5 comments about Master Disaster: Five Ways to Rescue Desperate Watercolors.

1. This book looked like a good one to add to my growing collection of watercolor books. I got the book browsed through it and thought, well it is alright. Later I was reviewing some paintings for a show, found one that was "just so-so" and thought I would try some of the suggestions from Susan's book, thinking it couldn't hurt. So I scrubbed and cropped away at it. Now, instead of a painting I was ready to discard, I have two purely eye catching watercolors.
   Can't wait to frame and show them.
   This one correction has paid for the book twice over. Strongly suggest it as an addition to a painters book collection.
   Mary Schiros



2. I found the information in this book to be very helpful in figuring out ways to rescue a watercolor painting.



3. Sue Webb Tregay's book, "Master Disaster", is one of the best art instruction books to come along in a very long time! As a professional artist for a number of years now, I was simply blown away by this book. I have never seen, in any other art book, such a widely diverse selection of artwork by ONE artist before! There is something for everyone here. Her ability to paint in many styles with widely divergent subject matter makes this book so unique. Couple that with her lively writing style, and "just do it" attitude, you'll want to race off to your studio to create your own masterpieces!
   Simply put, a "must have!"



4. Susan Webb Tregay presents logical, methodical, and imaginative approaches to "fixing" disastrous watercolor paintings that would benefit painters utilizing all water-media from the amateur to the more experienced. Her book, "Master Disaster" is loaded with great illustrations and explanations that are easy to understand. I particularly like her flexible approach to fixing a painting, and I'm now using many of her suggestions. Additionally, unlike other painting instructors, Tregay's approach enables students to retain their individual style while incorporating her ideas for mastery. Many other instruction books are practically "paint by number" in approach, where you use the author's compositions, color pallette, technique, etc. That approach isn't particularly effective because it produces painting clones of the author. Tregay's approach eliminates that possibility. I think this is a GREAT watermedia instruction book and highly recommend it to others.



5. This book is so easy to follow. It makes so much sense and to think it's the only one if it's kind that I've found. I love it and have used it already to "Master a Disaster".
   Thanks Susan
   Elaine Bailey

5 comments about The Painters Workshop - Creative Composition & Design (The Painter's Workshop).

1. Book: Creative composition&design
   I am very please whith this book, thankyou.



2. Have enjoyed using this as a reference after observing her in a demo.



3. the book teaches a lot, and it's great to read how to finish started works. however, you need a background in abstract work to understand her lessons. I have no such background, and her descriptions of the works in progress confused me. as well, her projects require a lot of specialized art supplies - inks and pigments and stuff that I don't have lying around. the projects also require a lot of space - easels w/ full sheets of watercolor paper, storage for scraps, etc. if you want to spend the $$, go ahead. I'm in a dorm and don't have the background, space, or $$ to do the projects.



4. if you are interested in composition and design, this is a must for your art library. clear, consice, immensely readable, pat dews acts as your personal guide! while her focus may seem in the "abstract vein", there is something for everyone here, no matter what your interest is. warmly written, i found myself reading every word. now that's something for a visual book! her explanations, photos and critiques were helpful and made me want to run to the studio to start my own wonderful discoveries!



5. This is one of the best art instruction books that is now available.It is an excellent follow-up to Creative Discoveries in Watermedia published in 1998.Creative Composition & Design is a workshop in book format. Pat Dews warm positive attitude comes across on each page.The book is very well designed with excellent color photographs of art that will inspire you to create.The tips that are listed on various pages are very helpful.The section showing how different artists work on design and composition is an excellent way to gain additional ideas for your own work.The critiques shown of student work places you right into the workshop experience.You will see how paintings are resolved.You will learn a lot from this book and return to it often.I highly recommend this book-it was worth waiting for.If you are unable to attend a workshop with Pat Dews this is the next best thing.If you have been fortunate enough to take a workshop with Pat Dews this book will act as an excellent follow-up.

5 comments about The Secret Life of Salvador Dali.

