2 comments about The Life and Art of Jerome Tiger: From War to Peace, Death to Life.

1. I can't claim to be an expert on art, but I know what I like and I like Jerome Tiger (1941-1967). This young American Indian had a fabulous sense of color and movement and his paintings are just plain beautiful. Most of them have American Indian and Western themes. You've seen many imitators if you've perused the galleries in Santa Fe.
   
   Tiger seems an overdue candidate for iconhood. He was a full-blooded Indian from Oklahoma. He was uneducated, never finishing high school, and untrained, although he studied for a while at the Cooper Art School in Cleveland. He was a boxer and street fighter, a drinker, and, most importantly, he died young. He was only 26 when he killed himself with a bullet -- apparently accidental -- to the head. He was enormously, instinctively talented at his trade and blissfully ignorant. He once asked, "Who was Michelangelo?"
   
   His wife and cousin compiled this illustrated biography. It's well written, favorable to Tiger but not hagiographic. The story of his life is interesting; the reproductions of his paintings and drawings are wonderful. There is a drawing of James Dean done when Tiger was about 14 years old that is as good a representation of the "rebel without a cause" as I have seen. There are photographs of Tiger in the boxing ring, and riding a horse, and with his daughter. He was a handsome young man whose pompadour resembles James Dean's.
   
   Most of all there are reproductions of his paintings, more than 100 of them, most dominated by the beautiful blue he favored and featuring American Indians in all their activities. The impact of his large paintings cannot be appreciated on the printed page but they are stunning. Tiger's output was enormous; he had a photographic memory and rarely erased. He once drew a locomotive in all its details from memory. He was a budding genius who, in my humble opinion, deserves to be in the first rank of American painters -- not in the first rank of American Indian painters, but in the first rank of American painters. And the movie of his life will undoubtedly win an Oscar.
   
   Smallchief



2. Jerome Tiger, a fullblood Creek/Seminole has been a major source of inspiration for Native American artists since the 1960's. This coffee table size book, co-written by his widow, is Jerome's life story and a wonderful color compilation of his art. In 1967, he died at age 27 from a tragic accident and while he had only been in the art field for 5 years, his influence has been tremendous and ongoing. Jerome's widow Peggy tells his story in a sentimental way, and the book is profusely illustrated with color reproductions of his art. It is a visual feast, with his signature blue backgrounds, delicate lines and colors portraying powerful and spiritual themes. He shows what the Trail of Tears felt like, the sadness and hardship endured when the Southeastern tribes were forced to go to Oklahoma, Indian Territory then. Jerome also liked to portray children, playing stickball and dancing, and some of these are touched with whimsey. This book is highly recommended for those interested in Native American art.

1 comments about Willem de Kooning 1904-1997: Content as a Glimpse (Basic Art).

1. While this might not be the De Kooning book for someone who wants an indepth view of the artist and his work, it's a nice introduction at an affordable price. The text reads like an encyclopedia entry (you won't find any major revelations but it covers all the bases), and there are plenty of good color reproductions encompassing De Kooning's entire career.

2 comments about Plein Air Painters of California, the Southland.

1. Not only is this book beautiful, Ruth Lilly Westphal created an important, highly useful educational and in my opinion an essential reference tool for art students, collectors, dealers and art historians interested in the California "Plein Air" art movement. It features generous artists biographies along with rich examples of each artist's works. As one of California's foremost buyers of California Impressionist paintings, I highly recommend this book! www.LawrenceBeebe.com



2. The most comprehensive survey of the work of plein air painters who worked in California.

3 comments about Capturing Light in Watercolor.

1. i devoured this book with the same pleasure i'd get from reading a beautiful children's book. the illustrations -- step by step images of simandle paintings in process -- are beautiful to look at. the stories -- how to put together a painting, from first sketches to last touches of detail -- are simple and engaging. simandle's approaches to brushwork (including the palette knife), mixing colors, preserving white and developing visual rhythms are well worth learning. a very fine guide for the intermediate painter looking for more poetry in their watercolor technique ... one of my favorite watercolor books.



2. I am a Swedish girl who bought this book by chance and it turned out to be just what I was looking for. A wonderful book, a "must" for everyone who like bright, light, sparcling and fresh watercolor paintings. M Simandle teaches you really how to capture light and how important it is to use, as she calls it, "broken color" - many, many fragments of bright pigment, sparkling and contrasting with the white of the paper. A book that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND.



3. I found Marilyn's unique approach and palette knife techinique a real find in the world of watercolor instruction books. The beautifully designed step by step latouts and gorgeous subject matter really hit the spot for the starving artist in all of us. Each lesson makes everyone an editor so we can go on to design and illustrate our own personal world in watercolor. I love this book!! (like you didn't notice)

2 comments about Robert Bateman: An Artist in Nature.

1. Full of interesting background info on what made Robert the master of wildlife art that he is, wonderful images of his paintings and comments on them by the artist.



2. An excellent book! I was amazed by Berman's amazing paintings and sketches of wildlife and, being an artist myself, found Berman's commentaries most enlightening. If you are an art buff or an artist, of wildlife or not, you must have this book! -- Rachel K. Clar

1 comments about The Pacific Northwest Landscape: A Painted History.

1. This is one of the finest art books I've ever bought, and believe me, I have a long shelf of them. The editor chose artists both famous and unknown, at least to me. Many are women! I have the book folded open on a table where I can see it as I walk by, and I change the pages every week or so. Wow! One gorgeous image after another.

4 comments about Gods and Generals: The Paintings of Mort Künstler.

1. Never have I seen half as much life breathed into the Civil War as in the paintings in this book. It is a visual feast, and I savor every page every time I look at it. The appearances of the soldiers and civilians alike portrayed in this book are accurate, and the colors and poses and emotional expressions are captivating and hauntingly beautiful. This would make a great coffee-table book or a guide for an artist, Civil War buff, or student.



