3 comments about Splash 8: Watercolor Discoveries (Splash).

1. So many almost photographic pictures of shiny objects,fruits, flowers and too few real "Discoveries" I look forward to each new "Splash",but this one seemed just more of the same.The pictures using fluid inks and a looser style are fun, but please thinks of us non-Americans when you use brand names of materials like "Yupo"plastic paper



2. La série des livres SPLASH (actuellement le 8e volume est paru) est une pure merveille. J'ai la chance de disposer de l'intégralité de ces ouvrages achetés sur le site Amazon.com
   Chaque livre présente plus de 100 oeuvres. Chacune de ces aquarelles est une découverte formidable: de la couleur, de la poésie, de l'art, du très grand art.
   Je vous recommande ces ouvrages très vivement. Vous ne serez pas décus. Félicitations très chaleureuses à tous ces artistes.



3. The story continues with this latest edition of 140 works. Since the first book in 1991 the Splash series has featured some glorious watercolor paintings. The reason I love these books is the enormous variation in style. In this book it can vary from the almost photographic painting of trees and a house by Steven Kozar (page eighty-nine) to the very loose but still very controlled work of Dan Burt and his flamboyant painting of a street scene in Guanajuato, Mexico (page eighteen).
   
   I have the eight books and they are such a treat to browse through but I think it worth mentioning that they are not how-to-do books. Each artist though, does contribute some thoughts on how they created their work and in a way this can be more valuable than a learn-to-paint book because with so many styles on display every artist has a different point to make about their creativity.
   
   The presentation follows the style set in the first book, each spread has two paintings, and frequently one is whole page with the artist's comments and another painting on the opposite page. The screen is 175dpi so the reproduction is good on a gloss paper, though I prefered the matt stock used in book four, it made the images sparkle a bit more.
   
   Amazon has over twelve hundred books listed under 'watercolor painting' so there is plenty of choice but I think the Splash series has a special place for presenting the best contemporary American watercolor work.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

5 comments about Caravaggio (Icon Editions).

1. This is by far the crappiest books on painting book ever. The pictures are black and white and look like a photocopy of a bad photocopy. Needless to say, I returned it the next day. Buyer Beware.



2. I would agree with the other reviewers that in many respects this is an excellent book. Mr. Hibbard analyzes Caravaggio's works in terms that are comprehensive, and yet not puffed up with academic hot air. He describes the historical context of the paintings, and often compares individual works of Caravaggio with similar paintings of other artists. He even points out artistic errors, such as the lack of perspective in the hands of a man in the painting Supper At Emmaus. Hibbard talks about the striking use of color in Caravaggio's compositions, and it is here that one can be somewhat disappointed with the book for, the wonderful paintings of Caravaggio are, with very few exceptions, reproduced in a dismal black and white. If you are familiar with Caravaggio, and are most interested in the author's commentary, than this deficiency would probably not bother you. I have John Spike's "Caravaggio" that is full of color plates, but it is more expensive. Although I have not seen it, I understand C. Puglisi's book by the same name also has many color plates. For the relative newcomer to this great painter, I would encourage consideration of one of these other two books as a companion volume to this excellent book.



3. In one of my last classes for my degree, this book was the required text. I am awed by Caravaggio's work anyway, but combine that with Howard Hibbert's insightful text and you have an amazing book. I would definitely recommend this text for anyone interested in this fantastic artist.



4. Caravaggio is one of the greatest artists of the 17th century. In a very brief period of time he managed to exert a influence over all of European painting.

   Caravaggio was the original bad boy of the art world. He was willing to use well known prostitutes as models when portraying the Virgin Mary or to show saints with dirty feet. This offended authorities in Baroque Rome and Caravaggio was often a trial to his patrons. During the majority of his active career he was on the lam fleeing from a murder charge. He burst on the Roman art scene during the height of its influence and spent his last days in Malta in the company of the knights.

   Although Caravaggio's influence was immense immediately after his death where his masterful use of light and shadow was immitated by countless lesser artists. For a number of years Caravaggio's reputation declined. Raphael's influence dominated academic art and Caravaggio's relatively harsh realism was in disfavor. It was only in the 1950's when a major evaluation occurred.

