3 comments about The Complete Guide to Watercolor.

1. This is a good guide for the beginning watercolor artist...but I hesitate to give it more than 3 stars, simply because there is too much information and it is a tad overwhelming.
   
   The book is divided into:
   
   Materials
   Techniques
   Color
   Lanscapes
   Still Life
   
   There is adequate information as to appropriate tools and there is good information on color and brushmarks. However, there is too little instruction and the instruction that is given, is not always clear. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if there was less information on some of the more advanced techniques and more instruction on the basics. I also felt that the format of the book could have been better- there seems to be simply too much squeezed onto each page.
   
   However, I'd still recommend this to anyone interested in watercolor though I'd suggest checking it out of your local library as opposed to purchasing it.



2. Given to me by a friend when I just discovered watercoloring, I had high hopes for this book. It's nice to leaf through, with a wide range of beautiful color plates that can be the source of inspiration. But its "step-by-step" descriptions of various techniques are frustratingly unclear.
   
   I'm on the hunt for another.



3. When I think of watercolor, my mind wanders to the past where we were in art class trying to paint a still life. What a pity my teacher didn't have this book around. For some reason, I was always allowed to leave art class and go to the library where they felt I could be more useful. I guess I've been recently trying to "renew" my interest in drawing and painting.
   
   There are just so many expenses when it comes to "art" projects. So, watercolor is a nice way to get your feet wet again.
   
   Some great hints:
   
   1. Stretching Watercolor Paper
   2. Toning Paper - Gives your art a nice color background
   3. How to use a sponge to soften details.
   4. Letting each layer dry before building up the colors.
   5. Expert Color Mixing Techniques.
   6. How to Frame your art.
   
   You will also learn interesting things about paintings of the past. How they mixed in egg yolk to make the pigment a stronger medium. Giovanna Garzoni's Still Life with a Bowl of Cherries looks tempting or you could just start by making a sketch of apples and cherries and coloring them in.
   
   The "Gallery" sections feature works by artist like Philip O'Reilly, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, June Berry, Sue Sareen, Winslow Homer, Philip Fraser and Paul Cezanne.
   
   Contents:
   
   Materials: Pain brushes, Brushmarks, Other Marks, Gallery of Brushstrokes, Paper, Stretching and Toning, Gallery of Paper.
   
   Techniques: Ways of working, capturing an Image, Composition, Drawing, Laying a Wash, Washes, Gallery of Washes, Tone and Color, Building up Layers, Sponging Out, Scratching Out, Resist Techniques, Using Gouache, Gallery of Techniques.
   
   Color: The Language of Color, Color Mixing, Gallery of Limited Color, Warm and Cool Color, Complementary Color, Gallery of Complementaries, Color Influence, Exploring Composition, Harmonious Color, Gallery of composition, High-key Color, High-key Still Life, Low-key Color, Low-key Interior, Gallery of Light, Warm Summer Light, Cool Autumn Light, Gallery of Atmosphere, Expressive Color, Portrait Study, Color and Pattern, Pattern in Landscape, Gallery of Pattern and Shape, Abstract Color, Gallery of Abstracts.
   
   Landscapes: Getting Started, Venturing Outside, Monochrome Study, Monochrome Gallery, Receding Color, Limited Color, Effective complementaries, Gallery of Trees, color Unity, Gallery of Light, Creating Atmosphere, Skies Gallery, Sketching Buildings, Painting the City, Gallery of Buildings, Sketching Water, Painting Water, Sketching Figures, Toward Abstraction, Abstract Landscape, Abstract Gallery.
   
   Still Life: Introduction, Gallery of Colorists, Making Sketches, The Working Studio, Creating a Composition, Selection vs Inspiration, Seashore, gallery of composition, Light and Form, Tonal Painting, Creating Form and Tone, Negative Space, Gallery of Perception, Transparent Painting, Opaque Painting, Gallery of Paint Types, Day and Night, Special Effects, Gallery of Effects, Presenting Your work.
   
