No comments about Hogarth A&I (Art and Ideas).

No comments about Casa y El Museo del Greco (Coleccion iberica).

3 comments about Marc Chagall (Jewish Encounters).

1. A nice short study of Marc Chagall's personal life (wives, children, and homes) and of his essential cultural roots including religious inspirations and conflicts. Chagall was fated to live a long life amidst a century of enormous social turmoil and with direct emotional ties to countries in the middle of the storms --- the USSR, France, U.S. and Israel.
   
   Professor Wilson is a fine writer with an eye for the arresting detail. His book is a very good overview of the complex life of a great artist.
   
   (Readers will have to refer to the Internet or art books for the actual paintings referred to in this text---unless happily they have already in person viewed the work of Marc Chagall.)



2. This has made a fascinating artist even more interesting; and you can understand the impact of his life on his technique!



3. The reader turns the first page of this little book to see the 1929 oil on canvas painting, "Lovers" by Marc Chagall. The painting depicts a man and woman seated and embracing; the woman's head turned inward on the man's breast, while the man, an expression of calm and contentment, peers upward, watching a winged angel flying overhead, across a deep purple sky. The painting has the deep and rich signature colour of all Chagall's work, though lacks the intense emotional suffering and ambivalence that makes up so much of his oeuvre, however this painting evokes a mystical love, a true love which, in my opinion, expresses the relationship between the artist and his beautiful wife, Bella.
   
   As part of the Jewish Encounter project, Marc Chagall by Jonathan Wilson is one contribution devoted to the promotion of Jewish literature, culture, and ideas. (One can find all these contributions here on Amazon.)
   
   It can be observed that most of Chagall's work, according to the author, is an expression of his philosophy, his religious sensibility if you will, in the form of the "literalization of metaphors", deeply grounded in the mystical and symbolic Hasidic world and Yiddish folktales, which include in their writings the "repository of flying animals and miraculous events." (P. 13)
   
   It is impossible to label Chagall's work as "Expressionism", but the representation of an acute imagination, coloured in fantasy, depicting highly charged religious symbols, including in several works, Christs Crucifixion in a variety of contexts. What I love about Chagall is the viewer is drawn into the work by its striking colour and busy subject matter and is compelled to study it, because the meaning of the painting must be discovered as it is not apparent on a superficial viewing.
   
   Wilson does a wonderful job of narrating Chagall's life in terms of the major events that the artist experienced, spanning through the Russian revolution, two world wars, the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel. Wilson suggests that in viewing Chagall's paintings against the backdrop of these major historical events will see the artist's work as a response to them, and his personal inner conflict between his "Jewishness" and his focus on Christ's Crucifixion, and also his attempt at secularism in many of his paintings.
   
   My favourite paintings by the artist are his various representations of love that display an ethereal, mystical quality, a sublimeness that to me captures love in their most revealing forms, as Wilson comments,
   
   "Chagall's vision of love, so appealing to the human soul, frequently involves a merging of two faces, or bodies, into one. In this regard he is Platonic, as his figures pursue their other halves in an apparent longing to become whole again. Over and again he paints the myth that Aristophanes recounts in The Symposium." (P.174)
   
   Chagall's life Wilson suggests was an attempt through his art at the reconciliation between two worlds, a genuine effort universalizing or merging opposites, he writes,
   
   "In his paintings, past and present, dream and reality, rabbi and clown, secular and observant, revolutionary and Jew, Jesus and Elijah...all commingle and merge in a world where history and geography but also the laws of physics and nature have been suspended." (P. 210)
   
   Wilson's Marc Chagall is an erudite biography and insightful critical work. Although relatively short in length, manages to capture the artist who is considered along with Picasso and Matisse, one of the icons of Modernism.
   
   
   
   

5 comments about Jean-Michel Basquiat.

1. This collection of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat was prepared for an exhibition of the painter's works at the Museo Revoltella in Trieste in 1999.
   