1. First of all, let me state that I still really admire Dali's undeniably talented and very imaginative work as an artist. At the time of writing this review, I can still honestly say that Salvador Dali is my favorite visual artist qua artist. However, I never realized how truly horrible of a person he is until I have read this book. In this book, you will find Dali gleefully describing, without any hint of remorse, how he would kick his baby sister in the head amongst other passages where Dali is obviously trying to make the reader uncomfortable, such as his extensive description of getting a piece of dried mucus lodged under his fingernail.
   
   Reading this book really has solidified my perception of Salvador Dali as the kind of individual who takes great pleasure in deliberately confusing, fooling or repulsing an audience. Reading this book will not provide you with insight on the motivation behind Dali's works nor will it offer an honest portrayal of his life. Instead, it will just be an extensive lesson in how Dali would entertain an audience through narration. Sometimes his anecdotes can be quite amusing, which suggests that this book is appropriate for truly devoted fans of the great surrealist. However, I personally found it to be too unpleasant to recommend.



2. Genius isn't pretty, if we are to deduce that this revelation of the secret life of Salvador Dali is representative of the inner reality of genius in general. For certain, genuine creation isn't pretty, as anyone who's ever witnessed childbirth might attest: it's accomplished by blood, obscenity, mucous, hysterics, farts, and pain. Out of such undifferentiated chaos does one mold the miracle of his creation. So in *The Secret Life of Salvador Dali* we get the "confession" of a man whose life from earliest childhood is replete with incidents, fantasies, attitudes, and behaviors that can only be considered pathological.
   
   But then how much of this memoir is "real" and how much artistic hyperbole is a question open to debate. For Dali consciously mythologizes his life and makes no secret of the fact that much of his "secret life" may not have actually taken place except in his imagination. "The difference," he writes, "between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant." And shortly afterwards he writes of his life that the "all-powerful sway of reverie and myth began to mingle in such a continuous and imperious way with the life of every moment that later it has often become impossible for me to know where reality begins and the imaginary ends." This is Dali's way of winking at the reader--and yet it's an ambiguous wink at best.
   
   For what must always be remembered is that for Dali, the imagination is every bit as "real" in its impact, just as material and plastic, as any historical or anecdotal fact of existence--if anything, the hyper-intensity of Dali's imagination gives his reveries even greater reality. And so Dali, by his own estimation the only true surrealist, presents the story of the first half of his life in its entirety: that's to say, the dreams, visions, and fantasies are given equal weight as the people, facts, and circumstances of conventional autobiography. For the former interact with the latter to produce the uninterrupted "surreality" of the individual life. A man, for instance, who dreams that his best friend has murdered him in his sleep and taken his wife to bed cannot possibly--whether conscious of the fact or not--have lunch with that same friend the next afternoon without his perceptions being altered, right down to his autonomic biological responses, in a very concrete way.
   
   Perhaps the best way to read *The Secret Life of Salvador Dali* is as a kind of absurdist novel about the life and ideas of an eccentric, legendary painter named Salvador Dali. For, indeed, this book very often reads like fiction, studded as it is with bizarre episodes worthy of Kafka or Poe. And yet there is also a good deal of Dali's very down-to-earth philosophy of art in this book: his championing of technique, craft, and discipline, and of the renaissance spirit of the great masters who he admires. These attitudes might surprise many who think of Dali solely as the revolutionary and iconoclastic wild man of surrealism.
   
   Although he's since become synonymous with surrealism, Dali actually considered himself a traditionalist and what made him a real "revolutionary" and ultimately more surreal than the surrealists was, in his view, the fact that he aligned himself with the most conservative aspects of his artistic craft and his Spanish-European-Catholic roots. In fact, it may come as something of a shock to some to find Dali railing against the dissolution of form, of abstraction, of undisciplined experimentation, of the laziness of modern art. From the opening pages when he bombastically declares with mock seriousness his disgust for the formless mush of spinach and his admiration of the rigorous solidity of shellfish, Dali separates himself from the leveling movements in contemporary art, politics, and society, most of which he consigns to the oblivion of the mulch from which the hierarchic tree of a society of true individuals, of the royalty of spirit, art, and culture will inevitably be reborn. Tradition may be chopped down, trampled, burned to ash...but the roots go deeper than revolution. Tradition never dies. Therefore, Dali sides with tradition.
   