   This is really a comprehensive introduction to Watercolor painting. All you need to get started is a small watercolor box, water, a couple of brushes and a pad of paper. If you follow the basic guidelines, you can achieve a surprising degree of expertise in a relatively short time.
   
   Highly Recommended.
   
   ~The Rebecca Review

3 comments about American Expressionism: Art and Social Change, 1920-1950.

1. The main weakness of American Expressionism is the extreme and unrelenting bias of the author. Dijkstra is quick to establish a divide between the evil, racist, self-aggrandizing, "Nordic" (i.e., Northern European) ruling class, and the sincere and socially engaged Eastern European, Southern European, and Asian immigrant class. For Dijkstra, the main criterion for art is social commitment. He consequently dismisses American regionalists like Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood out of hand and goes on to say that "we must ... confront the troubling connections that did, and continue to, exist between regionalism and the conventions of Nazi and Soviet propaganda art" (53). After World War II, American art was robbed of content when corporate art collectors fundamentally changed the market, all to fulfill the "frivolous ambitions of vastly overpaid CEOs" (118). Dijkstra clearly believes what he's saying, but that does not keep him from being at times disingenuous. Particularly pathetic is his pointing out the corporate and "Nordic" bias implicit in the fact that none of the "alien" names he is writing about are included in the spell-checker dictionary on Microsoft Word (16)!



2. An excellent compilation of a mid-century American art style. Despite the promised controversy, Dijkstra's commentaries are brilliant and quite convincing. This is certainly not a pretty or unemotional art. But what a rewarding experience.



3. AMERICAN EXPRESSIONISM is a beautiful book and one could have no better guide that cultural historian Bram Dijkstra. He is passionate, articulate, intelligent and knowledgeable about his subject. I am richer and have a deeper appreciation for the world of expressionism for having experienced this fine book.
   Bravo.

No comments about Weathering the Storm: Inside Winslow Homer's Gulf Stream (Mercer University Lamar Memorial Lectures).

3 comments about Botticelli's Bed & Breakfast.

1. This is a fun book. It's a great way to introduce someone to the old masters without being intimidating. I collect pop up books with a special interest in 3D books like this one. It's my absolute favorite.



2. My Advanced Art teacher was thrilled with this pop up and wanted to know where I got it in order to use it as a teaching tool. It appeals to both the young and old by educating the reader about art through a fun and artsy pop-up tour.



3. A delightful foldout book of art masterpieces exhibited in an entertaining and tongue-in-check layout.

4 comments about The Art of Jeffrey Jones.

1. This is an incredible book. 160 pages of color plates. As an artist, I really appreciate the detailed close ups of some of the paintings, where you can see every brush stroke. The color quality of the plates is very high. Lots of fantasy female figurative paintings in this book. Jeffrey Jones has a real gift for light and shadow, color, and painting the human form. Many of the color plates are 8" x 11" or 9" x 12". and could actually be cut out and framed.



2. Dozens and dozens Jeffrey Jones' wonderful paintings are beautifully produced in this fine book. Unfortunately, there is very little in the area of his sketches, and almost nothing of his comic work.

   It might be argued that Jones' most original creations were his *Idyll* and *I'm Age* strips for National Lampoon and Heavy Metal. Certainly his work with pen-and-ink is nothing short of extraordinary. (I work with pen-and-ink myself and am in awe of his modeling techniques.) This book gives us only one single page of Idyll and one single page of I'm Age.

   Because of these disappointing omissions I am tempted to give this book only two or three stars, but I give four stars in the hope that the Idyll and I'm Age strips will be collected together at a later time. They are brilliant, and from an artistic standpoint they are at least as important as the paintings.




