1 comments about Pastel: Portraits (HT240).

1. "Pastel: Portraits" is a dynamic journey through the various techniques needed to master the profound art of chalk pastels. By reading this thorough guide, pastels transformed from being my worst enemy to my best friend. I watched my works change from desperate, melodramatic abstracts to well-developed, realistic portraits. The person that I have to thank for this miracle is Ken Goldman. His kind and light-hearted nature are translated in this book with its gentle and open suggestions. I can say without a doubt that Ken Goldman has changed my life.

No comments about Stones, Bones and Stitches: Storytelling through Inuit Art (A Lord Museum Book).

No comments about Tiki Art Now Volume 3 (Tiki Art Now).

4 comments about A Year in Art: A Painting a Day.

1. I recently ordered this book, and i have looked through at the library. These paintings are all classics and most of them should be known to art fanatics and most everybody who has any degree of passion for art.
   the only thing that I dont like about the book, is that the entire painting is pretty small, and only a portion of the painting is large enought to really examine.
   
   overall, i think whatever you are about to pay for this book, it is definitely worth it.
   
   peace



2. It's just great every morning to turn the page and see a new painting. Some of them are old friends, but there are many that are unfamiliar. It's like finding a hidden treasure.



3. I love this idea - every day of the year, the reader/appreciator of art, may learn about a particular work of art through admiration and study. In addition, the editor added related quotes in the adjoining page.
   
   I am a writer who loves art, so this is very appealing to me as a leaping off point for my own creativity.
   
   I am also a mother and could see helping my children learn more about art-just through sampling one of these works of art every day. It isn't like I would be giving a disseration, but we could certainly gain awareness of the artists and study up on those who are especially appealing.
   
   My only criticism... and it is given lightly, because it is so subjective... is that I wish there was a wider variety of artists represented. The pieces they chose are fantastic - and many artists have more than one painting... which is valuable in another way... to see an artist earlier in the year and then come upon the same artist, later. That has merit, indeed... and I wish, still, there was more variety.
   
   Doesn't mean I won't get a lot of good use out of this book - I imagine I will end up taking the art out of the binding, though, because I can see it being handled a lot throughout the year.



4. I picked up this quirky book quite by accident and was mesmerized by the concept. As stated in the item description, each day of the year is assigned a painting with an accompanying page for notes. Too unwieldy to be a practical calendar and too restrictive a format to lend itself to the task of journaling, this book is nevertheless intriguing. The design of this oddly-shaped book necessitates the sometimes butcherous cropping of many of the painting - but I suppose that is not exactly the point. If you want the traditional art book, get an art book. "A Year In Art" isn't intended to be a text book of art history - instead, I believe that it is intended to inspire. As trite as it may sound, there is something almost magical about turning to a new page each day and finding a glorious painting to motivate us to look for that which will transcend the commonplace in our lives on each particular day. Sort of like "every day a painting to stir us to make each day our own masterpiece."
   
   Four and a half stars would be a fairer rating. This book would make a nice gift for those who have an appreciation for the lyrical and the creative.

No comments about The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (Modern Library Classics).

2 comments about The Renaissance Artist at Work: From Pisano to Titian (Icon Editions).

1. Bruce Cole has a well-deserved reputation for high quality scholarship and exposition. This book is an excellent synthesis of current knowledge about the role of the artist in society, his materials, and the types of work he might create.
   
   Sadly, the illustrations accompanying the text are worse than any I've ever seen. They're of unbelievably low quality. If you took a low-quality scanner from the mid-90's, kept it on the 'text' setting instead of 'graphics', you would still get better images than the mess that's in this text. It's more like a fourth-generation mimeograph.
   
   They are basically unusable. And that is unacceptable in an art history text. There is no grayscale - just large blurred black blobs. It's as if a creeping fungus made a home in the book, and refused to be dislodged. The fact that this book is in print as such is an insult. With even pedestrian-quality greyscale images, this would be a fantastic text.



2. Over the last 30 years there seems to be a greater interest on the part of art historians in the nuts and bolts issues of how art is created. The works of E.H. Gombrich come to mind, or "The Academy and French Painting in the Nineteenth Century", by Albert Boime. This rather disconnected set of essays by Cole examines the material issues facing the Renaissance artist.

