No comments about Portraits of the Presidents Revised Edition: The National Portrait Gallery.

No comments about The Nanticoke: Portrait of a Chesapeake River.

No comments about Matt Leines: You Are Forgiven.

3 comments about Believe.

1. Incredibly sweet 'baby faces' form this series of Nancy Noel paintings, reminding reviewer mcHAIKU of cupids. The book is also a collection of poetry by our talented new neighbor, John Wm. Sisson. Each poem complements a portrait, lauding miracles, and individual values such as Harmony, Hope, Faith. Humor wasn't specified but all the rhymes bring messages of encouragement.
   
   The slender book has large appeal, especially to many who have enjoyed Noel's well-known paintings of Amish children. She enjoys a great deal of success with the sales of prints via a web site where she also offers free e-cards. Noel and Sisson are country-dwellers in different parts of the state, and perhaps will team up again with poems & paintings extolling the autumn beauty for which INDIANA is famous; and/or a memorial print to benefit the Amish families in Pennsylvania whose sanctuary was so recently desecrated.



2. We have some of Noel paintings, they are so beautiful.
   The Angel paintings are so very special, they will make
   you cry just looking at their faces. Mr. Sissons'
   poems fit everyone of the pictures. Enjoyed the book very
   much looking to buy 2 more books.



3. This book was so beautifully illustrated that it brought tears to my eyes.

   In each poem I found a different one of my sisters, friends or daughters. I have already bought 4 copies and am looking for 3 more so I can give my sisters and daugthers each a copy in honor of "their" angel.

5 comments about Very New Orleans: A Celebration of History, Culture, and Cajun Country Charm.

1. I first saw this book in the library, but once I checked it out, brought it home, and got a good look at it, I knew I had to buy it for myself. The artwork makes it look like a "lightweight", but don't be decieved! Among the cute drawings and clever musings is some good, hard info about New Orleans and the surrounding area. I have already bought a second one as a gift, and I recommend it highly.



2. I have this author's California book and I recognized her style right away when I spotted this book while strolling through the French Quarter! I loved the Ca. version and knew from flipping through the N.O. version that it would be a great souvenir! Regular travel guides can be a bit too much but this was perfect with just the right amount of information to go along with her wonderful drawings. I'm buying one to give to my Katrina mission trip leader as a thank you for her organization and leadership while we were in New Orleans.



3. I bought this book for my husband who used to live there. He really likes it. He is a former lucky dog vendor so it was nice to see that they had been adressed in the book as well as other areas that he is familiar with. I would definately recommend this book to people who are familiar with N.O.



4. This was a great book for the seasoned visitor or someone going for the first time. The info was right on and the artwork thruout the book was beautiful. BUY THIS as some of the proceeds go to Katrina relief. A lovely tribute to one of the greatest cities in the world.



5. I've been to New Orleans 9 times and we're again going in 3 weeks. This book was very informative, even to someone who's been there many times. I loaned it to a friend of mine who's a New Orleans native and she loved it. She lives here in California and it brought back many memories for her. This is the perfect book for the person going to New Orleans for the first time or an old timer. I'd highly recommend it.

5 comments about Egon Schiele: Landscapes.

1. A fine introduction to the extraordinary art of an Austrian painter doomed to a short but productive life.
   
   Professor Rudolf Leopold is a master of explaining the style of Egon Schiele, while revealing to the reader the physical origin of the specific impulse behind many of Schiele's land- and cityscapes.
   
   I urge those with any interest in modern art to buy this book, and, if at all possible, visit the originals in the great museums of Vienna, especially the Leopold.



2. This book is centered on a hitherto less well-known aspect of Egon Schiele's art, i.e. his landscapes. The catalogue for a 2004 exhibition held at the Leopold Museum in Vienna (the largest Schiele collection in the world), it was written by Rudolph Leopold himself (the founder of the museum and largest Schiele collector in the world). It lists most of the landscapes painted by Schiele chronologically, whether painting or drawing, and describes each of them very thoroughly. Some works which at the time (2004) were believed lost (a magnificent Krumau landscape and a beautiful sunflower painting) have since then reappeared on the art market and made headlines as they sold for record prices.
   
   The illustrations are of a good quality, even though not as perfect as the ones that grace another available book on the same subject, "Egon Schiele's landscapes, between ruin and renewal" which is a more literary and less purely factual work.



3. The credit for the first notion of publishing a book strictly devoted to Schiele's landscapes (and cityscapes) deservedly goes to Kimberly A. Smith/Yale University Press. One might say that it was a bit sneaky of Rudolf Leopold & the Leopold Museum, after having been interviewed and providing reproductions for said effort to in the same year mount this comprehensive exhibition and publish this sumptuous catalogue.
   
