1 comments about Made in China: Export Porcelain from the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection at Winterthur (Winterthur Book).

1. This is a wonderful book, cataloging an amazing exhibit. The writing is clear, informative and interesting and the images are beautifully photographed. Anyone interested in porcelain or even decorative arts more generally should certainly buy this book, written by an up and coming curator and the leading expert in the field. This book would make a great gift.

1 comments about How to Paint Shorebirds: A Guide to Materials, Tools, and Technique.

1. I've been using this nice volume for a number of years now. The book is well illustrated and the text quite helpful. I use this work for both drawing and painting various subjects. The examples given here can quite well be used for other species than address in this volume. This is not a simple step by step book for those beginning although I do feel it would be a great help for anyone interested. Some degree of skill is needed in drawing and some in color shading to reap the full benefits from this book.

No comments about Godden's Guide to English Blue & White Porcelain.

No comments about Gilbert and George: Obsessions and Compulsions (Contemporary Artists).

No comments about Bristol Potters, 1775-1906.

No comments about English Pottery 1620-1840.

1 comments about Midnight High: The Deadly Art of Tom Artis.

1. Well the cover to Midnight High just about says it all with its cute, well-endowed ladies in short school girl outfits being menaced by zombies. The book showcases the talents of artist Tom Artis in his first collection. Artis apprenticed to one of my personal favorites of the 70's and 80's, Tim Conrad. In A lengthy introduction, Artis discusses his rather turbulent years working in the comics industry, particularly with DC. Thankfully Artis didn't throw in the towel and many more forward thinking people recognized his talent.
   
   Collected within the 64 pages of this book from SQ Productions is a showcase of Artis' comic work, and other illustrations featuring buxom ice cream girls, waitresses and beer wenches, stylish new heroes, robots, and all sorts of beasties and creatures most foul. The examples of Artis' creativeness abound such as his Flash Gordon illustration which features a sexy Dale Arden lustfully eyeing the beautiful Princess Allura. There's also a Lady Death style clone that Artis did for a competitor who has ENORMOUS assets!
   
   A favorite piece is the two cute sex-pots in skimpy tennis outfits in a cemetery getting attacked by a pair of vampires crawling out of their graves. Then there is the illustration of a trio of "innocent" schoolgirls unwrapping a mummy's "nether" region to get a closer look at his "Staff of Anubis". Apparently they like what they see! There's also a wonderfully humorous piece of a librarian vigorously strip-searching a suspected book thief. Artis' work is playful yet sexy and his buxom women have a decided edge to them. It's a fun book by a very underrated artist who certainly deserves more attention. Kudos to SQP for spotlighting Tom Artis!
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson

No comments about Enesco Then And Now: An Unauthorized Collector's Guide (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1 comments about The Beast Within - The Art of Ken Barr.

1. I think my first exposure to Ken Barr's art was back in the mid-70's with the many fantastic covers that he did for Marvel Comics' old black and white line of magazines. As a young teen, I was struck by just how spectacular these painted covers were compared to the typical comic book covers. They were so lush and so realistic. One of my favorite Barr covers was from Marvel Preview Magazine which featured a cover of Thor, my favorite Marvel character, standing on a pile of defeated warriors and thrusting his mystical hammer into the air as a lighting bolt crackles down to meet it. Great cover!
   
   Barr got his start in the early 60's doing covers for British war comics such as Commando before coming over to the United States in 1966. Barr first came to notoriety with his work for Warren Publications on titles such as Creepy and Eerie. Over the next thirty-five plus years Barr would go on to work for both Marvel and DC Comics, do movie posters, book covers, trading card series, and even a collectible plate series for the Danbury Mint.
   
   This book from SQP features 48 pages of Barr's work in full color. The subject matter includes science fiction, fantasy, adventure, superheroes, and horror. These are culled from the sources I mentioned. Barr did a number of covers for Marvel's Planet of the Apes Magazine and several are reprinted here. From issue #12 we see one of the apes in a space craft watching in horror as the Earth explodes. From issue #16 we see a mother ape carrying her baby and fleeing a helicopter that is trying to shoot her. Great stuff!
   
   Rampaging Hulk #6 contained another great Barr cover, this one showing the Hulk battling Prince Namor, The Submariner, and about to smash him with a marble pedestal. Also included from Marvel's magazine line is several of ken's covers to the Doc Savage Magazine.
   
   This collection of Barr's art shows that he was a fantastic artist no matter what genre he was working in and its great to finally see this enormous talent recognized.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson

4 comments about Blue and White Japan.

1. I really loved this book. It has wonderful photography and is an interesting read. I particularly like the fact that the author grew up in a western country, and now lives in Japan, because she shares her outlook from a Western eye, which is helpful to a Western reader who loves antiques and collectables, along with blue and white. I love the way the photos blend the simplicity of Japanese style along with a little Western taste in collecting things. It has a nice balance of not over doing the display of cherished things, while still enjoying them in the home. To me it had a very "Zen" feel of harmony and beauty, and had a feeling of "coming home" to things I love when I looked at this book. I felt inspired to rearrange my collections and cut clutter while still displaying favourite items in a complimentary way.



2. This book was enjoyable, but as I already had some knowledge of Japanese interior design and related subjects, I found this book to be largely a quick skim over the various crafts, with the exception of the moderately useful guide to Imari porcelains. The concepts and photos are largely the author's own collection of pieces, which are lovely, but I would have liked to see more variety. No sources for purchase were listed for those of us living outside Japan, which is regrettable but understandable. The book is also concentrated on southern and Okinawan styles of decor, which are lovely, but not always suitable for colder climates.
   
   My largest quibble was with the book's blithe assurances that blue and white items can be thrown together in any fashion and still look great. While it's true that a solid color scheme can harmonize an otherwise non-matched set of items, this really isn't sufficient advice for a decorating scheme. I would have liked to see more well-thought-out ideas for incorporating Japanese motifs into Western or modern decor, using blue and white along with any other colors or materials (little is mentioned of the constant presence of wood in Japanese decor), and so on.
   
   The photography is lovely, and I did come away with a few new ideas, but I would recommend other books either to someone surveying Japanese decor for the first time or to someone looking for an in-depth examination of Japan's blue and white crafts.



3. I live in Japan and purchased this book to see how people inter mix all the different blue and white dishes, materials and clothing. Great book to have for decorating your home. Can not wait to get to a few more Shrine Sales to pick up some more Blue and Whites.



4. This book is wonderfully photographed and written, focusing on the history of blue-and-white textiles and pottery of Japan. Just turning the pages gives a Zenlike feeling of rightness. Table settings, linens and furnishings don't have to match to give you a feeling of eating and living in calm and harmony