3 comments about Anselm Kiefer: Heaven And Earth.

1. Anselm's artwork is amazing. This book tells all about the artist, his artwork, and the storys behind them. It has amazing photos and details.



2. This is a fantastic book. Anselm Keifer is one of my favorite artists of today. His work is so powerful that it is difficult to imagine it translated into a printed form, but this book does a great job of an almost impossible task. Keifer's work must be seen in person to be fully felt, but short of that, this book still manages to impress.



3. The German artist Kiefer's first project titled "The Heavens" ("Die Himmel") sounded the note for the major theme of his work through the following decades. This first was a book-like project with several leaves completed in 1969. Coming after this were sculpture-like, installation-like works (before this form was widely practiced) using the earthy materials of lead, brick, metal, wood, cloth, and often cast-off materials, as used in "found" art, though with not nearly the effect. Born in 1945, Kiefer could never free himself from the oppressiveness of the German psychoses and atrocities of the Nazi years, especially being a Jew. "[Kiefer] does not assume the existence of a paradise, only the ancient need to imagine one." One sees in the artist's dense, bewitching works usually made of assorted materials this primitive longing for paradise impacted by the carnage and horrors of 20th century's crazed politics and warfare on a huge scale. The touches of brightness in many of Kiefer's works are sometimes overwhelmed by bricks and other materials the color of cinders, ashes, an unmistakable reference to the Holocaust and the "scorched earth" warfare waged by the German war machine. It is the natural materials of the art works such as leaves, ground, and cotton spun into clothing, not religious visions of Heaven, which offer any hope of transformative redemption and immortality there may be. As noted in the "Introduction," Kiefer regarded the earth as a "kind of alchemical fragment" still being forged. "In Kiefer's cosmology, the universe is an immense athanor, or alchemical oven, where spirit and matter are in continued process of creation and destruction." The book succeeds estimably as a retrospective on the span of Kiefer's career. Varying perspectives from distant to close-up on the art works enable one to grasp the complex historical, cultural, and mythical thoughts reflected in the composite, multilayered works and also the undying struggle between hope and memory embodied in them.

2 comments about Decorative Painting Techniques: Whisper Painting (Decorative Painting Techniques).

1. This book was so helpful. It shows how easy it can be to make my white walls have depth. Simple step-by-step guidelines that you can fallow or throw in some from other projects in the book. It was a great find.



2. I was disappointed in this book. The cover was better than what was inside. I expected some new techniques, but it was the same stuff as other books. I donated it to the local library.

No comments about Painting Animal Friends.

1 comments about First Steps Drawing and Painting Animals (First Step Series).

1. I purchased this book for my 13yr old granddaughter who loves animals and drawing and was getting frustrated because she couldn't draw the animals accurately. Her drawing is progressing really well with the helpful steps in this book. She is really pleased with it. I would recommend this book to any beginner wildlife artist.

1 comments about Tom Thomson: Trees.

1. Having read numerous travelogues of Japan in the past few years, I began to despair that each one felt that it had a need to carve out a specific niche in the realm of travel writing on Japan. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it does lead to increasingly stranger ideas for armchair travel.

   As a result, I found it a nice touch that "Japan Diaries" is essentially a transcribed daily journal of two month-and-a-half to two-month trips taken to Japan across a ten-year stretch (1987 and 1997). Without being condescending or offering "the key" to understanding Japan (as far too many Japan travelogues try to do), this book offers a very readable, very day-to-day view of visiting and living in Japan - especially when you come to the country with minimal first-hand experience with Japan itself.

   However, if it doesn't offer an arrogant viewpoint it's also not the most insightful book on Japan, either. Not that the author doesn't work hard to give a good background on the various things she talks about - and to be very clear to lay out her own biases in everything she talks about - but she also occasionally fails to understand what's going on around her, such as the background reasons for why foreigners find it so hard to rent an apartment in Japan.

   On the whole, though, this is definitely light, interesting reading, perfect for a couple of days on the beach or a long airplane flight. Sherman does as good a job as anyone else I've read of making you feel like you were taking the trip with her. And when it comes down to it, isn't that what travel writing's really all about anyway?

2 comments about Crimes Of Style: Urban Graffiti and the Politics of Criminality.