   I'm not saying that, because the reproductions are better and the text doesn't suffer from the pompousnous of Deconstructionism. This is a gorgeous book. As well, some of the paintings are paired with period photos/postcards of the actual scenes Schiele painted. Leopold vastly expounded upon this conceit by researching and seeking out with camera a large number of photographs of Schiele's motifs. It's hugely interesting to see how little certain corners of Austria have changed in nearly a hundred years.
   
   Of particularly poignant, and instructive, note, is the volume's side-by-side reproduction of Schiele's "Autumn Trees I" of 1911, held in a private collection. The original, as widely reproduced--indeed in the Smith/Yale book, albeit poorly--has been ruined by a "restorer" who decided that the pink striations in the sky had been added by a later hand.
   
   If you're interested in Schiele's landscapes, buy this book. Buy this book and turn to pages 84-5 and weep with me.



4. A chronological presentation of Egon Shielle's landscape paintings, commencing with works produced when he was only sixteen. Each painting is reproduced in colour on one page with brief informative explanatory notes on the facing page, and invariably with additional photographs usually of the actual scene depicted in the painting, and occasionally Shielle's own preliminary sketches. The book concludes with a brief illustrated biography, and bibliography. A most informative and beautifully illustrated publication with text kept to a minimum and free from pompous waffle.



5. Of all the Schiele monographs I own, this is my favourite one. I love Schiele's drawings and watercolors, I can get lost in them, mesmerized by a single casual line that defines a thigh or an arm; I love his portraits, his oils... but most of all I love his townscapes and landscapes, so this book as an absolute treasure.
   Great quality reproductions, wonderful b/w photographs of places/towns/buildings he painted (taken from the same perspective as they appear in his paintings).
   Highly recommended.

5 comments about Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History.

1. The best memento you can get from your visit to this astonishing museum. My only regret is that, fifty years from now, these dioramas will be the only remains of a beautiful natural world that once was.



2. I enjoy the fact that this book not only has great photos, but also gives excellent insights into the entire process behind how the displays were made. Great.



3. This book is full of fascinating stories and discussions of the dioramas and their impact on animal drawing and animal conservation movement.
   The pictures are excellent. Good for children just becoming interested in the field as well as adults. Highly recommended. mj



4. My father introduced me to the wonders of the American Museum of Natural History at the age of five.The Hall of African Mammals was the highlight of my first interest in the 1930`s.The dinosaur exhibit and ocean life can capture the imagination and fascination of any child.
   Windows on Nature is a must have in the library of any one with an interest in Natural History.



5. There is nowhere beneath a roof, anywhere on earth, that means more to me than the great diorama halls of The American Museum of Natural History. It is stunning (and, really, rather sad) that it has taken this long for a popular book to be written about these magnificent works of art and science, but at least it has been done well. (It is also gratifying to see the book getting such good--and well deserved--reviews here.)
   
   For many millions of people habitat dioramas have been their first taste of the beauty, calm, and nobility of wild creatures and wild places. More people are familiar with nature documentaries these days, and since I love good documentaries too I can't really complain about that. Nonetheless there are some things that habitat dioramas, when done well, can convey that the flickering image, even on an IMAX screen, just can't. No medium portrays the spacious calm of wild country, and the simple dignity of wild animals, better than dioramas. It's also important to remember the valuable record dioramas can provide: many of the dioramas in this book are of places no longer wild.
   
   Stephen Quinn's credentials for writing this book are probably as good as anyone alive. He started as an artist for the museum and has been an important force in helping keep the medium alive through the dark years of the 60s to 80s, when across the U.S. it was frequently neglected, if not despised, by curators though not, blessedly, by the general public. Things are at least somewhat better now, and Mr. Quinn is now project manager for exhibitions at the museum. He has done a fine job with this book. The text is engaging and informative and the photos are big and beautiful.
   
   I do have a few quibbles. He sometimes uses the word "captured" for animals collected (read killed) for the dioramas. I'm sympathetic with why he felt he had to do that, given what he's trying to do with the book and given the cultural forces with which he must contend. The moral issues behind hunting and museum collection are complex and beyond what a book like this could be expected to cover. Nonetheless, animals are never "captured" for taxidermy.
   
   I should hasten to add that animals do not need to be killed specifically for taxidermy. Many if not most animals mounted for museums in the last few decades died in zoos, were hit by automobile traffic, etc. That generally was not a realistic option at the time these dioramas were created.
   