   The paintings are presented in a nicely large size, better than the paperback Basquiat books that are easier to find, and the colours are vivid. In addition to the works, the book also contains a great deal of textual material, presented in English and Italian translation. Retrospective essays are provided by Keith Haring, Francisco Clemente, and Keith Haring, and Basquiat's major supporter Bruno Bischofberger contributes a fascinating reflection on the painter's collaborations with Clemente and Warhol. There are also four interviews that allow Basquiat to speak in his own words.
   
   My only real complaints about the word are that the typesetting is poor, with the text difficult to read, and my own favourite work of Basquiat, "Pegasus" was not included. Still, if you are a fan of one of America's greatest painters, this collection is worth a look.



2. Pzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...slang for "hey girl, how can I get wit chu? "
   (Out fitted players on the cover)
   Basquiat's pallette is overwelming. This book has many previously unpubllished works by the late artist. Most of the drawings are exceptional...The paintings on the other hand are mostly unresolved. It would have been nice if the images were in FOCUS! But the over all production is good. Leaves me wondering when the rest of his unpublished drawings will see light of day.



3. Some of the drawings are disappointingly un-sharp reproductions and/or are too small. Basquiat's drawings are extremely delicate and detailed and more beautiful than his paintings. They must be reproduced with high quality sharpness and at a proper size to be fully enjoyed and appreciated.



4. This book (the one with "PZ" on the cover, since Amazon has decided to not seperate certain reviews to certain books...) is another great treat for any basquiat fan. It has some very intelligent writings by Keith Haring, Francesco Clemente and others. Also, it contains some informative interviews with the late artist that contain some of his famous quotes. One thing that is most exciting about this book is that it shows almost all of the Basquiat/Warhol and Basquiat/Warhol/Clemente collaborations! Also, the photographs and art reproductions are amazingly done. If you love Basquiat, or even mildly admire him (or Haring, Clemente, or Warhol for that matter) you NEED this book. Matt

   If there are any other Basquiat fans out there looking for someone to talk to about art like I am, then please e-mail me.




5. What an incredible artist! Jean Michel Basquiat's talent, his use of tone, colour and composition were unparalleled in the modern art world. He was a true prodigy; a prophet of creativity; a tragic poet. This book is a must for anybody interested in neo-abstract expressionism.

No comments about Terry Harrison's Watercolour Trees.

No comments about Edward Hicks: Painter of the Peaceable Kingdom (Pennsylvania Paperbacks).

2 comments about The Boy Who Loved to Draw: Benjamin West.

1. In Orbiting the Giant Hairball, the author tells how all children feel they are talented artists at age 6. By age 10, most are too inhibited to continue with art. That is a great loss to the children and to the world.

   This heart-warming book is written in a way to encourage the natural interest of almost all children in exploring art. Young Benjamin West was always afraid that he will get in trouble with his artistic experiments, yet his parents and family were encouraging. These tales will help young people think that perhaps the adults in their lives will be encouraging as well. They will also appreciate that Benjamin West had many obstacles to overcome, like not having a pen to draw with, no paints, and no idea of what a paint brush was. That will help the young person realize that they should be more likely to succeed. West's evolution as an artist is also a good one for a young person. Start by drawing from life, gradually learn to add color, then meet other artists, and go on to get a art education.

   As perfect as that is, it also turns out to be an accurate biographical statement of Benjamin West's life. Drawing on West's own recollections of these years and his biography, the book paints an artistically-focused picture of West's life as the 10th of 10 children. I especially loved how he discovered that he liked to draw, the way he got his first paints (from the local Native Americans and his Mother), and made his first paint brush (using hairs from his cat).

   The book is also beautifully illustrated in a style to make the story inviting. I only wish that the book had included more and larger reproductions of West's work.

   Be sure to share this book with the young people in your life around age 6. You may be able to help them avoid developing the misconception that they will not be able to become artists. These days there are many wonderful ways to use art as a vocation and as a hobby to bring great personal satisfaction. This book is a great way to facilitate that, and make the world a more beautiful and meaningful place.

