No comments about Richard Prince: Jokes and Cartoons.

No comments about Claude Monet: Fields in Spring (Emanating).

3 comments about The Future Was F.A.B.: The Art Of Mike Trim.

1. This book is well researched and written and has full colour photos throughout. For obvious reasons, it focuses heavily on his time working on the Gerry Anderson shows from Thunderbirds to UFO. Reading the book really gave me an appreciation for the work Mike Trim did and especially his contribution to the Anderson universe. Not only did he design many known vehicles, he was also a model builder and much more.
   
   However, it is Mike's artwork that really stands out in this book. Over and over, he clearly went to great lengths to create realistic and believable vehicles, which went a long way to the general feel of the shows.
   
   A nice easy read with lots of info. Like another reviewer mentioned, this goes well with the hard-to-find Derek Meddings book. If you like Gerry Anderson shows, you will love this book.



2. Gerry Anderson's shows have spectacular vehicles and production values. Mike Trim's contributions to these shows are documented in this book, filled with rare color behind the scenes photos and his artwork. His design of the Mobile from UFO has always been my favorite vehicle. Along with Derek Medding's 21st Century Visions, a must have for fans of Anderson's shows. Give me more.



3. This book is long over due - It is well written - Covers the involvement of Mike Trim with Gerry Anderson, etc. The book covers many facts of how mike Trim made the props, with many photos of high quality. I was not aware of Mikes involve with Gerry andersons projects until I read this book. If you are a fan of Gerry Anderson, and or his projects (which where many) Then this book is a perfect complaint to have.Anthony Taylor did a great job of research.

1 comments about The Gospel in Art by the Peasants of Solentiname.

1. "It is horrible that there are dead and wounded. Some day, instead, there will be an abundance of schools, hospitals, and clinics for everyone, food adequate for everyone, art and entertainment. But most important, there will be love among all."
   - from 'A Letter to the People of Nicaragua' written by the Reverend Father Ernesto Cardenal in December 1977, two months after his Roman Catholic Parish and contemplative community upon the archipelago of Solentiname in Lake Nicaragua had been destroyed, raped, burned and massacred by the US-backed Somozan National Guard.
   
   Two years later the Sandinista Front of National Liberation came to power, and the Reverend Father Ernesto Cardenal became the new Minister of Culture, fulfilling much of this prophecy, including as his brother, the Jesuit Father Fernando Cardenal initiated the national literacy campaign, and the new government built and staffed new health clinics and schools throughout the nation, before the terrorist invasion by Reagan's illegal army, the contra.
   
   The Reverend Father Ernesto Cardenal studied prayer in contemplative community in Gethsemane under the Reverend Father Thomas Merton, then Novice Master, who wrote poetry and prayed with Father Ernesto and then advised him to return to his people, who were suffering under a dynastic and brutal US-supported military dictatorship. Father Merton advised Father Cardenal to found a contemplative community there among the poor and most illiterate.
   
   In 1966 therefore Father Ernesto Cardenal founded the famous Catholic contemplative community in Solentiname, engaging with the poor fishers and farmers and families there in Biblical study and discussions of the Gospels. Recordings of these discussions were published in four volumes in several languages, including in English The Gospel In Solentiname - published by the Maryknoll Catholic Foreign Mission Society through its publishing house the respected, the cherished Orbis Books.
   
   Here in this present volume we find snatches of these evangelical conversations matched with the beautiful artwork painted by the same unlettered yet profoundly talented, wise and expressive people of Solentiname.
   
   Beginning with the Annunciation and completing with the Resurrection, visiting nearly every scene in the Gospels in between, each pair of pages presents a Biblical verse, a page of the conversation regarding that verse in prayer, hermeneutic, meditation and exploration of its relevance to what His Holiness Pope Paul VI called "the sign of the times." The facing page contains a painting of the parable or the Life of Christ under consideration.
   
   Highly recommended for all Catholics, children and for adults at every level of progress in the Faith.
   
   Important to reflect upon in this our election year, and at this point in our Liturgical Calendar, particularly the reflections and representations of the arrest, passion, death and Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

3 comments about Picasso & The Weeping Women.

1. 
   Picasso once said that painting, rather than being an aesthetic operation, was a way of "seizing the power by giving from to our terrors as well as our desires." Perhaps in 1937 when most of these weeping women portraits were painted, Picasso was giving form to his feelings about his personal situations and the current political climate.
   
   According to Freeman, through these depictions he was examining his emotional responses to Olga Koklova, his estranged first wife; Marie-Therese Walter, who was a young woman of 17 when Picasso approached her on the street, and later bore him a daughter; and Dora Maar, the photographer who was his companion in the years prior to and during the war.
   
   On another level this collection makes a political statement - these weeping women represent the anguish of Europeans being propelled into war. It should also be noted that 1937 was the year Picasso painted "Guernica," his response to the Spanish Civil War.
   
   Author Freeman was Associate curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art where she organized the exhibit of Picasso's Weeping Women. She has contributed an exemplary text, while over 100 color illustrations bring the artist's work to compelling life.
   
   Gail Cooke



2. Ahhhh, I can't get enough of historical fact coupled with art! Bravo!



3. In exploring the relationship between Dora Maar and Pablo Picasso I have been absolutely delighted in the information in this text. As well, the works of art and other related details. Thankfully we have this art history text for future generations.

5 comments about Painting Beautiful Watercolors from Photographs.

1. Jan teaches us step by step how to transform pictures to paintings with simple insights and all the facts needed.
   She shares years of experience with all levels of painters.
   Each page takes us further along the path to being a better painter.
   This is one of my favorite books in my art library.



2. It has a lot of information, but was not what I thought it would be....not enough detail



3. The best way to describe how valuable this book has been to me is this: when I pick up my brush, Ms. Kunz book is open and waiting within arm's reach.