   My other reservation is deeper, but harder to articulate, and I don't have a real solution to it. I also know that a lot of readers will be unsympathetic with it. I'm not completely comfortable with "behind the scenes" stuff in anything other than technical manuals, trade magazines, etc. The people who made these dioramas were of course just people but had high ideals (ideals that Mr. Quinn without question shares) and they wanted the dioramas to be about their _subjects_. His behind the scenes writing will engage people more with the medium and is interesting in itself, no argument. But how much does it really help to have people thinking "I wonder if that rock in Diorama Z is the one that employees used to go to make out behind on their lunch hour."?
   
   I don't know the answer, and so I can't really fault the author. I also recognize that many of the reviewers here loved that aspect of the book. My hope, and I'm sure it's the author's as well, is that it will all stay in perspective. Let's hope that's right. It would be very sad to see dioramas become the subject of the kind of psychologizing and trivializing that permeates the world of "fine" art.
   
   That said, this is a beautiful and well-written book about a noble, if often neglected, realm of art and natural history. If you've read through a long review like this one about a book on this subject, I promise you won't regret owning it.

5 comments about Paint By Number Kit: Everything You Need to Re-Create 8 Vintage Masterpieces.

1. This is a very cute kit with a good variety of subjects from the Eiffel tower to a rocket in space. The guide included was great at showing what colors are needed for each portrait and what colors you will need to mix. I do think that the quality of the brush could be better and the portraits were a bit smaller than I would have liked. I had to squint quite a lot for some pictures to make sure the right paint got in the right spot but I really had fun with this kit and would buy it again.



2. I rather enjoyed this kit. I liked that I had so many projects and they didn't take too long to do. My only concern is that some of the colors did not mix up like they were supposed to so the finished product was shaded differently.



3. Much to my chagrin, I had to return this item as I could not possibly see the numbers to know what colors to use. I was devasted.



4. I didn't have a problem with the printing I thought that was fine but the paintings are only about 4"x6" while I was expecting about 12"x20".



5. This would be a great paint by number kit if one could see the outlines of the picture on each board. It is so light you can hardly see the picture and the numbers for painting the masterpieces are completely unreadable. If anyone else has run across this please let Amazon know so they can fix this problem as I love paint by number kits.
   I have run across this same problem with the Workman paint by number calendars also and quit buying them.
   I will have to send this kit back as it is unusable.

5 comments about Plein Air Painting in Oil (Artist's Library Series).

1. LOVE THIS CHEAP BOOK!! Step by step instructions. List of tools to use. Easy to understand language on painting. Gets to the meat of the subject without all the frills. Highly recommend this book as a staple in your painting education if you havent had a class like this.



2. This book is simple and straight forward. I really simplifies the whole process of this technique. The author even specifically tells which palette colors to use! Love this book!



3. I am a beginning plein air painter. As a working adult, I don't have time to take a university extension course ot enroll in local art classes. For the time being, I have to make do with instruction from books, and inspiration from published collections, galleries, art shows and museums. I purchased and read a large number of books - in and out of print - on drawing and painting. There is a great deal of fine material out there, but at the very beginning stage I find Frank Serrano's little book to be the most helpful.
   
   Winston Churchill came to recreational painting as an adult, and in his characteristic fashion described, in another very inspiring little book ("Painting as a Pastime," Odhams, London (1965), the essential challenge (facing the blank canvas, brush in hand), and the essential quality the beginner must find within him- or herself: the audacity to put the first daub of paint on the canvas:
   
   "Having bought the colours, an easel, and a canvas, the next step was to begin. But what a step to take! The palette gleamed with beads of colour; fair and white rose the canvas; the empty brush hung poised, heavy with destiny, irresolute in the air. My hand seemed arrested by a silent veto."
   
   There are numerous "how to get started" books in print that deal with oil painting. What makes Serrano's so valuable is it's simple, direct approach to putting the paint on your brush and then on the canvas. It is a quality of this book, and not a failing, that it does not attempt to cover too much material. Serrano sticks to the basics, and describes them with admirable simplicity and directness. His approach is not so simple as to be condescending, though. As a beginning painter, I feel some of the lack of control that I felt when learning to drive. At first there seem to be so many things to think about: mixing the colors to replicate what you see, considering the overall compositional plan of the canvas, keeping in mind the shadows and the highlights. Just one example of a beginner's challenge is to shade the green of the leaves on a tree so that the sunlit leaves are bright and the leaves in shadow are dark, while maintaining the proper character of the green between lit and shadowed areas. The essential value of Serrano's book is that it focuses on the essentials. Any more detail, and the beginner could go into "information overload."
   
