1 comments about Norman Rockwell's World of Scouting.

1. The book gives a brief history of Norman Rockwell's connection with Scouting and is one of the few, if not only, complete book of all of his Boy Scout works. "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt does an excellent job of telling the story and how Norman Rockwell told the Scouting Story. A must for all Scouter's libraries.

2 comments about Paint Along with Jerry Yarnell Volume Seven - Painting Perspective (Paint Along with Jerry Yarnell).

1. His artwork is good. It is helpful in learning techniques to eventually graduate in doing your own work by just looking a scene or picture. All of his books are great, predictable, but great.



2. A very straght forward and very simple to understand book on perspective. Sure there are more complex and detailed books on this subject on the market, many of which are on my book shelf, but this one is great for beginners and intermediate painters. His video on perspective makes a nice companion to this book.

5 comments about Paint A 'Licious: The Pain-Free Way to Achieving Your Naked Ambitions.

1. This is Joanne Gair's first book and shows the fun you can have with the body painted image using it to illustrate well known sayings, to hide your painted goddess, enhance her (or him) or display them amongst garden produce. These are some of the ideas that are included in this amusing book. It does not feature the well known people that are in her other books and so can show more humour in the art form, almost like an English naughty postcard. This is Joanne having fun and you will laugh along with it, not as sexy as her later books but with a lot of novel ideas not found in her later books. I wholly recommend it as it also shows her flair for the marriage of art and humour with an abundant use of colour giving the pictures a punch.



2. This delightful collection presents dozens of painted works, all painted on the models' skin and clothing. Although the collection as a whole has a hit-or-miss quality about it, there are plenty of charming and witty hits.
   
   For example, the back cover shows the back of a kilted bag-piper, with his kilt akilter in a gust of wind. Underneath his tartan, we see the same plaid painted across his thighs and rear - so that's what's under the kilt! A piece titled "Feel Free" shows a prison cell with the prisoner camo-painted to blend in with the wall. "Young at Heart" is just one in a recurring theme. Not only has a bathing suit been painted onto an unsuited figure, but the edges of her fleshy form have been made up to match the background leaving a slimmer, sleeker figure drawn across only part of the model's actual width. My favorite, though might be "Santa Trap." A small boy waits up on Christmas Eve to see Santa come down the chimney. His skin is painted over in patterns of gift wrap and christmas tree greenery, making his stakeout very nearly invisible. Not all of these pieces work as well as the best, but the collection as a whole is very enjoyable.
   
   It's cute and clever, but not all of the pieces worked for me. Nudity-shy readers might or might not be put off. Many of models are topless or bottomless, but it takes a very close look to see that they're painted rather than clothed. I honestly can't say whether this counts as nudity or not, but it does contribute a sly edge to a number of photos. No matter, it's all good fun.
   
   -- wiredweird



3. OK, the nudity part was what made this book intriguing, but it isn't lewd. GREAT paint jobs. Each photograph or series of photos tells a very short story. They are accompanied by quotations which enhance or explain the photographs. Give this book as a gift to someone who appreciates photography, art, humor and the human experience. The entire volume takes about 15 or 20 minutes to thoroughly enjoy, but you may want to repeat the process a couple of times. Some of the camouflage paint jobs are simply amazing!



4. I have long admired Jo Ann Gair for her amazing artistic ability applied to human form. I was so pleased to enjoy the funny and heartwarming work of art by this extremely talented woman. The care, production value and attention to detail in each image is astounding. A true gem of artistry and humor to enchant your friends and family.



5. This book is for everyone! Joanne shows her enormous talent and sense of humor. What a pleasure to look at and share with others. This will be around a long time.

No comments about Capturing Nature in Watercolor.

5 comments about Watercolor Painting from Photographs.

1. This book is wonderful! Just what I needed to learn more about painting from photos. It is filled with tips, techniques and easy-to-follow demos. I highly recommend it!!



