5 comments about Autograf: New York City's Graffiti Writers.

1. Basically an ok book for the ny scene. Not much in the way of content though. Not much pieces, mostly local bombing and pics of some of the writers with their eyes blurred.



2. I love the idea of the book~ A "blackbook" that's alive with photos of the writers....but truth be told, this book is nothing less than a quickly assembled capital venture...Many of the writers in this book are questionably "all city" and about a third of them ARE'NT EVEN FROM NEW YORK~!... It was obviously put together by someone who looked no further than 2 DEGREES OF SEPARATION to find the artisits for the book. It is neither a fair representation of NYC graffiti nor an artisitic feature book... You will see handstyles ("tags") of the featured artists, but there is little more than a handful of actual WORK from writers.... It is an interesting take on graffiti documentation and I suppose a nice addition to an already well established collection of such books... but you'll flip through it once and never pick it up again.



3. All these writers have crazy ups. CURRENT All City bombers or at least All Borough. The paint markers are so perfectly reproduced and glossy it looks like they wrote right on the page. As for this kid who gave it a 1/5. He's an idiot, straight up. Who knocks on handstyles!?!?! TAGS are an essential form of graff. THE ORIGINAL and most common. You think all those pioneers you listed didnt put up 1000's of insides and tags? U think the writers in this book "dont know who blade, seen, dondi... are?" OF course they do! THEY LIVE AND RELATE TO THEM. DO THE WORDS "KING" MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU!?!?! If anything YOU DONT KNOW THEM! You watch style wars and think you know something. Hey buddy we've all seen it. Get you head out of '82 and open up to the 2000's. Oh wait... you aint from new york...... so go back to Graffiti.org and go sweat some legal Daim production from Germany. HERB!
   (Sorry for the rant. But if your a real writer from NYC you WILL love this book.)



4. Claw is so hot, I bought it just to stare at her...........



5. PLEASE... to all of the people who are saying that the artists in this book are not good and their art is garbage... you need to look into the history of graffiti to see your facts. Sure some of the artists are not THAT popular, but if you TRUELY knew anything about the history of our beloved art form, you would be so amazed by this book. Lady Pink is probably one of the most influential graffiti artists in the world. These cats are the artists that truely made graffiti what it is today. FUTURA, DOZE, Lady PINk, Kaws, and stay high 149 were TRUE GRAFFITI ARTISTS. No matter how talented the so called "graffiti kings" in NYC are in the present day, they will never bring a revolution like those artists did. Many of the so called "kings" of our generations have yet to even paint a train! How can you be so disrespectful to your elders. Thats like being a fine artist and insulting dali, because he was not to your taste. Please get some respect...
   
   
   
   ...and by the way... this book rules! So next time you want a graffiti book to your liking... make sure you dont get an informational book like this that tells you about the past graffiti writers who are the masters, get one about some lame cats who tag theyr name on the side of an abandoned building without even making a statement... hmmf

No comments about One Hundred Portraits: Artists, Architects, Writers, Composers, and Friends.

2 comments about Wildlife Painting Step By Step.

1. This is a beautiful book but not a lot of help if you're learning. It's more for an accomplished artist who would like to fine tune their craft. If I had seen the book before I bought it, I definetly would have saved my money.



2. This is a fabulous instructional book for artists and art lovers alike, specializing in wildlife of all sorts! Lavishly illustrated (both in color and B&W), this book is a rich sourcebook for sketching and or painting a wide variety of wildlife. Consisting of 6 chapters: Choosing a Subject, Collecting Reference Material, Painting Realistic Habitat, Posing and Composing, Techniques for Painting Textures, and Painting Wildlife Step-by-Step, this book contains 136 pgs. Some of the animals featured in this book are foxes, deer, wolves, cougars, wild turkeys, elk, raccoons, chickadees, woodpeckers, robins, grouse, dolphins, whales, and other aquatic life. I love the range of art techniques Patrick Seslar covers in this presentation, making it possible for the artist to "grow" and still benefit from the lessons contained therein.

No comments about Expressing the Visual Language of the Landscape.

2 comments about Paintings of California.

1. I bought this book years ago at an art museum bookstore. It was one of those books that I nearly didn't buy because I didn't think I would look at it more than once, and it was an impulse buy, but it is one of my favorites now. Every now and then I take it off the shelf and look through it, and each time I do I am glad. It reminds me of all the beautiful parts of my home, California. It is a great collection of lesser-known works which capture our landscape perfectly, beautifully. It would be nice if it were a larger book because the pictures would then be larger, but if it were, I might not pick it up so often, and I might not have bought it. The print and paper quality is excellent, so perhaps it is fine as-is.



2. I love this book. I lived in California for 10 years and became totally enchanted by it. This book brings back pleasant memories of sites, sounds, and smells from the Golden State. The total sensory experiences of the Sierra foothills covered with wildflowers in the spring, the ocean's edge at Big Sur, the hills above San Louis Obispo, the sierras in the summer, and many others come flooding back while browsing this book. My only complaint is its size. These images deserve a big coffee-table style book.

3 comments about Splash 8: Watercolor Discoveries (Splash).