2. Gods and Generals: The Paintings of Mort Kunstler rivals its previous companion book to Gettysburg. Kunstler tells the story leading up to the battle of Gettysburg using his masterful brush to translate history into color paintings. The text and the paintings weave the tale of how America eventually tore itself asunder in the Civil War. Its an excellent collector's piece and great introduction into the Civil War.
   I also found Kunstler did not paint as many movie scenes in this book, instead capturing the actual historical looks of these "Gods and Generals" of the Civil War. Any lover of history or military art will appreciate his attention to detail and riviting scenes. Enjoy!



3. Mr. Kunstler has provided us with another book of his arrestingly beautiful paintings. Art, of course, is largely a matter of taste and proverbially in the eye of the beholder. Mr. Kunstler, however, even from as objective a standpoint as possible, has no peer as a chronicler of the Civil War. I have been interested in that period of history for about half a century, but it has been Mr. Kunstler's paintings over the past dozen or more years that have brought that war to life for me, and, I am sure, for many others. Although he is a prolific artist, he never compromises with quality, and the quality of his work is unsurpassed.
   
   The subjects of Mr. Kunstler's paintings are invariably interesting, and he does not like to paint scenes or events that have been done previously by other artists. This book is the companion to, and illustrative of, the events and people of the novel "Gods and Generals" by Jeff Shaara, soon to be made into a motion picture of the same name. It follows four exceptional soldiers through the first two years of the war: Robert E. Lee, Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, Winfield S. Hancock, and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.
   
   In this book, there are many new paintings not yet published elsewhere, but whether you are an old Kunstler aficionado or newly introduced to his work, you will find this book unequaled. The reproductions of the paintings are eye-catching, displaying each painting in vibrant, striking colors, true to Mr. Kunstler's originals. I say above that his paintings are educational, and so they are. I urge you to look closely at every work of art. If you do, you will not only see an astonishing amount of detail, but also learn much about the people, the times, the objects people used, and the war. Again, we have Mr. Kunstler's constant striving for perfection to thank for paintings which are correct in every detail. He is the quintessential perfectionist, who painstakingly researches every detail, no matter how small, to provide his audience with true, as well as beautiful, depictions of people, places, and things. He consults with knowledgeable historians, such as Professor Robertson, who wrote the text for this book, on even such matters as the weather on the particular day that he wants to depict in a painting. All of the accouterments are true, as well as the animals, the uniforms, the weapons, the landscapes, the battlefield situations, the lighting -- everything. Rarely does one find, in one individual such as Mr. Kunstler, artistry to the point of genius coupled with an unceasing demand for perfection in all of the details of his art.

   I admit that I am no connoisseur of art and that I can claim no expertise or experience in art. Even someone such as I, however, can at least partially appreciate the artistic techniques used by Mr. Kunstler. His positioning of people, animals, buildings, and other objects to lead the observer's eye to the main subject of the painting, his extraordinary use of light to play on this or that subject in the picture in greater or lesser brilliance in order to accentuate or subordinate that subject, and his use of color, always precise, to delineate bright sunshine or dark shadow, or to emphasize or minimize, are all techniques that even such as I can note and admire. His paintings are so life-like as to defy the observer to differentiate them from photographs. But no photographs could depict such wonderful color and the precise instants in time which Mr. Kunstler so deftly chooses to picture.

   Mr. Kunstler has, with every book he has introduced, been able to obtain the very best in historians/commentators to draft the texts. He has obtained the services of, for example, Henry Steele Commager (for the book "The American Spirit: The Paintings of Mort Kunstler"), James I. Robertson, Jr. (for "Jackson and Lee: Legends in Gray," "The Confederate Spirit: Valor, Sacrifice and Honor," and the current work), James M. McPherson (for "Gettysburg"), and Dee Brown (for "Images of the Old West"). Dr. Robertson's text in "Gods and Generals: The Paintings of Mort Kunstler" is, as always, the perfect complement to the paintings. As with Mr. Kunstler's art, so also with Dr. Robertson's narrative, one can learn much, whether one is a novice or an experienced hand.

   Thus, whether you are a "Civil War buff" or simply interested in exceptional art and edifying prose, you will enjoy this book (and you would do well to consider obtaining Mr. Kunstler's previous books, named parenthetically above). You cannot go wrong with the team of Kunstler and Robertson.




4. This book is worth 5 stars!! My 8 year old son is just beginning to discover what it means to be born in the south. I want him to have an accurate picture of what the civil war was all about. It is hard to find civil war books with enough pictures to keep him interested. This book has plenty of high quality art for him to see and includes text that we can read together! I highly reccomend it based on those gorgeous paintings.

No comments about Big-Time Golf.

No comments about Dynamic Watercolours: Bring Movement and Vitality to Your Paintings.

4 comments about The Art and Embroidery of Jane Hall: Reflections of Nature.

1. I enjoy this book but had hoped for more instructions than is given. She talks about the materials and techniques but would have liked to see an example with steps all the way through the process.
   Beautiful ideas and results on Jane's embroidery!



2. What an idea generator! It's a beautiful picture book also. Makes me want to "stretch my wings".



3. I own many books and I have to say this one is by far my favorite. Many fiber artist and embroiderers will be drawn to this book, not only for the exquisite photography of Jane Hall's work, but also for her ability to express what inspires her. You will find that we all share the same inspirations and aspirations for our projects. I recommend this highly. Not a how-to book.



4. This book is fabulous. The work that Jane Hall has done is pure art. Fiber Art to the ultimate. I love how she has developed so many wonderful techniques to achieve the natural looks. I am devouring this book, cover to cover. You will love it!!