   This book by Howard Hibbard is probably the first of these modern reevaluations of Caravaggio and it is still one of the best. Professor Hibbard is one of the country's leading art historians and he brings considerable scholarship to his study of Caravaggio's work. Although there are plenty of other books on Caravaggio, I think that this book is still the best of lot in terms of understanding Caravaggio's art (his life was sufficiently messy and his sexuality ambiguous to spur the mills of contemporary scholarship for many years). Professor Hibbard's writing is sufficiently free from academic claptrap to make it an invaluable guide to both the specialist and the novice.




5. This is a beautiful book. As a divorced hardworking mother of 3, I spend all of my time reading this book to my children, Isaul (age 90) Gabriella (age 16) and Kraquel (age 3) I also read it to my co-workers where I work, a prositute. This is truley a work of art.

3 comments about Watercolor (Dover Books on Art Instruction).

1. Very helpful for me. I am an amateur painter, needed extra guidance even though I have been painting for a number of years. Good discussion on opaque and transparent colors, how to get to a goal, and so many examples.



2. I bought the book based on the cover I have no where near the watercolor skill as John Pike had. But this book is rather dated from the 70s and has paintings reproduced in black and white! I'm not sure how much you can learn from Black and White paintings that are suppose to be in color.



3. John Pike was a student of Charles Hawthorne from the "Cape Cod School." Pike spent time in the West Indies, and later did illustrations for magazines such as Colliers, Life, Fortune, and Readers Digest. His paintings, which remind me of a mix of Maxfield Parrish and Winslow Homer, take advantage of that gorgeous light of late afternoon or the weird mist of early morning, especially in New England and New York State. His art is found in many museums and permanent collections. His books sold many copies in the 1960's and inspired a lot of amateurs to try their hand at this expressive medium. This book is one of my favorites. Right from the start, the cover challenges the watercolorist to learn about light, economical use of brush strokes, and a surprisingly limited palette that excludes tricks and gimmicks. If you are serious about watercolor, this book is probably on your shelf or wants to be there. Frankly, I love this book for the cover alone, but the advice is timeless and worth learning.

2 comments about Sumi-E Just for You: Traditional One Brush Ink Painting.

1. This was the best of the five books I ordered; simple, insightful, and helpful. My interest is in using sumi-e techiques in brushing oxides on ceramic pieces. Some modification of techniques is required. I "paint" on curved surfaces rather than paper and , use iron, cobalt, and copper oxides instead of ink. But the simplicity and suggestion of sumi-e assists in transending literal interpretation in desigh. It is this spirit that makes this a superior text for my purposes.



2. I found this book very helpful. I have a number of books on sumi-e, and I found that this book shows how to do the sumi-e brush strokes more specifically and clearly than other books I've read. It describes the materials you need, and shows how to use the sumi ink and brush to paint a variety of different subjects. I recommend it!

3 comments about Giotto to Durer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery (National Gallery London Publications).

1. I'm a real art geek, and I've read a lot of books on this subject. This is one of the best. It provides a wonderful review of paintings and how they were made in Western Europe before the 16th century. This was a time of great transition in style, subject matter, and materials. This was when oil painting transitioned from an ancillary medium, believed useful for a few minor aspects of a painting, to the primary means of making visual art. This book lays it all out in ways that are accessible, yet thorough. If you are going to get one book about Renaissance painting, get this one.



2. This is a beautiful, sumptuous book, crammed with detail and excellent colour reproductions. Other readers mightn't go for all the technical information but I can't get enough of it. I also prefer the discussions of individual works which occupy a large part of this volume -- its companion, 'Dürer to Veronese', takes a more synoptic view, which tends to obscure the fact that these are surveys of a collection.
   
   That's my only quibble, and it isn't really with the book, which is about as accomplished at it could be -- so good, in fact, that it's tempting to read it as a textbook of the whole period. Much of the material is of general relevance, of course; but don't forget that many of the major works from this period aren't in galleries at all: they're still in the places they were meant to be.



