4 comments about Usborne The Children's Book of Art: Internet Linked.

1. I bought this book, hoping to use it as a reference in my art classroom. The examples of art and the information provided is WONDERFUL! There are lots of little tidbits of information that even I, an art major, did not know...cool little facts. The text is written in a very easy to understand way. However, there are several nudes in the book and also language which I feel is inappropriate for young children (elementary age), such as talking of suicide. I'm hoping to find a way to hide these things so I can use it in my classroom.



2. I bought this book for my 9 year old daughter for Christmas. She loves it. It is simply written and explains why various artists and their works are considered masters. I even enjoyed the simple and straightforward explanations as to what differentiates one artist's work from another. This book can be read a page or two at a time - about the amount of space offered to each artist/work.



3. This book covers thirty-two of the world's best-known artists pictures for children to learn the basics about art. The artists lives are explained which helps youngsters understand the artists works. The information is presented so as to stimulate young artists to explore their own artistic abilities. Many different styles are represented with brief explanations of what a particular style was like, however the adult, teacher or parent might have to further explain certain concepts with more clarity by using other visual examples. There is, however, a helpful glossary. The accompanying biographies for each artist is very brief with even more selective facts regarding their lives. Artists include Van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso, Monet, Degas, Turner, Friedrich, Goya, Botticelli, Vermeer, Michaelangelo, Van Eyck, Magritte, Warhol, Matisse and O'Keefe amongst others. Curiously enough not one of the great artists Mexico has produced is mentioned or profiled. The book also covers basic information about the actual process and the materials used. This is a good book for the elementary school student or for parents to buy to share the reading experience with prior to them attending school. The paintings are well displayed and the internet links are helpful for the curious student. A good book for all young readers.



4. The book has beautiful paintings by more than 13 of the more well-known artists. Thoughout the book the reader is introduced to the artist, the time period the artist lived in, his or her specific method used to create the picture, and many other useful facts related to art. The book is internet linked. Please be aware that this book does display art in it's true form. (My younger children were a little surprised to see the nudes from Michelangelo and Botticelli.) The book makes an excellent starting point and reference for exposing your child to art and to help them to build an appreciation for it.

5 comments about Sailor Jerrys Tattoo Stencils.

1. A good source of very nice Sailor Jerry Stencils from the man who in my opinion did the best traditional tattoo flash ever.
   
   Not as good as the now difficult to get Sailor Jerry Tattoo Flash books (volumes 1 and 2), which give a better of idea of this man's talents drawing flash. It has some extra stencils of things not in those books, so it is well worthwhile.



2. I feel that every single tattoo artist,inspiring tattoo artist, or any kind of artists and even art historian should,must own this book. I will admit that when I read the first 15 pages cause thats all there is with any writting on. I had a tear in both my eyes. Every single page back to back is covered with Jerrys tattoo stencils. Also every page is in a very heavy duty paper and they are perforated so you can take each page out and laminate them and use in your shop or portfolio of flash to use for you customer/clients. Every page is full of history. I highly recomend this book and the otherjerrys stencil books they are a very big must have specialy for you buisness/shop you will be so excited to look at the tats not to mention the money you will make from the stencils. I noticed that every single Tattoo magazine has countless tattoos specialy the women are covered in this art. I recomend this book in a big way.
   You are very welcome for the big tip.



3. The book is good for simple, traditional stencils. The drawings are super basic (as they should be for that time), but I was hoping I can get an idea for what the stencils looks like with color and shading. The drawings are fun to mimic and be creative with your own shading and color.



4. I was looking for Pin Up Art Styles and found it all in this book. All the styles are for men & women. When You go into a tattoo shop and look at all the art work on the walls and books; this book has it all summed up. This cool book has it all.



5. Beautiful old school stencils of the original artwork of Sailor Jerry...what more could you want! :)

1 comments about Perspective and Other Optical Illusions (Wooden Books).

1. My nephew requested for his eleventh birthday. He was found under his blankets with a flashlight reading the book. Highly recommended

3 comments about Twelve Van Gogh Bookmarks (Small-Format Bookmarks).

1. What can I say? This product would make a great gift to any book worm. It arrives in a small packet where you can detach the bookmarks as you use them, that way you don't lose them so easily.
   
   Van Gogh's art is unique. He uses bold colors with rough brushstrokes influenced by impressionism
   
   ==PROS==
   - good value & price
   - gives a short description of the artwork
   - detachable in a packet
   
   ==CONS==
   - none, how can you go wrong with bookmarks?