   Written when he was barely 38 years old and thus comprising less than half of what would be his allotted life, *The Secret Life* has the feel of a complete autobiography composed from the sober vantage point of the old age Dali cherished and aspired to even as a young man. The text itself is beautifully written/translated--a prose masterpiece of surrealistic metaphor and absurdist hyperbole. An excellent, thought-provoking, and fascinating book from any number of perspectives, *The Secret Life of Salvador Dali* is every bit as unsettling, paradoxical, elusive, contrary, and, ultimately, beautiful, as the paintings for which Dali is so well-known, so misunderstood, and so famous.



3. I don't write many 5 star reviews, but I really really liked this book. It is truly a peek into a brilliant mind. As an artist, it is impossible for me to read this book and not be inspired. As usual, Dali has his fun with the audience, but that only adds to the greatness of this work.



4. So original and bizarre, the first half of the book should be made into a movie.



5. the book had a little of everything. Salvador Dali can be an interesting writer, and some sections of the book demonstrate this. The early chapters of the book covering his childhood are difficult to trudge through between irrational events and memories and ones that seem plausible. It is not a very good autobiography for recording ones milestones, but I suppose it recorded things that appealed and became ingrained in Dali to become motifs in his art, such as crutches for instance. As the book progressed Dali's philosophy became a little more clear and the book a little more interesting, especially as he and his wife Gala visited America and the world was prepping for World War II. All in all, I would rather have read a straight forward Dali biography than his convoluted auto-biography. You have to be a very tolerant reader to put up episodes that are difficult to visualizse or understand and to keep asking yourself, "Is this true or is Dali dreaming it up?"

3 comments about Marlene Dumas (Contemporary Artists).

1. This book is one of my favourites. In Marlene Dumas, I found an artist that I totally relate to. I find her philosophy on her art practice refreshing and have enjoyed reading her own opinions. I am currently studying art at University, and she definitely is an artist that has gone against the mainstream of traditional drawing and painting techniques.
   
   The layout of the book is easy to read, with many coloured pictures of her work.



2. This is what I look for in an art book, many large good quality reproductions of the work with a minimum of pretentious text. Let me look at the images first and decide what I think about them, then I can go read what the artist or some critic/historian thinks, not the other way around, as far too many books do.

   I like the fact that Dumas does what she feels at the time she does it, so there is a lot of variety in this book, it is not the same piece over and over again. She is not like a lot of artist, simply becoming clichés of themselves at the 1st signs of success, she continues to experiment and try different things, which she is criticized for, however, I think that criticism is short sited. There is something fresh, loose and free about her work that I admire. Granted I don't like her work as much as when I first viewed it a few years ago (reflecting my own development as an artist) but it is still one of my favorite books and I would recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary art.

   My only critic comes from my own bias, in that I find some of her content overly simplified clichés of women's issues and feminist theory. .........And I'm annoyed by the fact that If I, as a male artist, created some of the images she's created, I'd be lynched by NOW(or some other WWB-Whiny Women's Brigade as I've coined them) as being a misogynist pig.




3. I had seen a self-portrait done by Marlene Dumas in an art book and it blew me away. I did not know who she was or her main specialty. I knew I had to see more of her body of work... I quickly found this Phaedon publication, crossed my fingers and ordered it. When it finally arrived...I poured over it. It is now a few months later and I am still pouring over it. I particularly like the interviews and personal input Helene has had into the publication – this is her book and her philosophies – she puts herself out there for you to see her and to "get inside her head". The layout is very contemporary which adds to the presentation of her imagery. The reproductions of her work are plentiful and I am impressed with the range of her work through her different "periods". The text is concise and confronting in its subject matter, ranging from her life in apartheid Africa to the freedom of Amsterdam. This book is a must for art students and art lovers alike. It holds the key to an modern artist and, as an art student, has inspired me. I am looking forward to seeing more publications about her current work. I definitely give this book 5 stars – plus 5 stars for a major contemporary artist.