2. This book is just great. Thanks for sending it in such good condition.
   
   Phyllis Wilmott



3. If you want to relive Ron Ranson's workshop--which I just concluded in Bend, Oregon--read this book. I plan to reread. Artist Ranson writes justs as he talks to his students. And the demonstration paintings take him less than an hour. So good, I am now going to reread, and I just finished his workshop three days ago. Dick Elam



4. Ranson's concrete advice on how to use photos for subject material is very sensible. It may be true that the best way to paint landscape is "au plein air" but if you live in Canada there are eight months each year when painting outside would not only be a positive health hazard - but the water would freeze on the brush!! Hence I'm glad of a book which acknowledges real life. I produced a pretty nice watercolor in about ten minutes using one of his photos. Well worth reading.



5. This is the second of Ron Ranson's book I've bought--I have the Skies book--and I really like both of them. This book is very encouraging and user friendly. Ranson put a lot of effort into the "how-to" aspect of this book and includes many practical tips and examples, always helpful. Some art books are vague about how to achieve the desired look, but this book includes many concrete suggestions that were very instructive. My only problem is not finding a hake brush I can use--they either shed or rust or both. I hope Mr. Ranson's next book will deal with painting water scenes (seashores, rivers, etc.).

5 comments about Painting Flowers with Impact in Watercolor.

1. This book has wonderful pictures that shows you how to paint with a light touch. It is so hard for me not to be heavy handed with color. Yet this infuses color lightly.... I was encouraged to go for it without intimidation. For the beginner it states things in such a way that are easily understood that some painters( and books) think are intuitive - and simply are not for those of us coming from another media or are just learning at all. Good tips, worth trying...Lovely illustrations.



2. This book is full of GORGEOUS paintings. The no background style showcases the botanicals beautifully. This is one of my all-time favorite watercolor books.



3. I rate this book: 5 stars
   
   This is a great book, terrific colors, technique, and over all extremely inspirational. Leaves the wannabe artist panting for more....However, the only thing that I think Julie Collins should have added was the actual designs for her gorgeous to have been projects for the novice artist. Other than THAT, it is truly a work of art, a masterpiece.
   
   It was a pleasure leaving my feedback for this wonderful book.



4. I found Painting Flowers with Impact to be a stunning presentation of beautiful paintings shown against pristine white pages. This made for a very attractive book but is quite unhelpful if you are struggling with the problem of which background to choose.
   
   It was truly inspirational with enough demonstrations to be helpful I liked her advice on materials colours and composition also good advice on painting white flowers, which I needed. I also found the section on painting leaves very helpful.
   
   I have looked for other books by this author, hoping she is intending a further book covering more about how to paint backgrounds of flowers with impact. She included much information about painting on vellum, which seems to warrant a book all of its own: the space this discussion takes up may have been better used explaining how to paint flowers with impact against a background.
   
   It must have taken a long time to paint all the subjects for this lovely book and I look forward to happily trying out her methods. and look forward to any other painting book she produces. I heartily recommend this book.



5. I actually purchased this book for a friend. Our art teacher purchased it also. Very informative and well illustrated and written. I plan to purchase the book for myself soon.

5 comments about Rackham's Color Illustrations for Wagner's "Ring".

1. I just started collecting fairy tale art like Dulac and Rackham. This book is a magnificent addition to my collection. The illustrations jump right out of the pages to tell the story. Both beauty and darkness are exquisite in this assembly of work. I now want to read the book. I also love lighter fairy tale art such as that of Nielson, but this darker approach to visually telling the tale is effective and wonderful.



2. Arthur Rackham is among the greatest illustrators of what has come to be called 'fantasy' literature. His renderings of scenes from Dickens, Barrie, Grahame, and even Shakespeare are often flawless and many have ultimately proved definitive.
   