3. Questions have always circulated about Jeffrey Jones and his place in the history of 20th Century fantasy art: was he a monumental talent or just another Frazetta imitator? I think this book finally provides a definitive answer: he was both. THE ART OF JEFFREY JONES is a beautiful showcase that effectively traces Jones' transition from a Frazetta-wannabe in the 1960s to the truly gifted painter of the 1990s be became.
   And I must disagree with Manfred's complaints and comparisons to previous Jones books: not only are Jones' earlier books long out of print, but THE ART OF JEFFREY JONES includes a great deal of work not included in any other collection (along with unpublished art credited as being painted in the '90s). While the text most certainly could have been expanded, I believe the editors have revealed more about Jones as an artist and person than any have previously and I came away with a better appreciation of this eccentric creator. A personal favorite.



4. This is one terrific book! It was a great trip down memory lane for me: Jeffrey Jones did the fantastic covers for many of the swords-and-sorcery paperbacks I read while growing up. In addition to the artwork for stellar talents like Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, and Karl Edward Wagner, Jones' beautiful paintings also brought class to less distinguished (but still fun)books by authors like Lin Carter and Gardner F. Fox. The wonderful artwork for many, many of these books is included, as well as a ton of great illustrations based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan adventures. The cover illustration is one of the best (and most understated) pieces of vampire artwork I've ever seen. The paintings are enlivened by Jones' personal reflections on his career, and the book concludes with striking samples of Jones' non-commercial art. Jones' smoldering, doe-eyed brunettes are the stuff dreams are made of!

1 comments about Van Gogh in Arles (Pegasus Library).

1. I found this book very appealing. It touched on both his art and his emotional side. This might of been the happiest time of his life and it was all to breif. I tottaly recomend this book if you enjoy Vincent's works.

5 comments about What Great Paintings Say - Old Masters in Detail.

1. Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen have done their research in examining paintings throughout time and have created two extraordinary volumes that invite us into the Art Appreciation Theater of an honored university of learning. Their biographies are strangely missing from these books: we can only surmise that these two fine art historians have spent countless hours in the museums of the world. The fruit of their labor is a world of revealed details secreted within the masterpieces we 'thought' we knew.
   The technique: Introduce a complete painting, give a thorough background about the time in which it was created and the artist who created it, and then from isolated windows, fill the remaining pages about that painting with details that not only address the painter's technique but also make commentary on the social mores, theological and philosophical concepts often at odds with the casual audience perceptual skills, and in general open vistas of enjoyment and insight to even the most experienced viewer. The Hagens have managed to gossip a bit, chide and joke a bit, and in the end offer us insights into exactly 'what great paintings say!.'
   Most of the paintings scrutinized are the large panoramas of, for example, Rembrandt ('The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp', 'Balshazzar's Feast'), Rubens ('The Love Garden' with the foggy details of Venus milking her breats as fountains!) van Eyck ('Adoration of the Lamb') Poussin, Goya, etc. In addition to famous masters, the Hagens bring to light such lesser known greats as Francisco Pradilla y Ortiz, a "Netherlandish master," Johannes Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, and Ilya Repin to mention only a few.
   One of the marvels of this collection is the consummate attention paid Courbet's 1855 "The Studio" which depicts a painter at easel, his model, the commissioners of the painting, royalty and peasants - all painted with adoring detail. It definitely is a statement of the artist's political standpoint!
   Technically the books are rich in color, creatively designed and close to color-correct. There is much to be enjoyed here and even more to advance the understanding and appreciation of art. A true gift!



2. The book is fascinating. The reproductions are big and good, and the text is readable and jargon-free. The authors present a painting, then provide a historical and social analysis of what the time's effects were on the artist and how to read below the surface of the picture, illustrating their points with details drawn from the work. In the few cases where I was acquainted with the works and their times, I found the interpretations spot on.
   This is a book that will help anyone interested in art, art history, or just plain history to develop a fuller understanding of great artists and of the times when they lived.



