and yet it is very important. I have seen a painting in a catalog from one of the big auction houses that on first glance looked like another one of Li Ke-ran's many water buffalo paintings, and was attributed to him by the (anonymous) seller. Upon closer scrutiny of the brush strokes used, it was obviously a fake. And I am by no means a true expert.

   If you are a beginner with no teacher to help you, then you will probably need other books, too. But for anyone who wants to learn about the history and traditions of Chinese painting, this is the ideal book.

No comments about Critical Issues In American Art: A Book Of Readings (Icon Editions).

4 comments about Josef Albers: To Open Eyes: The Bauhaus, Black Mountain College, and Yale.

1. Josef Albers: To Open Eyes by Frederick A. Horowitz and Brenda Danilowitz, is a beautiful, magnificent book about this internationally eminent artist, teacher of art, and theorist of design and color. It simply could not be better.
   
   Brenda Danilowitz, Chief Curator of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation in Bethany, Connecticut, writes about the biography of Albers, 64 pages, while Frederick A. Horowitz, a former student of Albers at Yale, who taught a The University of Michigan School of Art & Design in Ann Arbor and at Washtenaw Community College, devotes 181 pages to Albers as teacher of design, drawing, color and painting. An additional 34 pages cover Notes, Bibliography, Sources, Illustrations and Index. To find out what made Albers such a unique and revered teacher Frederick Horowitz interviewed a total of 160 students at Bauhaus, Black Mountain College, Yale and Harvard as well as 9 of his professional colleagues.
   
   Albers was first a student and then a member of the faculty of the original Bauhaus in Germany. When Hitler took over Germany in 1933 and the faculty, led by Mies van der Rohe, closed the Bauhaus, Albers came to the U.S. to teach, first at Black Mountain College in North Carolina and then, beginning in 1950, at Yale as Head of the Department of Design. By 1962 Yale University awarded him an honorary Doctorate at the same time she similarly honored President John F. Kennedy and former Secretary of State Dean Acheson.
   
   Albers experimented with color relationships in the form of nested squares of color. His great dedication resulted in a retrospective exhibition of his oeuvre at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, an honor only rarely given to a living artist. Another retrospective was organized in 1988 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
   
   At Yale all first-year graduate students in architecture, undergraduates majoring in architecture and design, and all students in design took Albers' courses in color and in drawing, while his basic design course was meant for undergraduates majoring in architecture.
   
   Albers had a wide influence on generations of artists, architecture and design. The book makes it eminently clear why Albers was as influential a teacher as he was and why his courses and theories became the basis of art teaching all over the United States.
   
   The text of this truly remarkable book is very informative and well written. The illustrations are superlative, carefully chosen and in many instances unique, not available anywhere else since they come from the Albers Foundation. I counted 284 illustrations, 103 in color.
   
   By describing the life and artful work of Josef Albers this book demonstrates to teachers and lovers of art at all levels how to impart a life-long desire to experiment with fundamental principles of art and with novel materials to create new objects of art.



2. "Josef Albers: to Open Eyes" by F.A.Horowitz and B. Danilowitz is not only a review into the life and work of a great complex artist and teacher. It also signals the end of a debatable era called "postmodernism" whose glitz, pomp and kitsch we have been witnessing universally since Tom Wolfe's pamphlet "From Bauhaus to Our House". "Josef Albers: to Open Eyes" also gives hope to the rediscovery of relevance. This elaborate study deserves to be part of the curriculum of the future art generation in its defining process.
   Frank R Schmidt, Princeton, NJ



3. Many people may not know that Josef Albers played a large part in revolutionizing teaching art in the 20th Century. Many people do not know how many 2oth century artists lives were in some way affected by his teaching--either directly or indirectly.
   
   It is surprising that it has taken this long for a book on the remarkable teaching career of Josef Albers to appear, but here it finally is. Fred Horowitz and Brenda Danilowitz do a superb job of bringing the pedagogical thinking of perhaps the greatest 20th century art educator to life as well giving us a clear picture of the teacher himself. If this is the only book you ever read on teaching art you will give yourself the greatest gift possible.
   
   The explanations and analysis of individual projects in four foundations courses, are coherent and represent the meat of this remarkable book. Plentiful fine illustrations from the Albers Foundation Archives, the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College make clear the descriptions of the problems and the reasons Albers found these to be indispensible in developing visual thinking--in opening eyes.
   
   The choice of type weight, spacing, margin widths, and the light value of the ink may make reading the text a little difficult, but you should persevere--because real gold lies within the text. This is not just a book for the pictures!!
   
   The publishers should take note, however, that Josef Albers as a designer would have deplored the way the layout and typography makes the reading a difficult task. I wonder whether the book designers took the trouble to read the text, or if they might benefited from some of the basic lessons imparted in Albers' famous Design courses.
   
   I hope that with the publishing of this book, the vital lessons that Albers made the core of his life teaching will once again be brought alive and vigorous into the Foundations classrooms of colleges and art schools worldwide.