   Here he tackles the daunting scope of Richard Wagner's vast operatic cycle DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN, and he is so successful that his images have become the model for most of its traditional stage design ever since they were exhibited in 1912 at the Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris. Yet Rackham achieves more than merely the giving of face and form to Wagner's characters and scenes. These illustrations capture a sense of space and height, light and darkness, beauty and tragedy, promise and doom which may be described as music to the eyes. C.S. Lewis first beheld them as a boy and later wrote, 'Pure "Northerness" engulfed me: a vision of huge, clear spaces hanging above the Atlantic in the endless twilight of Northern summer, remoteness, severity ...'
   
   For me, the most evocative image in this collection is from DIE WALKURE, Act II. In the foreground we see Brunnhilde anguishing over her orders from the just-departed Wotan. Helmet cast upon the ground, her face and posture effectively communicate distress and isolation; yet most remarkable is how Rackham echoes the Valkyrie's state of mind in the landscape beyond her. The falling hillside; the stark, scraggly saplings scattered into the distance; the shadowy silhouette of other mountains marking the far horizon; the low-hanging clouds; and the muted shades of grey, gold, and brown all convey an overwhelming sense of loneliness as cold and haunted as it is beautiful.



3. I'm swiftly becoming enamored of the old-time illustrators - Joseph Clement Coll, Charles Dana Gibson, N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, and Alphonse Mucha to name but a few. I'm now happy to add Arthur Rackham to that list. As both a fan of illustration (fantasy, comic book, and otherwise), as well as a bit of a mythology buff, I was thrilled to see that Dover (whose name, in my opinion, always spells quality) had produced a volume of Rackham's illustrations of Wagner's Ring Cycle, which is itself based on a famed tale of Norse mythology. The illustrations, as the book notes, were first published in 1910 and 1911, respectively. They are uniformly beautiful, bringing the story to vibrant life. Rackham was clearly a skilled draftsman, and his work has that turn-of-the-century look that is very compelling (Gibson and Wyeth had a similar style).
   
   This book is printed on high-quality glossy paper and features wonderful illustrations of dwarves, heroes, valkyrie, gods, and others that Rackham captures with skill and aplomb. Each drawing is accompanied by a discription, helping to tie the illustrations together and explain the plot to those who might not be familiar with it.While the volume is quite slim (only 64 pages, plus 4 of introductor/background material) it is very much worthwhile. I hope you will pick it up and enjoy it.



4. This book is a delight for anybody who loves Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" ("The Nibelung's Ring") operatic tetralogy. While I could have wished for just a little more detail in the captions - which could therefore have allowed the entire story of this cycle to be told (a few things consequently get missed - not really major, but wouldn't have hurt nevertheless!) - they are otherwise excellent; and the paintings themselves are not only outstanding art-pieces in themselves - they also are excellent visualisations of what Wagner was trying to do! They're also a wonderful corrective to the all-too-many "modernisations" that for some people like myself are hurting the visual aspect of a given opera's appreciation. [Often those "modernisations" are in bad taste, travesties of the composers' and librettists' intentions, and are either boring, shocking for mere shock value, or just plain BAD!!!!!]
   
   Most warmly recommended for both confirmed Rackham lovers as well as Wagner lovers AND for those who're just getting started with the process of getting to know Wagner's stupendous cycle!!! GET IT!!!!



5. All 64 Rackham's images for Wagner's Ring collected in one book is a grate thing to have if a Rackham lover. Reproduction of the images is not the best possible though. All in all, it is still a good book to have. Rackham is magical.

5 comments about 14 Formulas for Painting Fabulous Landscapes.

1. "14 Formulas for Painting Fabulous Landscapes" is an easy to understand guide to creating beautiful landscape paintings. This book, along with Richard F. Carlson's "Guide to Landscape Painting", are the best reference books for any landscape painter, beginner to professional. In fact what Barbara Nuss has done in her excellent book is to take Carlson's concepts and turn them into a practical, step-by-step guide for producing consistently creative landscape paintings.
   
