No comments about Concrete to Canvas: Skateboarders' Art.

No comments about Watercolor Painting Techniques.

No comments about Learning by Heart: Teaching to Free the Creative Spirit.

3 comments about Garden of Earthly Delights (Minis).

1. This painting inspired many theories and this book proposes one of them. It has many close-ups and excellent reproductions. Worth the price.



2. 
   fantastic XL pictures
   it is a great book and sorry that the publisher
   will not reprint this book at the moment.
   It is worth it.



3. This book is really mini, tiny and it works for a curious glimpse at this wonderful piece of art. It has no text and shows extracted parts of the piece that are zoomed in order to see the details. The printing is very good and colorful.

5 comments about Painting Greeting Cards in Watercolor.

1. I live in Australia so expected 3 to 4 weeks for delivery of this book, it came in less than 2 weeks so was plesently suprised with it's early arrival and it was well packed. I really enjoy the step by step projects how too's, and tips and tricks with lots of pictures to guide you.



2. This is an exceptional watercolor book that offers over 35 step-by-step projects in miniature art. It is not just for beginners. It is packed with useful information on how to design a painting, vary a theme to create a series of paintings. By walking you through the various painting techniques, then using them in step-by-step projects, Jaqueline Penny shows you how to how to turn one small painting into variations based on such things as differing the arrangement, color schemes, weather themes, horizontal vs. vertical presentation, etc..
   
   Here are some excerpts from the Table of Contents:
   Chapter 3 guides you through 5 projects that vary one scene by changing the sky, color, season, time of day, size and location.
   
   Chapter 5 gives 8 projects that help you become more creative by showing how a subject can be painted different ways--project 18 is how to paint a pear, including how to paint a droplet of water on the pear. Project 19 is painting an apple half. Project 20 Painting Hard Rocks--the author then shows how that same scene can be painted again, but by using different painting techniques, it does not become the same picture, but one with a whole new statement. The next projects are soft rocks, coastal rocks, little rocks. Next, painting two adirondack chairs(facing the viewer), then varying that theme by painting them facing out away from you, and changing the scenery surrounding them.
   
   Penny also teaches how to set up your paper so you can paint several paintings all on the same board, and how to do such things as making a postcard with three related small paintings--one of a landscape, then zeroing in on what's in the landscape and painting a close up of some flowers, or seeing the landscape from a different perspective, or changing the angles of 3 related paintings on a postcard, etc..
   
   I love Chapter 20, because it really shows where creativity and imagination can take you, and it's FUN!! Penny demonstrates how you can allow paints to run together to skies and flowers, then how to make minature paintings for the walls by varying mat colors. She gives you ideas on how to use such things as drips dropping on wet paper to make a colorful flower scene, and how to use that colorful painting along with a colored border cut in various shapes to add interest and make a variety of different greeting cards.
   
   Project 35 is especially exciting for me. It's title is "Pure Fantasy Another Way" It shows you how a wet-on-wet floral painting with a lot of soft edges can be used to create a beautiful fantasy scene with a tiny boy who is about 1/1000th as big as the flower is standing on the stem to gaze at the flower....This idea is then FURTHER EXPANDED by taking that floral idea and changing the boy to a girl, with a different pose and slightly different floral scene, or adding poetry to the scene of zeroing in more to one or two flowers.
   
   This book really demonstrates the multitude of possibilities in painting greeting cards, miniature paintings for the home, post cards, etc. The lessons are not difficult, and are easy enough for beginners, but it is also good for someone who is beyond the beginner stage, as it is also a book about design and creativity.
   
   A Wonderful book, that will help you expand on ideas for watercolors.
   If you like the book Work Small, Learn Big, this might be a good companion.



3. Thank you Jacqueline Penney for making my introduction to watercolor painting fun, informative and very helpful.
   The book, Painting Greeting Cards in Watercolor, was a step by step introduction to watercolor painting through the practice of greeting card design. The lessons were fun, quick and very easy to follow, making the student beg to beging the next lesson. After every lesson I felt like I really learned something and was proud of my accomplishment. I'll be honest, as a first time watercolorist I would have given up if this book wasn't easy, fun and easy to understand. Luckily it was a superb introduction and I am very happy.
   Thank you again.



4. I really enjoy using this book for inspiration and practice. I don't use her ideas for greeting cards, but for small paintings. Most of the paintings can be finished rather quickly. The topics are appealing and I have sold a number of them. I like her 3-in-1 compositions, dividing the paper with masking tape and having related subjects treated differently within each block. It is a practical and user-friendly book, well worth the purchase.



5. I have painted all the pictures in Jacqueline's book. Her detailed instructions make copying her art miniatures easy. Her instructions apply not only to miniatures but also larger sized pictures. I have used several of her designs for greeting cards.

3 comments about Fairy Kisses.

1. Fairy KissesI love this book. I've looked at many books on the subject but most were the artist's idea of fantasy. Becky suggests they may actually co-exist with us. I purchased it for my grandsons to re-introduce them to the wonderful world of fairies. My wish is that their minds may stay open to the belief that we share our world with many creatures, whether we see them or not. They love it. The book is truly magical.