   Donald Mitchell

   Coauthor of The Irresistible Growth Enterprise (available in September 2000) and The 2,000 Percent Solution

   (donmitch@fastforward400.com)




2. This is a true story about Benjamin West, a native of Pennsylvania, who, during the colonial times, set forth to become a world famous artist. From his first pen and ink drawing at the age of seven, the author details events that lead to the rich and wonderful career this artist had. This book explains how a young Quaker boy from Lancaster County eventually became known around the world as the father of American art. A little extra humor with the cat...

1 comments about Dutch Painting (World of Art).

1. Written by a leading Dutch museum director, this is the best introduction to the history of Dutch painting up to the XXth century. It follows a strict chronological pattern and is accompanied by many illustrations (mostly in black and white)which help the reader in his discovery of the great masters (Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer) as well as more minor figures of the 18th and 19th century.

1 comments about Auguste Renoir, 1841-1919, the Painter of Happiness (Taschen Jumbo Series).

1. 
   This is a very nice volume. The reproductions are first class; the essays are excellent.
   
   However, a strange thing occured as a result of having procured this book: now that I've seen a great many Renoirs together, I find that I admire his work less. It's a very cruious thing. I've always loved Renoir--or thought I did. But as a result of this book, I now see that while some of his work is great, at least 25% is kitsch. Even the essayist Gilles Neret acknowledges that this is the opinion of a number of critics.
   
   Some of Renoir's late work is incredibly gaudy and tasteless, with monstrous female figures and garish colours.
   
   For an artist who had much more firm control of his technique, check Paul Signac.

5 comments about Painting Spectacular Light Effects in Watercolor.

1. Really good and sound illustrations and excellent explanations of techniques. It was very helpful to me and taught me a lot of the wonderful styles he uses. I would recommend this video to anyone, beginner or master to learn more about light effects.



2. This book has a lot of interesting observations on the interactions between light and various surfaces. The value of this book is in these observations, which help the artist notice more. For example, what shadows look like, and how reflections and transparency impact water and metal and glass. These observations focus mainly on topics that will be useful to people interested in painting still life, buildings, and perhaps nature scenes. These observations will be less helpful for painters who are interested in figure painting, as the interplay of light on skin & hair is not addressed. Overall, this aspect of the book is very well done and deserves 4 to 5 stars.
   
   The watercolor technique aspect of this book is not as well done. The main teaching technique used are step-by-step paintings. These are done better than most but, frankly, I fail to see the value of step-by-step instruction. For me, these fail to generalize the author's knowledge into useful watercolor techniques. The step-by-step instruction appears to be aimed at a beginner painter, whereas the rest of the book is intermediate to advanced.
   
   Overall, this is a very nice book that is well worth purchasing. "Painting Spectacular Light Effects in Watercolor" is particularly nice as an inspirational book for watercolor artists.



3. This is a review of his *VIDEO*, "Painting Light & Landscapes".
   I couldn't find it on Amazon.com so I'm putting the review under his book.

   This title is separated onto two videos, part 1 about 1 hour 15 min, part 2 about 1 hour. (I couldn't get an exact time count for tape 2. It varied every time I timed it. Maybe the tape material was stretching?)

   It begins with a brief bio of his training and awards, showing several of his painings in the background.

   Then, a brief intro to some basic techniques, flat wash, graded wash, wet in wet, but nothing else.

   Then he begins to demonstrate his painting, a foggy landscape, mostly done wet in wet.

   The value of these videos is to see his demonstration of him actually painting. You see every stroke, which is very good for learning. Camera angles and audio are excellent.

   But he doesn't teach design, composition, value sketch, color mixing theory, etc. If you want to learn these basics of painting you are better off with Tony Couch or Tom Lynch videos. But it is valuable to see Paul do his demo because he talks about his thinking process as he paints. It is always valuable to see how a painter thinks about his painting, his process, rather than just staying with cold techniques. These videos are excellent for that.

   He points out how the water & paint behaves, how he corrects or covers up mistakes, how he layers paint to get rich values, how he choses colors he is using, how he changes his designing, etc. Its amazing how he gets his effects with his huge brushes and lots of water.