   Clear, concise ideas for creating interesting compositions, mixing paints, and various types of painting techniques are provided. Detailed descriptions (with step-by-step photos) for creating a finished work by first doing an on-site pencil sketch, and then producing a field painting, are clearly shown. Using this preparatory research the artist is then guided in the process making a final painting.



2. Barbara Nuss organizes this book around 14 well established compositional constructs. However, the book is really all about "compositional interventions". In her step by step approach towards better composition, she often uses four or five sketches as well as two or three reasonably finished paintings before reaching her final destination of a finished painting.
   
   Regardless whether or not one likes or uses her painting style or agrees with her final compositions, her thought process is invaluable for artists of all skills.
   
   A MUST READ for all artists.



3. As a recent beginner to painting I have found it difficult to find a suitable subject to paint and have suffered from the "White Paper" syndrome on many occasions. After studying "14 Formulas for Painting Fabulous Landscapes" I am enjoying my new found ability to construct a painting by composition, rather than trying to find a scene that suits. I have been making "photographs", not paintings, but that has now stopped, thanks to Barbara Nuss and her wonderful book of design and composition.
   As I am fairly new to oils, having painted in watercolour for a while, I
   was especially attracted to this book by the stunning paintings I saw when I first opened it.
   I just hope that one day I can produce work like hers, as every painting in this book is absolutely beautiful.
   Highly recommend it for beginners and experts alike.



4. I was somewhat surprised with this book as I don't usually care for the X number of steps for a perfect life type books. However, Barbara Nuss has some very good advice for the beginner and intermediate landscape painter, and even for the advanced painter. She actually does list 14 "formulas" or, as I'd classify, compositions, of landscape painting. Each formula is addressed with samples and step-by-step demonstrations. Some of these are addressed in other books (see my review on Edgar Alwin Payne). However, I think the greatest value in Ms. Nuss' advice is how she gives the viewer confidence to change things. If you don't like the actual landscape in front of you, change it! Ha! How simple is that? But most artists are so consumed with the idea of depicting things exactly as they see them, that they forget that they are the creator and can change the landscape to make a stronger composition and a stronger painting. Most outdoor painters will find value in this book. I will add that Ms. Nuss' oil paintings are much stronger than her watercolor paintngs. If you are looking for W/C, then perhaps another book would suit you better.



5. "Formulas" is such an unfortunate word to put on anything creative. Disregard it. This book is a treasure!

   NOT ONLY does it break composition down into 14 loose suggestions that will help you organize your paintings and bring your viewers into them, BUT it also tells you what to pack for plein air sketching, how to photograph the setting once you're there, and how to simplify, simplify, simplify and rearrange what it is you see so it will translate onto the canvas.

   Landscape painting isn't about painting what you see. That's why God created cameras. A painting instructor once told me: "You don't paint a tree; you paint a symbol of a tree." Therein lies all the difference in the world, and Barbara goes into the same thing from a slightly different direction here. LIGHTBULB MOMENTS ABOUND!

   In addition, there's Barbara's paintings on display. Though she paints more realistically than I do, I would still turn the pages and say, "Oh!" because it's gorgeous stuff.

   And she shows you how you can do gorgeous stuff, too. Thank you, Barbara Nuss!!!!

No comments about The Artist's Source Book: 80 Acrylic Painting References: Includes Transfer Paper and Templates (Artist's Source Book).

2 comments about Paint Along with Jerry Yarnell Volume Two - Painting Inspirations (Paint Along With Jerry Yarnell, 2).

1. How disappointing. According to Jerry, painting is a "god given" gift. He would not be able to paint without god's help. If god is all-powerful then if I were gifted from god to paint I wouldn't need this book. If I'm not gifted by god to paint then why bother? And again I wouldn't need this book.
   
   I think I'll buy a book by a mere mortal so I can learn how to paint. : )



2. This book is by far the best art book I've owned as far as the very detailed step by step instructions it gives for each painting right down to the colours to mix and the brushes to use. Highly recommended.