2. Recentl read this one at a friends office. The art work alone is worth the price of the book. The author/artist presents her subject as it should be presented, innocent, nice and, well...just pretty. I was particularly impressed with the author's presentation of various wild flowers..granted, they are an artist's impression, but are actually quite accurate. This is just a nice, sweet book, well illustrated and well written. Good for young and old alike and a great message. Recommend this one highly.



3. This whimsical book is so sweet, and so glorious. If you like the enchanting world of faeires, or you enjoy her beautiful work with watercolors, this is a must have for you, and everyone on your gift list!!

3 comments about The Murals of John Pugh: Beyond Trompe l'Oeil.

1. John Pugh should be named a national treasure. His works are not only supremely well executed but also intriguing. So many muralists fail in their ability to render perspective both visually and mentally. You can truly "step into" Pugh's works and when you do, you enter into a new world.



2. This is simply a fantastic book of the art of muralist I've grown to admire over the years. After following his work on the web and around California and other states, I was very excited to find a book devoted to his work alone. And I was not disappointed. The quality of the text and images is superb as well.And as an artist I frequent the book to get those creative juices flowing.
   
   I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Trompe l'oeil and murals.



3. Author Kevin Bruce writes that he first met John Pugh in a Los Gatos pub in 1984. The two became fast friends, and now Bruce has expanded his Stanford University master's thesis on seven of Pugh's murals into a breathtaking study of 35 of Pugh's finest works. "The Murals of John Pugh: Beyond trompe l'oeil" ($35 in hardcover from Ten Speed Press) features stunning full-color spreads of Pugh's art along with telling close-ups of areas the eye might well miss.
   
   The term "trompe l'oeil" means "trick of the eye," and it's applied to two-dimensional art that fools the eye into seeing a three-dimensional space. Though such techniques were practiced in ancient Greece, as Bruce notes in his historical overview, Pugh's real precursor was the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, who in 1931 "produced a trompe l'oeil mural ... at the California School of Fine Arts" that saluted "the 'skyscraping' construction in the United States."
   
   Pugh himself got his start at Chico State University majoring in art. In his senior year he received a commission "to create a mural on a wall of Taylor Hall, which housed, most appropriately, the Chico State Art Department." As Bruce writes, "Begun in the fall of 1980 and completed in the spring of 1981, this mural would receive international recognition and launch Pugh's career in a spectacular fashion." The mural was called "Academe" (acrylic on concrete, 24 feet by 36 feet).
   
   Bruce writes that "at Taylor Hall, Pugh's first step was to establish a site-specific conceptual scheme: 'I kept looking at the wall thinking of how to best reveal in a mural the meaning of the art building both architecturally and conceptually.' He decided that the best symbol to accomplish this dual statement would be to 'go all the way back to the original Doric-style Greek column. ... My intention was ... to tap into the concept of the Greek academe as the essence of our western educational system'."
   
   Rather than simply paint a realistic-looking series of columns, Pugh was influenced by a dream to "break open" the wall on Taylor and, as Bruce puts it, "fill this fictive space with relevant narrative creations -- intended to engage the viewer on deeper levels."
   
   It is this narrative element in Pugh's work that sets it apart from mere trickery. Since his Chico State experience Pugh has painted many public art pieces, murals for hospitals, parking garages and libraries that attract the mind as well as the eye. Some are controversial, like his 2005 piece, "Drain," in Bishop, which evoked strong emotions about the "water wars" in the late 1900s. Other pieces, such as the mural in a San Jose café, "Art Imitating Life, Imitating Art, Imitating Life," are stunningly complex in their narratives.
   
   "The Murals of John Pugh" includes chapters on his studio, techniques and future projects, a fitting 3D tribute to a visionary artist -- which is no illusion at all.
   
   Copyright 2006 Chico Enterprise-Record. Used by permission.

No comments about Wildlife Painting Techniques of Modern Masters (Practical Art Books).

1 comments about Watercolor and Collage Workshop: Make Better Paintings Through Mastery of Collage Techniques.

1. This book delves into the fascinating technique of adding collage elements to watercolor paintings. Basically, this is adding bits of paper of various shapes, textures & colors to the surface to enhance the painting over them.

   Experimentation to develop a personal style is stressed here. Basic principles of texture, layering, contrast and color are explored first. Then you see how these elements are incorporated into finished paintings.

   The author is an accomplished master of this technique. Many examples of his work are shown in progress & completed. He emphasizes throughout how artists of any level in any medium can apply these concepts to their work.

   Whether or not you decide to emulate Brommer's work, this book is a great springboard of ideas and ways of looking at the painting process. It is filled with solid and helpful ideas.

1 comments about Mondrian.

1. Mondrian's work is, in my opinion, best appreciated in context. He didn't simply arrive at perpendicular lines as form overnight, and this book demonstrates how Mondrian evolved as an artist over time. The text is highly readable, never too lofty, and quite fascinating at times. Those who are not entirely familiar with Mondrian's career or who want insight into his vision as an artist would do best to consult this text and its many color plates.