   Getting the level of detail is very important in a book aimed at beginners in any discipline. If the student is so burdened with "do's and don'ts" and details that they become confused, or worse, discouraged, the teacher has failed. Yet, there seems to be a tendency for teachers/writers to want to "strut their stuff," to show how well they have mastered the details of the craft. They forget that beginning is not about details, its about fundamentals, and getting those fundamentals right. That's the foundation the beginner needs to progress. Frank Serrano has not forgotten what it's like to be a beginner. Reading his book, I got the impression that Serrano, accomplished as he has become, has not lost the excitement, the sheer joy, of learning. The basics seem as important to him as the more sophisticated elements of the craft. Indeed, looking at his works in the book, on various websites on the Internet, and in person (I own several of his original paintings), a simplicity and clarity of vision becomes apparent. His paintings seem to be as much about the essentials, the basics, of envisioning and experiencing nature as his book is about the essentials of the craft. I've had the pleasure of speaking with Frank on occasion, and I can honestly say the joy and excitement I sense in his paintings are communicated by him on a personal level.
   
   Another aspect of Serrano's book that I believe is important, is that it is informed by his respect for the traditions of the plein air genre. As noted in his book, Frank was influenced by Sam Hyde Harris, who was at the center of plein air activity in Southern California in the mid 20th century. Harris was part of the art community that settled and painted at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains and along the California coast. Harris explored the effects of atmosphere - early morning haze, for example - in his paintings of Pasadena's Arroyo Seco and Los Angeles's Chavez Ravine (long before Dodger Stadium). These and other sites in California and the Western US are the locales in which Frank finds his own subjects.
   
   If you are interested in starting plein air painting, and want a good guide to the essentials without extraneous detail, I don't think you can do better than to buy Frank Serrano's "Plein Air Painting in Oil." You will be learning from a fine artist in the plein air tradition, who has not lost the enthusiasm for learning and the sense of sheer fun that is - or should be - so important to anyone starting out to learn a new craft.



4. This is by far the best plein air painting book for the money that I've ever purchased! It's packed full of easy-to-understand lessons on every page. Excellent for either the beginner or intermediate-level oil painters out there. Advanced painters probably already know most of this stuff, so should probably turn to Richard Schmid's "Alla Prima." I think the only other plein air painting book that's as good as this one is Kevin MacPherson's.
   
   The author presents step-by-step lessons throughout the book, and de-mystifies a lot of concepts and techniques. I think many people will learn more from this book than from a typical plein air workshop as the writing and photos are well-done, and because Frank has put a lot of effort into clear and concise writing.
   
   My only complaint is that I wish it was much longer!



5. This little gem is one of the FINEST how-to books about oil painting that you will ever read, or come across in your life-time. I strongly suggest that you get this book before it goes out of print-and enjoy it forever.
   
   For a mere price of a fish-and-chips order, you just cannot go wrong. But, the problem with that fish-and-chips order is that once eaten, everything is gone forever. You will have this book for as long as you live to enjoy, and possibly to share, if you were to buy a copy. You simply cannot go wrong there. Can you?
   
   The hidden beauty of this amazing little book is that it is only 64 fantastic pages that you could read again, and again without getting bored. Every single line of the text is full of secrets.
   
   Serrano uses only eight oil paints, and three brushes in order to create those depths, and textures in each painting in the book.
   
   When he describes each painting in the book, it is like you are painting that painting by yourself alone, and Serrano is behind you holding your hand with your brush. For example, how to do trees simply, and rapidly without fiddling endlessly with details; or, skies; or the time of the day; or foggy/misty scenes; or whatever you fancy...
   
   I wish I had this incredible book back during my university days...
   
   There are 12 painting lessons from easy to complex topics; and a wonderful gallery at the end.
   
   Here are the lessons: painting step by step; creating dynamic compositions; simplifying a subject; capturing light & shadow; expressing mood; building texture; finding a good focus; conveying time of day; depicting distance; deciding what to paint; using negative space, and exercising artistic licence.
   
   Here are the chapters: introduction; a word from the author; tools & materials; colour in Plein air painting; painting techniques; painting skies & clouds; painting trees/water/rocks/figures; gallery, and conclusion.
   
   This book has taken my breath away. It may take yours, too!
   
   You have nothing to lose, but an order of those stupid fatting fish-and-chips. Get this book, now; before it is too late-if you know what I mean.
   
   Frank Serrano is a disguised masterpiece painter.
   
   (The above review has been written with the British spelling.)

1 comments about Watercolour Trees & Woodlands (Ready to Paint).

1. I have ordered many watercolor books from Amazon, but this one is near the top! The instructions are precise, helpful and thorough. The color is good and the many photos make it simple to follow. I will look for more publications from this author!