1. So many almost photographic pictures of shiny objects,fruits, flowers and too few real "Discoveries" I look forward to each new "Splash",but this one seemed just more of the same.The pictures using fluid inks and a looser style are fun, but please thinks of us non-Americans when you use brand names of materials like "Yupo"plastic paper



2. La série des livres SPLASH (actuellement le 8e volume est paru) est une pure merveille. J'ai la chance de disposer de l'intégralité de ces ouvrages achetés sur le site Amazon.com
   Chaque livre présente plus de 100 oeuvres. Chacune de ces aquarelles est une découverte formidable: de la couleur, de la poésie, de l'art, du très grand art.
   Je vous recommande ces ouvrages très vivement. Vous ne serez pas décus. Félicitations très chaleureuses à tous ces artistes.



3. The story continues with this latest edition of 140 works. Since the first book in 1991 the Splash series has featured some glorious watercolor paintings. The reason I love these books is the enormous variation in style. In this book it can vary from the almost photographic painting of trees and a house by Steven Kozar (page eighty-nine) to the very loose but still very controlled work of Dan Burt and his flamboyant painting of a street scene in Guanajuato, Mexico (page eighteen).
   
   I have the eight books and they are such a treat to browse through but I think it worth mentioning that they are not how-to-do books. Each artist though, does contribute some thoughts on how they created their work and in a way this can be more valuable than a learn-to-paint book because with so many styles on display every artist has a different point to make about their creativity.
   
   The presentation follows the style set in the first book, each spread has two paintings, and frequently one is whole page with the artist's comments and another painting on the opposite page. The screen is 175dpi so the reproduction is good on a gloss paper, though I prefered the matt stock used in book four, it made the images sparkle a bit more.
   
   Amazon has over twelve hundred books listed under 'watercolor painting' so there is plenty of choice but I think the Splash series has a special place for presenting the best contemporary American watercolor work.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

5 comments about Watercolor Workbook.

1. I have always wanted to be able to use watercolors. I have tried using other beginner books, but was never successful because they didn't begin with the very basics and lead gradually up from there. Instead, they covered the very basics and then jumped up to a higher level, skipping things. My attempts at the projects were very disappointing and I didn't feel like I was learning anything I could then take away and apply on my own. This book is different. Anne Elsworth says she has learned "how common this disappointmenting experience is ... and how to avoid it." "Steady progress, with the satisfaction of achievement at every stage" is what she promises. And what she delivers. I was delighted with my achievements. Even better, after each project I found that I could then do similar projects on my own, to practice the lesson or simply because I wanted to paint something. I wasn't just copying. Before I had finished the book I was able to make satisfactory landscapes and watercolor sketches of our travels in our sailing log. Now that I am well launched, I can learn from trips to the art museum and from other books, some of the more sophisticated ones. The whole world looks different to me, more colorful. I look forward to years of happy painting. If you are a very beginner, or have been disappointed by your early efforts, you need this book. It works!



2. This is a nice book and it may allow a beginner to paint a pretty picture. It briefly discusses the basics -- paper, brushes, paints, some brush and masking methods. The problem lays in that the pictures will come out looking mechanically made (much like a child's watercolor) and the book provides no real basis for artistic growth after completing it.
   I am an absolute beginner: new to watercolor, new to painting, new to drawing and new to art. I need all the help I can get. This was the first watercolor book I brought. I put it aside to read another, and upon returning I was dismayed by how limited and dead-ended this book was. In fact, I now consider it a bit of a trap. I recommend choosing a more advanced beginner book -- you will go further faster, and still have room to grow.



3. Although I'm not exactly a beginner (more of an intermediate watercolor enthusiast), I learned qute a bit from this book, which is relatively small in size but rich in instruction. I thought I knew quite a bit about mixing colors but found the lessons here to be worth reviewing. The author also lists basic palettes for those interested in drawing flowers and landscapes and guides readers through basic flower shapes with explanations of how to paint them. I spent many hours practicing the various flowers and was richly rewarded with some clear, non-muddy pictures. Although the title "A Complete Course" may be a bit misleading (I'm not sure there is ever a COMPLETE course in watercolor painting), this would certainly fill the bill for any beginning watercolor painter and I found the results even better than many beginning or intermediate watercolor courses I'd taken - and certainly less expensive.



4. I wanted to learn to paint watercolors...I knew nothing....It was great....You know its a good book when you complete all lessons cover to cover.



5. I use this a lot. I like the artist's original work, the clear format, and the description of the work of a few famous watercolorists. I refer to this book often, and enjoy just looking through it too. A very good book.

1 comments about Drawing & Painting Flowers - Problems & Solutions.

1. Very good book. Excellent instruction on what not to do as well as how to do it correctly. highly recommended.

1 comments about Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Fabric Painting.

1. While this book may be too much for the beginner, it is an excellent guide for those who are intermediate or more experienced textile artists. It is an excellent, step-by-step guide to many different techniques of fabric painting. The authors provide clear, concise instructions and beautiful photos to guide you through each procedure. Tools and equipment are thoroughly described and listed with a list of mail order suppliers at the end of the book. I love this book! I use it on a regular basis for inspiration and reference.

No comments about Colors (Childrens Books).