   What did paintings cost? How was the artist valued? What expectations surrounded the conception and construction of the work of art? How did the original setting differ from our encounter with these works today? These are some of the questions addressed here. This is not a coffee table book, and the illustrations are low quality black and white (at least in the paper back edition).

   Like the other book by Cole that I have read, "Titian and Venetian Painting, 1450-1590", I wish this book was twice as long. Many of the questions touched on here are only given a brief answer, but the information that is here is fascinating. I am not an Art Historian, so I can only guess at the authors reputation (now head of the NEA). My sense is that he is one of those historians with a breadth of knowledge that is quite rare in these days of specialization, and that his viewpoint shows a high degree of originality. My only complaint (aside from the 100 or so color illustrations that could have provided more details) is that the writing style is not as graceful as some of the masters of this genre.

5 comments about The Envelope Mill: Recycle Magazines into Beautifully Crafted Envelopes/Book and Templates.

1. I was excited to get this book as I love to recycle stuff and make new stuff. But when I got the book in the mail (which even used, I paid over 20 dollars for including shipping) it was missing the clear templates. And of course, without the templates, you can not use the book. The seller who I purchased it from did not mention the missing templates in the item description and I assumed that if it wasn't mentioned, everything would be there as expected. That is the problem with these large warehouse-type online stores; they have so much inventory and most of the time, they don't even know when a product doesnt have everything it should have in order to sell it. I am waiting feedback from the seller in regards to a refund but I'm now going to have to eat the cost to send it back, which is money out of my pocket. The book is great in theory and I can't wait to try it WHEN I can get a copy of the book WITH the templates. I'm now going to have to try other sellers and make sure to check and double check that when I repurchase that it DOES have the templates. If you are interested in the book, I would encourage you to do the same.



2. The subject of this book is how to create envelopes from printed materials using the plastic templates included in the back of the book. They were missing from the book I received. If the advertisement for the book had stated the templates were missing I would not have purchased this book, because without them the book is useless.



3. I received this book as a gift, and it is one of my favorites. HOWEVER - could someone please explain why a book issued in
   1995 at a cost of $19.95 is currently priced from $44.00 to $50.00??



4. I just noticed that they are wanting over $40 for this book. I like this book BUT it is just a beginner book on this subject and not worth $40. The book has envelope templates but you can get templates FREE on the net. Otherwise this book is just "eye candy". If you saw Ms. Harvey on HGTV then you pretty much saw what is in her book.
   
   So unless you can get it for $15 or under I'd say skip it.



5. This is an ok book. If you have envelope templates already then I'd say pass on this book because the text isn't that novel. There just isn't much to it......select a page from a magazine, plop the template down, draw around the shape of the template, cut it out and glue it up. Voila. I'm actually surprised the author was able to turn this topic into a book. It does have a few unique ideas like using special scissors like the deckle edge to cut out the envelope shape. It might be a good book for someone just starting to play around with templates and making envelopes. I was just looking for something for more advanced mail art.

1 comments about Writing About the Humanities (3rd Edition).

1. This writing guide gives such nice concrete suggestions for writing exercises of all sorts for those who really need structure to get them started. Each section discusses different approaches to writing about art - from literature, painting, music, dance - and movies, finishing up with very specific directions for beginning paragraphs through essays.

5 comments about A Diversity of Dragons (Pern).

1. This is strictly a story book, and wonderfully done. This is not meant to be a reference book. I love this book and keep it displayed in my living room.



2. I found this Anne McCaffrey book to be interesting, especially since I happened to read most of the books, or knew most of the storys referenced to in A Diversity of Dragons. The simple characters (including herself) were straightfoward, yet evasive, and the plot was complicated in its simplicity. The art work was extrordinary, and could only be displayed properly in the large book. Everytime I look at it I am amazed at the generous detail. All in all I believe that this book rates a five star for its simple honesty. Niether defending dragons or bashing them, but sharing their truths. This book is completely worth your time.