2. these where great value for money. great to give as gifts & fantastic if ur a VG fan!



3. This collection of Van Gogh works really are great to look at and even more fun to give to others. What a nice way to expose young readers, especially, to the artwork of the masters.

1 comments about Abstract Adventure III: A Kaleidoscopia Coloring Book.

1. I didn't think I would like these designs but after coloring them with markers, they were very cool! My granddaughter loved the designs.

5 comments about Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995.

1. First, the bad news: "Safe Area Goradze" is bleak, depressing and unrelentingly sad. It is the true tale of the horrible suffering of the Muslim population of the ever-so-ironically designated "Safe Area" of Goradze, a city in the former country of Yugoslavia during that nation's recent civil war and breakup. The combination of the author's drawings and prose work together to tell the gruesome story of a real life hell on Earth in brutal, unflinching, unblinking detail. It's the graphic novel equivalent of "Schindler's List". If you buy this book, steel yourself. It's not an easy read.
   
   Nevertheless, I think Joe Sacco is a genius who is to be commended for telling a story that cries out to be told. I'm sure his editors warned him that this story was not one that would be a big seller. The arcane politics of the former Yugoslavia, which Sacco does a masterful job of explaining, don't interest many people. And the subject matter is depressing and gruesome in the extreme. Nevertheless, he wrote and illustrated the graphic novel, and Fantagraphics Books is to be applauded for publishing it. Hopefully, this work will serve as the historical record of the awful torments inflicted upon human beings in a particular time and place, leaving wounds physical and psychic that will take generations to heal.



2. Having been to Bosnia after the war, its really nice to see this perspective and form of journalism. Joe Sacco's work in this book is brilliant, and this is by far his best work. The feel of life in the country, and the anxiety of life in this period is really well represented. I love the personal face that comes alive here with Joe's various stories from the friends that he has made along his journey.



3. Joe Sacco, Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995 (Fantagraphics, 2002)
   
   Joe Sacco's spent some time in Gorazde after things calmed down a bit over there-- got to know the people, talked to them a lot, blended in with the scenery. He drew them, related their words, drew the things they saw and experienced day to day. Safe Area Gorazde is the result.
   
   If you're used to either the current spate of war memoirs or the current spate of graphic novels, Safe Area Gorazde will likely seem familiar, yet still somewhat out of place. It is a book that resides comfortably in neither category, but I can't quite call it a successful cross of the two; it's too narrative for graphic noveldom, while being too impressionist to really classify as a war memoir. This is not to say that the book is bad by any means; there is a great deal to be absorbed here, and given the short shrift received by the plight of Gorazde as it was happening in the American press, far more Americans should be absorbing it than already have. Sacco has a gentle, self-deprecating humor, and the kind of ear that turns even the most unpleasant interviewee into a sympathetic character. As well, while most of Sacco's drawings are straightforward-- there are an almost unsettling number of scenes in this book featuring a single character against a monochrome background, as if being interviewed on a talk show (or up against a wall being faced by a firing squad)-- every once in a while one pops out that makes you realize that, yes, there's a war going on in Gorazde as Sacco is conducting these interviews. The scarcity of the out-and-out brutal pictures makes them all the more effective in Sacco's pastiche of desperation, loss, and ever-present gallows humor.
   
   Good stuff, this. ***



4. I just finished reading this brilliant work. I was in Eastern Europe in 1991-1993 and saw the refugees coming out of Bosnia. I followed the story as close as I could, even visting a refugee camp. But Sacco's illustrations put me on the ground in the supposed safe zones. The brutality of the supposedly Christian Serbs to Muslim Bosnians is so overwheliming it makes any beheadings in Iraq look like a birthday party in comparison.
   
   The book also does a nice job giving the history of the war, including the role Clinton played, for those who don't remember the 1990s. Please rread this book. You can do it in a day.



5. A graphic novel that reveals the history of the Bosnian war and cleansing of Muslims and Crotians by the Serbs.Novel is by Joe Sacco a Journalist and cartoonist. He also has writtin other graphic novels.

3 comments about Bay Area Figurative Art: 1950-1965.

1. Bay Area Figurative Art: 1950-1965
   
   This is a wonderful book with a specific emphasis on the bay area figurative scene circa 50's & 60's. It vignettes several artists from the heavily enriched San Francisco Bay Area. I found it a good place to discover some lesser-known artists that played a part of the emerging figurative art movement. This book presents the last stirrings of abstract expressionism into the birth of a newly re-discovered figure. If you enjoy the works of Richard Diebenkorn , David Parks, Paul Wonner, Joan Brown, Elmer Bischoff, you may find a few other artist in this book to investigate further.