5 comments about Frida Kahlo: The Paintings.

1. Great biography that explains everything you'd ever want to know about the adverse yet bittersweet life of the amazing and vibrant soul that is Frida Kahlo. Includes all, if not most of her paintings and explains each one down to the core. Also includes wonderful photos of Frida and the people in her life, throughout her entire life. I totally suggest this one =o)



2. If you are curious to know more about Frida Kahlo's life, inspiration, and paintings, this is the right book to look at. The paintings and photographs create a very complete biography of this great woman and artist. She was ahead of her time. This book is easy and interesting to see and to read.



3. I know nothing about Mexico or about paintings. And I am least interested to read biographies. Still I found myself intriguied by Frida Kahlo who is a Mexican painter and picked this biography on her life. Her life is very extraordinary as I found out when I watched this movie on her starring Salma Hayek. And I loved this book because it told the story of her through her paintings.
   Its her paintings which make you wanna ask questions, for her paintings are not about pretty flowers or landscape or fishes in the oceans. Many of her paintings are in fact shocking in the way that they are too direct and poignant, and splattered with a lot of blood but still they are not asking for any sympathy or anything at all. Frida was a very talented woman who could make striking poetry on canvas. She painted everything with an element of her in it.... her emotions, her pain, her longing and her feelings. She is all about strength, strong will, determination,and pride. She did not try to do right or wrong thing but live her life her own way, on her rules, a woman who made herself memorable and a legend through her paintings. She inspires because of her gritty life.
   This book is very engrossing read on Frida's life as seen through her paintings.



4. This is easily, and without fluff, the best Frida Kahlo bio in print. Herrera not only has a great gift with wordds, but she truly gets within Kahlo's turbulent times, affairs and issues to paint a very descriptive world of this brilliant, tortured woman.



5. My children gave this book to me for Christmas as a companion to Frida's biography. It is beautiful and comprehensive. A must-have for any fan of her work.

5 comments about Exploring the Elements of Design (Design Exploration Series).

1. This is a nice book with good coverage of design topics. We are using it in cahoots with a class at eclasses.org. I give it a 4 not 5 stars because it lacks the descriptiveness to really teach a new designer how to appreciate what we are looking at, just sort of talks to you in a language that designers understand.



2. I am using this book for a design class I'm taking in an effort to improve my seemingly hopeless eye for anything creative. This could be a great book. It includes a lot of interesting information and projects to reinforce the concepts introduced in each chapter.
   
   Unfortunately it is also rife with typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors, which distract me as I'm reading (e.g., inconsistent capitalization of list items, incorrect hyphenation, multiple verb tenses in a single phrase, and just plain misspellings or incorrect words). There are also multiple layout inconsistencies and mistakes (missing line feeds before new paragraphs and extra spaces in sentences). Finally, at least once there is what appears to be an editorial comment that was never removed from a paragraph. See p. 97, 1st paragraph (2nd edition) (Also note what is probably a missing space between the two sentences.):
   
   "Nothing seems as boring and can alienate a reader more quickly than a page of statistics.That is where charts can help (seems to add emphasis to leave as two sentences)."
   
   If you are the type of person who is driven crazy by grammar errors and the like, you might want to look elsewhere. That said, I am one of those people, but since I'm stuck with the book for my class, I'm pushing through it, and when I can make myself look past all the mistakes, I find I learn a lot.



3. This is an excellent book for those who want to understand what makes up a good design. You get to learn the language of designers and what elements work well together. This information was originally presented in 1949 and has been updated to include digital design in the second edition.



4. This book has been a favorite of mine for several reasons. The basic principles and elements of design are very clearly defined and well illustrated. The book is concise though and does not give a lot of useless "fluff". The chapters include projects to do which help to cement in the information covered. As a beginning designer, I don't regret this purchase.