1. Ferrell offers a major contribution to sociology, criminology, and to youth studies. This brief book not only offers insight and analysis of graffiti artists, it explores the ways in which power is negotiated and challenged. In the graffiti artists' use of space and in their definitions of beauty and neighborhood, they uncover the way power and meanings are manufactured. Ferrell's work is a powerful, clear, and engaging book; one which shows stunning new ways of seeing and studying 'crime.'



2. Crimes of Style is a journey into the burgeoning underground Denver Graffiti scene. Jeff Ferrel's participant observations of local taggers and writers gives a fascinating insight into a sometimes beautiful and sometimes offensive subculture of vandalism....or is it? The question of vandalism or art remains an underlying question throughout Ferrel's book. And the reader must decide for himself where the line between art and crime stands. Jeff Ferrel's work is divine inspiration to the fledgling sociologists like myself.

No comments about Painting with Acrylics (Step-by-Step Leisure Arts).

3 comments about Learning to Look at Paintings.

1. This book is written in a plain, clear style---it is a good reference book to look up anything about art. The chapters are short.



2. I enjoyed this book on the principles and elements of design. I think she selected exemplary pictures to illustrate her point. I especially enjoyed the chapter on "subject matter". The only drawback of this book was having to flip back and forth from the reading to the painting. Also, she talked about some of the paintings color combinations that were printed in black and white. In the paperback version some of the details of the paintings were lost because they were reproduced on a small scale. Overall, though I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about design elements.



3. Composition, space, form, tone, color, subject-matter, and other pictorial elements of the plastic arts are considered and their interrelationships explained in this handy introduction, with over ninety well-chosen illustrations, some in color.
   The author, an experienced art teacher, has also included illuminating essays on drawing and its purposes, looking at prints, a handy glossary of art terms, and references for further reading.
   Highly recommended as eminently suitable for an Introduction to Art course, and for anyone else interested in learning to see more in paintings.

   (The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

1 comments about Painting Wildlife With John Seerey-Lester.

1. The layout of this book is clear and concise making it easy to follow. However, I did feel that the author relied on some known artistic knowledge of such things as tonal values, lighting, etc. As a beginner, I found there were many words and ideas that I did not understand which I floundered on. Nevertheless, in fairness the demonstrations were excellent and some of the best that I have seen. I liked the way the colours to each painting were shown which I found a great help. If you already have some wildlife painting experience then this book is ideal for furthering technique.

5 comments about Paint Red Hot Landscapes That Sell: A Sure-Fire Way to Stop Boring and Start Selling Everything You Paint in Oils.

1. Just the cover of this book will tell you that you don't want to go here....The author likes graphic, garrish, monochromatic, in-you-face imagery, but without any "payoff" or even an anything-interesting focal point...the center of the composition on this cover, IS the center of interest (definitely a do not do this to your own compositions!)...and uh, are those vines or telephone wires, or is there a tornado here etc as a subject? I just personally can't stand these "how-to" style of artist/stylist/authors and shlocky color artists of this genre. Get away from fine art and into scenic background painting-big and splashy for the local high school theatre arts group and stay away from your easel with this stuff!! A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY UNLESS YOU'RE A HALF-BLIND COPYIST...Sorry Svob, it just stinks and that's my opinion...



2. mike svob's book is a great resource, he shares his style and ideas, so we too, can "Paint Red Hot Landscapes That Sell".



3. I am new to the art of painting. I've bought lots of books on the subject but none of them has given me the urge to paint like this one does. I saw a larger picture of this book on a differant website and the front cover spoke to me. I'm glad i listened.
   The way he simplifies the painting process is exactly what i've been looking for. If your a painter set in your ways this may not be for you but it's awesome for a beginer.
   If you don't like the art don't buy the book. If you like the cover you really should check out the art inside it's fantastic.



4. This was an example of not being able to look into the book prior to purchase. I would not have bought the book. Reds and Oranges just make me nervous and most of his paintings are filled with them. The paintings are dramatic, however most of them disturb me with their colors and I cannot paint that way. I suppose some of the advice is good that's why there are three stars. He is definitely a very talented artist but not for me.



5. I find this book disjointed and poorly written. The headlines are not followed through in the body of the pages. Perhaps someone who hasn't painted much would find it helpful, but Svob is mostly talking about compositional tricks. There are much better books on composition out there. If you like bright, garish colors, then this is the book for you. If you are weak in composition, then you might learn something too. Otherwise, I'd pass this book by. It does not deliver on the title, Paint Red Hot Landscapes that Sell.