3. I bought this book hoping that it will explain to me why some painters are so highly regarded and other copy caps are not. Book basically goes over mostly Renocence pictures and tell the story behind each painting either what it depicts in terms of symbolism or history behind it or resons and financing behind it. It is a combination History book and paintings. It tells yo that for example Boticelli's Birth of Venus is first in Ronecance for nudity but it does not tell me why her feet is crooked, why anybody else who probably did similar paintings at the same time did not get this much fame. That is what I was looking and could not find. Still looking for the right book but this book by itself is very good for the purpose of its design.



4. This book is a beautiful edition, and serves the purpose of explaining sybolism in art quite nicely. There is, though, one flaw: Most of the large color plates are spread across the spine of the book. This is not a problem for most, but as an art student, studying the paintings with 15% lost in the spine is a problem.



5. I received this book as a gift from a friend. The pictures are superb, the paper is a nice heavy stock, and the text is interesting and at times humorous.

   So many times we look at a painting, but we really do not see what the artist is telling us. This book will show wonderful detailed areas of the painting for close scruntity. The pages are large so it is easier to see the paintings in detail.

   Whether you are an artist who paints, or have an enjoyment of the arts, you will be extremely pleased with this book.

2 comments about Drawing: Landscapes with William F. Powell (HT258).

1. This book is very thin. It's large in size top to bottom and side and may not fit in your totebag or drawing kit. It has lots of good information for a short book, but the drawings are very sketchy. It you want to draw more realistically, then you need to find a different author.



2. First, I must say I enjoy the physical dimensions of the book. It is tall; it is wide; it is thin. This makes a good sketching instruction book almost from the beginning.

   I like to doodle, and I like pencils. I like trees, and I like scenery. What better than a pencil-drawing-book-about-trees-and-scenery? What can I say.

   The techniques used in this book are extremely helpful, even for no-skill Joe like myself. I bought it probably three years ago, and it is still helpful. I've even learned to draw things I never thought woudld really make much of an interesting sketch idea--rocks! Rocks on the ground. Boulders, pebbles, hunks of volcano spew.

   My favorite section is trees, which I love to pieces. Incredibly tall, majestic trees, been around for ages past since I was a wee munchkin, and standing proud for my appreciative eye. The bark detail, the leaf patters, the height, the large variety.

   Draw desert canyons. Sketch drifts of clouds. Compose your own tree of might. Create a majestic oak or a finely detailed rotting log. Swoosh your pencil to form trees in the distance, and vegetation nearby. Perhaps a dainty little cottage or country church nestled in the pine slopes of a towering rock formation. With the instruction that will bless you herein, what limit can there be?

2 comments about Helmus:PIETER SAENREDAM: Paintings and Drawings by the 17th-century Master of Perspective.

1. As far as I know, this is the only publication in English available on Saenredam, one of the great geniuses of Dutch art. It is very well documented (especially on the provenance history of each work), beautifully illustrated (the illustrations include his very rare drawings) and a must-have for anyone interested in Dutch painting of the Golden Age. Saenredam does not just paint churches; he captures the light, the air and the soul of XVII century Holland.



2. I first ran into the paintings of Saenredam on a visit to the Netherlands five years ago, and was fascinated by his work. The brilliant use of perspective and the draughtsman-like quality of his work really appealed to me. In it's painstaking quality, it reminded me somewhat of Northern Rennaisance painters. Yet the subject of these works was quite different. Saeredam's church interiors and exteriors have a serenity to them quite different from anything else.

   I was very disappointed upon my return to the states because I could find little if anything about this great painter. If you've done a search here, you've seen that the only other books on Saenredam are out of print and hideously expensive.

   I was overjoyed when I heard the Getty was bringing in the first major show of Saenredam's works in 40 years. I ordered this catalogue as soon as it was available. I was not disappointed.

   This book features excellent reproductions of preparatory drawings and finished works, along with commentary that is interesting to the both the lay audience and those with more expertise. I heartily recommend it.

No comments about Fifteenth-Century Persian Painting: Problems and Issues.