4. What a mammoth yet intriguing and masterful study of the brilliantly talented Josef Albers! This book has many substantial insights, but I was personally fascinated with the depth of passion that Albers demonstrated both for his art and his pedagogy. Fred Horowitz has elegantly evoked the ways that Albers sought to "open" the eyes of his students, so they could "bring the conscious mind to bear on the task at hand" and take risks as they became "creative, self-reliant, [and] independent."

2 comments about The Art of The Darkness.

1. As a big fan of comic books and comic book art, I've known for a while that the cover art of The Darkness series from Image is exceptional. How exceptional, however, was never quite known to me until I picked up "Art of the Darkness".
   
   This large format book is beautilfully produced, printed on glossy paper, and reproducing some of the most seminal of the covers and produced for The Darkness, with such luminaries as Michael Turnes, Marc Silvestri, and Dale Keown featured, among many others. I've very impressed with this book - I certainly got much more than I was expecting, and I holds a place of honor on my bookshelf. My only complaint is that it is too short - at only 96 pages, there were a number of other excellent covers that should have been featured - as the "catalog" of covers at the end of the book attests. Otherwise, however, a great offering form Image, who continues to put out great art books. Recommended for the comic book fan.



2. I bought this book thinking it would be less beautiful, but it's nice, an all right book. I had imagined it would be comic-sized but with extra pages as a big number or something, but it turned out to be a book with the size of an art book, and it does contain beautiful illustrations.
   
   The only reaosn for which this one is not getting the five stars marker is because it could have contained more pages!!! And sketches!!! And also because it showed some ilustrations small sized in an interview, or something, but those illustrations never got to make it to a full page drawing, and they were beautiful to begin with.
   
   But great nevertheless.

2 comments about Drawing the New Adventure Cartoons: Cool Spies, Evil Guys and Action Heroes.

1. I happened to walk into the book store last week where a good size crowd of youth and adults were gathered listening to a presentation about this book. The presenter and the book caught my eye and interest so I decided to take a close look and ended up purchasing the book. After 10 days of owning the book, I have no regrets. I spent hours this past weekend having fun creating numerous adventure style cartoon characters. With easy to follow examples accompanied by the hints Harts provides, it was quite enough guidance for me do dive into a new world of cartooning. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys adventure character cartooning



2. This book was chock full of great drawings and instructions on how to draw in the new adventure style. It was easy to follow, easy to grasp but most importantly, enjoyable to read. I learned a lot and I also laughed a lot - tubby types. I loved the section on punching! Highly recommended.

No comments about Roman Art.

1 comments about Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture (Bard Graduate Centre for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design & Culture).

1. I just saw the last weekend of this show in New York at the Bard Center and it was inspired, to say the least. The book is the next best thing to being there if you are a Marimekko fan. It is a more thorough look at the company than the older title "marimekko phenomenon". The editor of this book, Marianne Aav (also the show's curator) was responsible for the 1998 show/book from the Bard Center on Finnish Modern Design. Marimekko's brave colors, shapes, and graphics are made more powerful, in my mind, by the fact that the final result appears so simple. While I mourn the lack of this in much of today's clothing/textile design, I think that the renewed excitement about Marimekko, and design in general, indicates that this is changing. There is a lot of exciting material coming out of Scandanavia and Finland by young designers right now, but Marimekko's influence on modern design cannot be underestimated. Their vision ranged beyond textiles into architecture as well, which the book illustrates. This exhibit & accompanying book have done a fine job at giving credit where it's due.

5 comments about How to Survive and Prosper As an Artist: Selling Yourself Without Selling Your Soul.

1. Not quite what I expected. Third of the book is lists of resources. Really only useful if you live in the US. Some interesting points about the relationship between art galleries and artists and a fair attempt at empowering artists. Still, not the book for me.



2. Since retirement, I have been exploring the arts as a business opportunity. This book is a real eye opener about what questions to ask and where to look for assistance. It appears that artists are the talent and others may just be users of the talent without respect for the talent. Newbies should learn what to expect and safeguard their interest as they develop a business. Business is not emotional and artists are usually emotional about their works and talents. Developing business skills is critical to building those safeguards that can lead to a the artist having a good experience both with the art and the business.



3. Book is good for painters who want to deal mostly through galleries. Not good for other artists or photographers and not good for artists who want to avoid the gallery manipulations.



4. I purchased this book about five years ago while just getting out of undergraduate school. The practical tips and ideas about developing work helped out immensely. The writing is pratical advice which helps anyone who is starting out, to cut out at least six months to a year of bumbling mistakes one would normally make when approaching the beginnings of an art career. Along with all the good advice, the lists of institutional information in the back of the book is worth the price of the book itself. I have reccomended, and lent this to many of my friends to read and plan to re-read this with the completion of graduate school and a new body of work.



5. Lots of great, helpful information. A reference book for anyone becoming an artist. One tip in the book is worth the price. Don't think twice about getting this good resource.

1 comments about Isaak Levitan: Lyrical Landscape.

1. Superb book - as a guide and as a reference. Isaak Levitan was a real master of Silver Age of Russian painting - apart from excellent skills, he was able to capture the mood. Highly recommended