3. I got this book because I was doing a report about Dragons indifferent mythologies, and because I'm a fan of McCaffrey's. My firstreaction was: "What a HUGE book!" They could have made asmaller edition of it so it would actually fit my bookshelf. The pictures were beautiful, although it was sometimes slightly hard to tell which picture went with which story. The plot was okay, since it obviously wasn't meant to be a very fascinating one, although the ending completely let me down. An index of the dragons and page number references would also have proved extremely helpful, since the mythical and new-age dragons were completely scattered together. The worst part of the book I think were the quotes. Some of them got me interested in the books and made me add them to my wishlist, but most were just utterly boring. Also, at the end where the dragons were listed in tables, I found them to be scattered around completely wrong. Somebody seemed to have messed up with their computer. The reason I'm still giving this book 4 stars is for the paintwork, though. If you like fantasy art, this book will be excellent for you.



4. While A Diversity of Dragons is an indispensable resource on the history and development of dragons and their kin in both myth and fiction, the book's author ruined a great creation by adding an utterly stupid plot. It reads exactly like Webster's Unabridged sounds in audiobook format. The art looks great [in places], but for most of the time it looks as if the paint was covered with several layers of fine dust. Some sort of organization would have also helped this dying wonder - unless you are trying to read this unwieldy 1.5'x1' tome cover to cover, you will have no chance of finding a specific dragon reference. At the very least, they should have organized them into Legends and Modern Fiction. The plot, as mentioned earlier, is a true monster: a young man stumbles to Anne's house crying that he has trouble with dragons. Next follows a tea party that goes on for three days, after which the young man leads the group to a dragon's lair under his house. Abominable.

   This thin and yet monstrously oversized volume tore gashes in my skin with its razor-sharp corners, and bludgeoned my brain with its senseless organization. There are numerous, if highly superior, histories of mythical creatures, unfortunately most out of print (however, most can be found in libraries). I would advise you to steer clear of this one, but will not do so out of respect for Anne McCaffrey.




5. This book was my FAV. out of all the pern books, because it has tons of dragons, war and more than info. than the pic. on the cover gives you!

1 comments about The Age of Enchantment: Beardsley, Dulac and their Contemporaries.

1. Arthur Rackham, Kay Nielsen, and Edmund Dulac were the leading illustrators of the Age of Enchantment covered. They were known as late-Victorian/early modern-era illustrators of children's books. Their popularity remains high among book and art collectors. Today, books illustrated by them, especially limited editions often signed by them, can bring thousands of dollars at auction. When original art by one of them appears for auction, prices can rival those for other artists known mostly for their paintings. Willie Pogany, Charles Robinson, Annie French, and Frank Brangwyn are other popular, similar artists of the period; though not at the level of top group. Engen, author of over 20 books on British illustration and curator of illustration exhibitions, also brings in the Demold brothers Charles and Edward for their fantasy-like illustrations mostly of animals and natural settings. The Glasgow School is also included for its ornate, fantasized style.
   
   Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) was the aesthetic and stylistic progenitor of the art of this age of enchantment. Though his career lasted only six years, the daring of his themes--often a mix of exoticism and sexuality--and the elaborateness along with the detail of his style opened up new possibilities for artists in Victorian England. Linked with the controversial Oscar Wilde who saw in Beardley's illustrations the ideal visual representation of his own ideas about a flamboyant freedom in art, decadism, and playful or provocative treatment of unspoken subjects of the contemporary public, Beardsley's acceptance was limited in his lifetime. Beardley's example, nonetheless, with its extravagant lines, ornamental natural imagery, theatrical poses, and suggestion of mystery, magic, and the exotic inspired the following generation of leading illustrators.
   
   Nielsen, Rackham, and the others of this generation were drawn to children's books for the imagination going naturally with these. Unlike Beardsley, they were not aiming at provocation; nor at portraying ideas and virtues of decadism. Like children's book illustrators of all eras, they were interested in entertainment and their own popularity. The waning of the didacticism and overt moral instruction of Victorianism in the early decades of modernism also allowed Nielsen, Rackham, and company new freedoms in portrayal, tone, and suggestion.
   
   The illustrators' work was never meant only for children, however; even though it is found mostly in children's books of the period. For its consummate skill, imagination, color, and evocation of magic and sensuality, the art was and is popular with persons of all ages. Its influence continues, Engen notes. The influence can be seen in both The Lord of the Rings books and the movies; and seen in Walt Disney films and design of parts of the Disney parks, particularly Fantasyland. Though covering only a few decades and the top artists of enchantment, Engen's book gives a visually engrossing view on an enduring, evolving vein of modern popular art.