   She covers many techniques including collaging, proportional enlargements, and even tips for how to take photos for your subject matter. It also has many step by step demonstrations with each technique-building lesson. The book even has a chapter on most asked questions including how to paint teeth!

   Don't worry about having pictures to get started because she includes a few in the back of the book and in each lesson.




4. This book is a great guide for any level of artist! After checking this book out of the library several times and paying overdue book fines, I decided I couldn't live without it! I just purchased this book online.

   What a great instruction book from Jan Kunz on set-up, photography hints, transferring and enlargements, combining photos, painting techniques and handling problems. This book has it all. She even includes sample photographs to get you started.

   I'm just a beginner, but this book gave me the motivation to get started.




5. I love books that have lots of tit-bits of information, and this is one of those books. Although, some of the information has been incorporated from her other books, it's still worth getting. I find Jan to be very generous, and it shows in this book.

5 comments about Intuitive Light: An Emotional Approach to Capturing the Illusion of Value, Form, Color and Space.

1. An inside look at a true masters approach. Easy to follow, great pictures, great information for all levels.



2. As most pastel artists know Handell is a master of the medium.
   This publication is wonderful



3. This book is a winner. Alfres Handell is a master painter. Intuitive Light is the most elusive and the Most Important aspect of painting. Using his own work to illustrate his instruction gives the book strengh, clarity and depth.
   
   I recommend this book for any pastelist who can't attend one of Mr Handell's workshops, and for anyone who has. This book sums, illustrates, and reinforces what Mr Handell teaches.
   
   I took a workshop from Alfred two years ago. He helped me to "see" and to develop and strenghen my own style and my work. I didn't grasp everything he taught in the workshop so this book is a useful extention of the workshop.
   
   The workshop participants were rapt as he explained his techniques while he demonstrated. He seems to see what he paints with magical eyes. And how he translates what he sees with deft strokes also magic. By reading his commentary and studying his illustrations in the book, one can make progress in learning to see and to translate that vision onto pastel board.
   
   Alfred is a sweet gruff. His lovely wife, Louise, also an accomplished artist, accompanies him on workshops. The love and respect they have for each other is reflected in the calm and respectful atmosphere of their workshops. In turn, the workshop participants are respectful of each other; encouraging rather than competitive. I can "hear" Aflred talking in his Brooklyn accent as I'm reading the book. Alfred, through this and his other books, will help you improve your work.



4. A great book by a great pastelist. This book should be encouragement to all newcomers to pastel use.



5. I have always wanted to attend a seminar given by Mr.Handell, however due to allergys, it has not been possible. I am so pleased that his book is available and it is all that I had hoped for and a treasure to review again and again.

No comments about Splash 3: Ideas and Inspirations.

No comments about How to Draw & Paint Cars.

4 comments about Dali's Optical Illusions.

1. This opulently illustrated investigation of Salvador Dali's work and thought looks at the mad master's painting from a new angle. (Some would doubtless argue that any angle from which one views his art is likely to be new.) Dawn Ades has assembled a grand tour of Dali's ideas, influences, biography, loves, fears, friendships and experiments, to offer further insight into a complex intelligence. The paintings, sketches and photographs she draws upon are apt and illuminating. Though I once played at being a painter and have read widely about the arts, I am not an art student and do not speak the language of the cognesceti. Notwithstanding my naivete, I here offer my own angle on modernist art. Twentieth century art can be fairly neatly divided into two piles: pre-Warhol and post-. In the old days the institutions of art were important: acceptance by a School, the right museums, the right collectors and patrons. Within that structure most arttists conformed and a few broke out to dazzle the world. No matter how far visual artists pushed the envelope into abstraction (pointilism, impressionism, cubism, fauvism, surrealism, and so forth) they were grounded in technical excellence. Any of the masters could paint an apple so perfectly that you would want to take a bite. Post-Warhol, which I use not only in reference to the man but to the sea change he rode (easy reproduction, duplication, electronic media -- all following on the heels of photography), everything was turned on its head. The institutions lost control, idea superceded technique, photography devalued representational art, notoriety bumped-off intellect ... even paint was suddenly cheap after Germany lost the Second World War and its dominance of the chemical colorant and plastics industries. Anyone could do art and everyone does. Anyone with an Apple can make a byte. I find the parallel to electronic publishing inescapable. When printing was expensive the institutions controlled access. Publishers and editors controlled the flow and writers had to follow it. Today printing is cheap, both on paper and in pixels, and the institutions have lost much of their sway. The emergent problem in both cases is for the audience. When a few Schools of art, a few publishing houses, a few film studios, even a few TV networks controlled the spigot, what emerged was apt to have some merit. Without that institutional control we face a torrent. Post-Warhol there is a lot more bad art. (If I have herewith condemned the Soupletter, so be it.) Dali's art is a reminder that just being clever and different is not sufficient. You have got to be good to be famous for more than fifteen minutes.



2. Hallucinagenic Toreador is a painting that can never leave the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, and therefore could not, sadly, be included in the exhibition (and catalogue). Plenty of other double images were though.



3. I have an earlier book from author Ades that had text that was very good. I bought this book thinking Hallucenogenic Torreador would definately be in it- one of his most interesting optical illusions...and it wasn't in there!Pictures are big but I think she could have used more that she didnt. I sent it back as it wasnt worth $40... if it would have been in paperback and cheaper, I would have thought twice. Hope this helps.



4. Dali's Optical Illusions is the first to probe Dali's fascination with optical effects and perception, packing in examples of Dali's works and commenting on his sources, inspiration, and methods. Accompanying discussions to each page of illustration comment on technique, inspiration, and visual impact of Deli's images. Highly recommended.