   He usually names the colors he uses, mostly Winsor & Newton. But as he doesn't talk about color mixing theory, or quality of paints, he doesn't talk about permanant or fugitive clolors. At one point he mentions he is now using a *permanant* Alizarin Crimson, a historically fugitive color. (Genuine Alizarin is fugitive, which means it will fade or change over time with sunlight shining on it, and you shouldn't use it since there are permanant substitute paints for this color. *Premanant* Alizarin is most likely made up from these permanant substitue paints, but companies preserve the old name so thay can make money.) But then he uses *huge* amounts of Winsor Violet, which I belive is made of of Dioxazine, which is a fugitve color! (I hope I'm correct in this and not making a fool of myself. If I am, I appologize in advance.) According to Michael Wilcox's book, "The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolor Paints", he states that Dioxazine is a fugitive color. So why 1) does Mr Jackson use it if he switched to a *Permanant* Alizarin, and 2) why does Winsor & Newton continue to put out fugitve colors for sale at all???? (Read Wilcox's books to learn how to mix violets and purples using permanant colors as well as find out which paints are fugitive and which are permanant.)

   While it is wonderful to see Mr. Jackson demo his painting, the whole video is *continually* broken up everytime he needs a break to dry his paper with *numerous* silly interviews of clients and samples of his paintings. These breaks happen at different times, after 5min, 12min, 17min, 24min, etc.

   Showing samples of his beautiful paintings at these breaks is acceptable, although time consuming if you want to keep the actual demo on *one* VHS tape. You can go to his web site to see all his paintings. But the interviews are totally frustrating.

   The interviews are of some of his clients/patrons: eg. Gov of Missouri, his 1st Lady, and several Doctors. These are more like infomercials. All they say is how wonderful Paul Jackson is, how much they like and are amazed by his art work, how his art is so detailed "it looks like photographs", how he paints upside down even though "that's impossible, but he does it!", etc. These "infomercial" commentaries are TOTALLY USELESS!!! They take up valuable video time and waste the viewer's time. These are all distinguised people, clients, patrons, nice people who really appreciate his work, but with all due respect, who cares about their comments! They are not artists. I bought the video to see Paul paint, not hear non artists babble on and on singing his praises and their amazments! I already know how wonderful he is and am amazed by his art myself, otherwise I wouldn't have bought the video and his book! I don't need nor want their comments. Its a total waste!

   These breaks are short, 30 sec to 1 min each, but are so numerous, between 20-30 of them or more, they break up the flow of the video. I tried to time them to see how much time they took. Between the two videos, the infomercial interviews totalled to about 8 min, and the gallery of his paintings totalled to about 8-10min. Not much time total, but because there are so many of them, they are very frustrating and intrusive.

   If the tapes had totally eliminated these useless interviews/comments and edited down the samples of his gallery of paintings, he could have fitted his *actual demo* onto a single 2 hour tape. Why, we need to ask, was it spread out onto 2 tapes with so much filler?

   I rated the video with 4 stars instead of 5 because of these useless interviews. I would recommend this set of videos to actually see him paint. You just need to ignor the interviews. You can learn a lot just from observation and hearing *HIS* comments! If you get his book, you will get more step by step instructions.

   If he ever does another video, which I would love to see of his tighter style, I would recommend: 1) DROP THE USELESS INFOMERCIAL INTERVIEWS! LET YOUR ART SPEAK FOR ITSELF. LET YOUR PAINTING DEMO SPEAK FOR ITSELF. and 2)show more of your planning, design stage. This is just as important as seeing you actually paint.




4. I am an intermediate level painter. I appreciate the technique and artistry that goes into the paintings in this book. I also study them and read the artists comments and recomendations. They are sometimes vague and it is more of a read than a workshop book. I do not use it nearly as much as I hoped I would. This book does contain very impressive work and I would like to apply some of what I see to my own art.



5. This is the best watercolor book I have found yet. The light effects are stunning and inpiring. I really learned a lot and improved my skills after reading this book.