5. If you want to become a graphic or web designer, then you've got to know more than just the software. You also have to be familiar with the fundamental principles of design. This book is an excellent way to accomplish that. Well written and copiously illustrated, it guides the beginning designer through classic artistic basics such as hierarchy, balance, and unity of composition, then moves on to color theory, typography and other vital subjects. It is easy to understand but is by no means "dumbed down." This book was the text for an online course I took in design basics and I found it enormously helpful. You will too.

3 comments about Paint Like Monet (Masterclass).

1. This book offers a nice review of Monet's painting methods, though it suffers along with other art books with chapters explaining what is an easel, what is a paintbrush, etc. I suppose if one had never seen any art materials before it would be just the thing, but for most people this is just unnecessary filler. The demonstrations might be great in real life, but the end result, as portrayed in the book anyway, give the impression (no pun intended) of a poorly painted reproduction. If the finished works were of higher quality it might inspire more people to try their hand at a Monet copy; right now it seems to say "Paint this picture this way and you will end up with a picture apparently done by a five-year old". Despite all this, though, here are interesting insights into tone and color as well as technique, so that it makes nice reading for a rainy afternnoon, but I'm not sure I would buy it again.
   B.O.



2. I think background color of The Regatta at Argenteuil was made of cobalt blue and white instead of ultramarine and white as the book suggested.
   
   Anyway, the overall content is okay.



3. A fantastic book for gaining insight into Monet's painting methods. As an art historian, I've spent years learning the academic facts about the Impressionists, but never picked up a brush until a few years ago. If you're like me, you don't really expect to paint exactly like Monet, but this book just walks you through a number of the artist's better-known works and guides you to create a painting exploring the key techniques. If you do all the exercises in the book, you will certainly gain an enhanced appreciation of painting with color and light. I wish my art history professors had offered us an afternoon with brush and canvas instead of just slides and books. This book would be invaluable for teachers, and it would also make a great gift for anyone interested in learning more about the process of making art.

4 comments about Chuck Close: Work.

1. Excellent reproductions and very informative text. A good resource book for artists and students. Worth the cost to have this one in your collection.



2. This really does not need to be that long. I am a huge fan of Chuck Close and have been so for years now. My personal library reflects this, with four other books and catalogs spanning his career. These books get brought out on a semi-consistent basis, as they all have something important to say about this mans art.
   
   "Chuck Close: WORK" is a definitive piece that fills in any small holes about the story of this artist that might be obscured in some out of print catalog, as well as talking heavily about his process. If you are in the market for a book that gives the full Chuck Close biography while supplementing itself with beautiful illustrations and plenty of dialog about his process, do not hesitate to purchase this book.



3. Christopher Finch has done a wonderful job of revealing both Chuck Close the man and the artist. This one of the best art retrospectives I have ever actually 'read' and enjoyed.
   
   I too had a chance to hear both artist and author speak this week. While Chuck did say this is the definitive book on his work one can hope that he still has many productive years left to continue to awe and amaze his many admirers.



4. This book is large! And it has excellent reproductions and bio of the life of this magical man. Chuck Close has made a career,while battling disabilities that would have stopped lesser men.Christopher Finch noted art writer,assists Close in making this book autobiographical and personal,like the unpretentious Mr. Close.
   The author and the artist together guide you through the evolution of Chuck Close noted modern portrait artist. You follow from air brush, to finger painting,collage disc painting, to the new color geometric masterpieces.
   Chuck personally supervised color choices in the lay-out and it is truly impressive. 95 percent of his major work is here. Self portraits,friends , his wife etc. are all vividly executed. Seeing Chuck in action shows the scale of the major works!The works are huge,and the pictures show the studio environment he works in.
   I was fortunate to attend his lecture,with both men ,and it Chuck says this is the definitive book!

1 comments about Cai Guo-Qiang: I Want to Believe.

1. The book doesn't do the exhibit justice but the still shots of the video art are worth owning the book as the videos aren't available online.

No comments about Poussin and Nature: Arcadian Visions (Metropolitan Museum of Art).