3. We are used to looking at "old Master" painting as if it were just a matter of style, but the truth is that Renaissance art was in important respects the product of a revolution in the use of binding media (water and egg yolk for tempera; oils) for pigments, and in the prepared surfaces (wood panels, paper, canvas) to which these pigments were applied. This wonderfully illustrated book distills the knowledge gained by the restorers of the National Gallery in London, from decades of well-documented, cutting-edge restorations of the outstanding Italian and northern European Old Master paintings in their care. It is much, much more than a technical handbook. Historical essays cover the categories of Renaissance painting, 1300 to 1500, and their many uses, while the second half of the book is an informative catalogue (with gorgeous color reproductions) of individual paintings by many of the best-known Renaissance artists (Botticelli, Jan van Eyck, Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Durer, to name the most obvious).

3 comments about Watercolor Workshop (PRACTICAL ART).

1. This is a truly outstanding book to learn watercolor painting from. All of the step-by-step paintings are beautiful and inspiring, and very clearly explained with great step-by-step illustrations. I would recommend it for anyone who wants to learn watercolors at their own pace and have a choice of what he/she will be painting in a lesson. It's a beautiful book. Two of my favorite paintings to learn are an English garden scene with a fence and a scene from a canal in Venice. The colors are all outstanding. The cost of this book is cheaper than a single art lesson, but includes many lessons. I think both the beginner to the more advanced student can learn plenty from this book, and it does not intimidate you as some other instruction art books do. It makes it fun.
   
   A new DK book by the same author, Watercolor Workshop II is coming out April 30th, 2007. I plan to buy it as soon as it comes out based on how good Watercolor Workshop has been. Its a great book, inexpensive, and very inspiring without overwhelming the student.



2. I have been reading a lot of basic watercolors books and this book is by far the best one I have read. It has many, many step by step illustrations for each lesson. It is NOT a book of the author's artwork which will leave a beginner frustrated and lost. I am working on lesson one easily and I am enjoying learning. Better than taking a class with a lot of other students. This is a definate HOW-TO book for beginners as well as advanced. Just perfect...



3. If you dream about painting in your spare moments, perhaps overlooking a placid lake in the middle of a magical kingdom...then this book may cause to you wonder why you have not purchased that portable easel. With this book, paint and outdoor scenes you can begin to create magical worlds on canvas. If your art teacher sent you to the library during art class, the step-by-step instructions could still bring out the artist in you.
   
   Topics include: Paint, paper, brushes, brushstrokes, color wheels, color mixing, color blends, washes, painting effects, how to build a painting, composition, sketching, focal points, outdoor painting and specific scenes like cherries in a tree.
   
   Projects:
   Ballet Shoes
   Cherries
   Tuscan Landscape
   Geese in the Park
   Peony in a Jar
   Boats on a Canal
   Field Gate
   Street Scenes
   Chair by a Window
   Cliffs and a Beach
   Portrait
   
   As someone who was sent to the library, I must say this book has been helpful. I can only say I have an extreme longing to buy that easel and head for Whidbey Island. I know a beach there...with a long walking trail. Suddenly a weekend vacation is sounding like a painting escape. If you love to travel, this book could be an entryway to memories of your vacations.
   
   I am very excited about this particular book since recently my kitchen became filled with items decorated in Cherries and I've been imagining a border around the top filled with cherry art. The designs shown in this book would be very compatible with such an idea and all the instructions make painting seem a dream. Having the book first allows for exploration and adaptation. Once you have the book, you will know what else you need to begin a new hobby.
   
   Throughout you will find inspirational paintings, exercises, step-by-step projects and a desire to leave the house for long summer days of artistic expression. Once you learn the techniques, the possibilities are endless. If you have been looking for a book on watercolors, this is the best one I've found recently.
   
   ~The Rebecca Review

5 comments about Janet Fish: Paintings.

1. This book is beautiful, amazing and insightful! The art images fill the pages with color and I could look at them for hours. The imformation at the beginning of the book is insightful and helped me to realize what a major American artist Janet Fish is.



2. A beautiful book! Of all my artist books, I believe this is now my favorite.



3. I have been a fan for awhile and was a bit set back by the price.( But then Amazon helps immensely here!) I treated myself. What a treasure this book is! It also contains 4 foldouts that highlight and exemplify her juicy, painterly reflective style of work. Each page is more awesome than the next. A real winner!