2. Take my advice from one artist to another... this book has impact. It has added so much to my understanding of what I do, and how I view abstracted figurative art in general. I recommend this book to all artists who work in figures. The reproductions in this book are full of color and there is very little to complain about. For those who are not artists, but enjoy reading about the subject, this book fulfills. You read about the artists struggles, success, personal lives and how they came to be THE Bay Area Figurative Artists. Their art, timeless... and this book lends them the respect they deserve but rarely get.
   
   Michael Aldana
   www.michaelaldana.com



3. I had the opportunity to see this show in Philadelphia and it absolutely blew me away. Not only does it include Richard Diebenkorn's best work, but it also includes work by Paul Wonner, Elmer Bischoff, Manuel Neri, Nathan Oliveira and David Park (among others). I have drawn endless inspiration from this book and you most likely will too.

No comments about The Art of the Brick - The Pictorial.

5 comments about Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft.

1. This books seems to serve as the underlying notes for the novel and just published book, "The Art Thief", by Noah Charney, which is a very twisty and complicated "Who Done It" about multiple art thefts.
   
   This one is an interesting read. However, I would leave "The Art Thief" on the shelf for someone else to steal.



2. Noiw this is better than fiction! Exciting! Real life adventures of missing art and I enjoyed this book immensley and purchased several for friends. Don't miss it.



3. This is a book you will pick and and leaf through just for the art history if nothing else. What makes it so much more than just your average coffee table book is the little known details of famous art thieves and their craft. I loved the glimpse into the world of auction houses and collectors who are too rich to be famous in the usual sense. The subject matter is fascinating when presented in such a lucid and well organized manner. The illustrations are top-notch. A must for serious museum goers and art history aficionados.



4. I thought the topic was very interesting but the book skimped over the deatils - either it was trying to cover too broad a topic or each missing object was not covered in enough depth...there are fascinating stories behind these thefts and I got no sense of who had stolen the art works or why they had taken such 'criminal' risks.



5. I work for a global insurance broker with an international art practice that insures many of the world's great museums. I am also an avid art collector. Unlike Christian and Doomjesse, I found this book very useful for the opposite reasons. Personally, I found the "breezy" style of writing a pleasant change from the scholarly style of most art books I read. This is a great overview that anyone can understand. The illustrations are wonderful. We need more books on art that entertain and perhaps, for the novice, stimulate further interest in a subject. While it is a valid criticism to say that this book is not a comprehensive history, I came away wanting to know more and I can talk to my associates in the art practice in a more educated manner.

5 comments about The Art of Richard Diebenkorn (Ahmanson-Murphy Fine Arts Book).

1. This book provides an excellent overview of the arc of Diebenkorn's painting style, from abstract to figurative and then to his final amazing abstracts. This is a good starting point for understanding Diebenkorn's art, with large beautiful color prints of his paintings. And, because it's a paperback edition, it's pretty affordable for an oversized, color fine arts book.



2. Great reference on Diebenkorn with lots of color plates and in-depth text on the process of his work. It was recommended by my professor and I keep it by my easel!



3. If you love the Bay Are Figurative movement as much as I do, this book is the definitive volume.



4. This is a great collection of Diebenkorn's work through the years. Though it's a paperback, the book is big, sturdy, and will last a long time. The color plates are very true to his original works.



5. Richard Diebenkorn has finally achieved the status of Modern Master, but his success was only secured later in his life and after his death. Although he was at first an Abstract Expressionist artist who painted as convincingly as Still, Rothko, Kline and Motherwell, he was too much identified with the Bay Area, and therefore he did not have the imprimatur of the New York critics. Then, in the 1950s, he was viewed as having betrayed the New York Abstract Expressionists, when he turned to figurative painting with David Park and Elmer Bischoff. Eventually, until his death, he returned to abstraction with his much-acclaimed "Ocean Park" series. And then the critics finally realized what had eluded them for years: That Diebenkorn painted abstract realism, leaning more to one and then the other, all his life.
   
   Jane Livingston does a fine job of portraying the life of Richard Diebenkorn through his stunning paintings, which exemplify fire beneath the calm. Be sure to read the Norland book as well, since his book is still the seminal book on Diebenkorn.