4. A true treasure of a book; the author's text is informative, cogent, and connective; connecting Fish to other artists of her time and before her time. I had not been a true Fish fan before I read this book, because sometimes my (bad) eyes cannot take in all that she can squeeze into one painting. The information gleaned from reading the text and looking at the reproductions being talked about has widened my appreciation of her, and also awakened me more to the influences of the Abstract Expressionists and other non-objective painters of the Fifties by showing me how much their emphasis on design permeates her very realistic work. Once again, I see that design (composition) rules, whether the work is realistic or abstract or totally non-objective.
   
   If you want to take in art history painlessly, want to grow as a painter yourself, read and study and absorb this book.



5. Vincent Katz illustrates his discussion in the development of Fish's style and areas of exploration with colour plates of her work large enough to be seen and enjoyed. Janet Fish works in monumental size and the large page format of this book - while hardly close to the sizes of her canvases - helps the viewer visualize these pieces closer to context. I would have enjoyed more input from the artist in the form of discussion about her techinical approachs to such large surface area, or her colour response toward light. However, I was very satisfied with this particular book and would recommend it, especially to someone with a beginning interest in the work of Janet Fish.

5 comments about Frederic Church.

1. The reproductions in this book are dark compared to the originals I've seen, but the text is informative and does a good job of exploring Church as an artist and his influence on the artists who followed him.



2. This book is a must have if you love Fredric Church and want to find out more about his life and career. The paintings are breath taking. For admirers of the Hudson River School and American landscapes this is a must.



3. Terrific book. One of the best biographies of an artist that I have read and stunning reproductions of his work. Church seemed to be an anomaly of his time because his talent and painting skills were so "over the top" that he dwarfed other painters of his time. Even the highly esteemed English artists of the 1800's were amazed by his paintings and British art critic John Ruskin praised his work. Church's output and work ethic was amazing and Howat does a great job describing his life and painting techniques. I certainly recommend this book.
   
   Robert Reynolds



4. FREDERICK EDWIN CHURCH - COMPARISIONS OF THE TWO BOOKS
   
   Book #1: By Franklin Kelly - National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Press (1989)
   Book #2: By John K. Howat - Yale University Press (2005)
   
   (All numbers given, are for the numbered reproductions in Book #2.)
   
   Paintings in Book #2 (in Color), that are NOT in Book #1 -
   #1, 9, 10, 13, 15, 18, 24, 25, 27, 29, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53, 60, 66, 67, 68, 70, 73, 74, 75, 81, 82, 86, 94, 95, 96, 97, 114, 115, 120, 131, 132, 133, 135, 136, 140, 142, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 169, 182, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195
   
   Paintings in Color in Book #2, that are ONLY in Black & White in Book #1 -
   #16, 21, 117, 124, 126, 134, 177, 181, 185, 189
   
   (I didn't include any of the details, drawings, sketches, or photographs.)
   
   I made comparisons of every reproduction, where both books had the same paintings. Here is a simplified overview, of which book had the best reproduction:
   
   REPRODUCTIONS THAT WERE MUCH BETTER IN BOOK #1 -
   #22, 26, 46, 53, 65, 72, 92, 118, 137, 175
   
   REPRODUCTIONS THAT WERE MUCH BETTER IN BOOK #2 -
   #17, 28, 31, 33, 34, 38, 41, 47, 49, 50, 51, 69, 71, 83, 113, 116, 125, 128, 168, 178, 180
   
   The others were either EQUAL, or there was just a slight preference between the two.
   
   Overall, the printing and the paper stock, is better in Book #2.
   
   The main fault of the reproductions in Book #2 (that are better in Book #1), is they are too dark. And the main fault of the reproductions in Book #1, is that many of the reproductions are too yellow (or red, etc.).
   
   The TITLES were different (most likely wrong in Book #1) for these paintings -
   #49 (!), 53, 134, 179 (!), 185
   
   #160 is CROPPED in Book #2! (The entire bottom, and the right-hand side).
   
   There were many differences in the SIZE of the reproductions - too many to mention.
   (Overall, Book #1 had larger reproductions, but of course had fewer paintings.)
   
   Book #1: "FREDERICK EDWIN CHURCH" - 205 illustrations, 75 in color - 211 pages
   Book #2: "FREDERICK CHURCH" - 198 illustrations, 154 in color - 213 pages
   
   Geoffrey Chandler - February 15, 2007 - San Francisco, California
   
   P.S. The guy who wrote the earlier review was dead wrong. This is NOT "pricey", it's a bargain!



5. A strikingly pretty book. The text is informative, but not at all challenging to read. Unlike many art books, this really is a straightforward informative biography with lots of well-done, accurate reproductions. It's pricey, but you get what you pay for with the prints. One might want a bit more criical an appraisal of the artist and his choice of subject matter, but maybe you just want the art.

5 comments about Three Millenium.

1. I haven't found a Royo art book I didn't like, but this is one of the best ones. He depicts harsh future worlds: some with machines, some with fallen angels, others with a "Planet of the Apes" theme. One of my favorite types is the kind with a mostly abandoned world, complete with the skeletons of buildings and torn yet sexy clothing of the women who still inhabit that world.
   
   His women certainly are sexy, but much more than that. The women suffer, but endure these future worlds, and often come out the stronger for it, making the illustrations more touching and powerful.
   
   There are also a few cover arts for futuristic space novels by Julie E. Czerneda, which also have strong women as depicted in Royo art.



2. This book will lead you into the future, as Royo sees it. It's dark, ice-cold, scary. Barren landscape, ruined cities, machine making love to astonishingly beautiful women; monkeys control humans. Fallen angels turned to stone, yet capable to make love to each other. The colors are grey, brown, green, which make the light even more vivid. The details are painstakingly taken care of - just like everything Royo makes. You will find women in this book (too) which you wish you'd meet in real life - if you're a guy, like me :)



3. Once again Luis Royo has created a world of wonder for his fans. Anyone who is a serious collector of his work should own this book. His imagination has created a world of the future that only pure talent could capture on canvas, and make us believe that Three Millenium may look just as he presents it. Incredible!



4. Wow! When I heard about Royo, I decided to look around for some of his work. When I bought this book I was delighted to see that my favourite picture, "The Announcement" was in it. The subtle blue in the eyes of the child are beautifully hypnotic. I personally enjoy drawing and I have to say Royo inspires me deeply. His blend of the female flesh with cold automatons is beautiful. What might seem like weird to individuals who look at this book, aesthetically, Royo has won my admiration because he is bold and different and that's what makes a unique artist.



5. Being a long time fan of Luis Royo's art work, I expected some of the same poses, same features and same colors in III Millenium. To my wonderful suprise, he has taken a dip in the deep end of his talents and emerged with fantastic, horrific and touching artwork. He is, without a doubt, a master at his craft and transmits feelings to the viewer that are like a raw slap in face. For those of us who appreciate fine art, there is no comparison.

3 comments about Drawing: Trees with William F. Powell (HT259).

1. This book is very thin. It's large in size top to bottom and side and may not fit in your totebag or drawing kit. It has lots of good information for a short book, but the drawings are very sketchy. It you want to draw more realistically, then you need to find a different author.



2. excellent book on how to draw trees!shows examples and dissects the tree for you step by step



3. Drawing Trees is a short, over-sized Art course in itself. It starts simply with pencils, erasers and drawing techniques and builds from there. It does not give step-by-step instruction how to draw individual trees, but instead covers different trees as it imparts various drawing techniques. (For example, various pines, a red maple and a white oak are shown in the section on Tree Shapes).

   The "lessons" include: Shading; Surface & Textures; Light Values; Perspective; Pictorial Composition;Tree Shapes; Bough & Foliage Shapes; Trunks; Branches & Boughs; Root Patterns; Dead & Fallen Trees; Majestic Oak; and ends with two "scenes" - Sycamore Lane and Sierra Pines.

   I am not an artist, so while this may be rather basic for the intermediate-advanced artiest, it gave me a perfect blend of how to draw trees (shapes, branches, roots) with basic art concepts (shading, perspective). The size of the book is awkward and I would have paid more for either a laminated or hardbound eidtion to bring out in the field, but for the price, its a great value. Highly recommended!