5 comments about The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques: Fifth Edition, Revised and Updated (Artists' Handbook of Materials and Techniques).

1. I had this book in the 1980's. Some significant changes on grounds like masonite so it is best to revisit what you thought you knew. But still an excellent resource.



2. The book was useful, but it was a real hard slog to read it all; unlike other books on this subject.
   
   Probably the biggest problems I had with was that many of the materials mentioned... I had no idea what they were because they are called something different in the US, plus many other newer materials weren't mentioned. The book was quite dated, and it made me wish I'd sprung a few extra dollars to get the 5th edition.
   
   But still, this book (perhaps the 5th edition rather than the 4th) IS essential reading for any serious oil painter. (If you can understand all the very technical and long-winded information!)
   
   I wasn't taught MOST of the technical information on oil paints at all at art school! It is great to have a bit of information on how to make your paintings last for many years. (I hate the thought of putting all that work in only for them to warp or crumble or peel in time!)
   
   This book is not suitable however for beginners or amateurs who only want to know the basics about materials and so on. (This is a difficult read and very technical, in my opinion.)
   
   A great book that does that is Encyclopedia of Oil Painting Techniques by Jeremy Galton which is suitable for beginners and serious painters alike (and has a LOT of pictures in it as compared to this book which is all TEXT!).



3. Essential for teachers and anyone wanting to know those hard to answer technical questions. It is the Bible for painting materials and other archival mediums and techniques.
   The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques: Fifth Edition, Revised and Updated (Artists' Handbook of Materials and Techniques)



4. If you are searching for a book that will explain materials and tools for the artist this is the first book you should turn to. I have been referencing this book for a decade now and still have a lot to learn from Ralph Mayer, a man who spent his life investigating various techniques of painting.
   
   If you open this book up, you will come across just about any question you might have. For instance, I recently used Mayer for egg tempra painting. In his book he has a few pages regarding the subject, not many, but enough to fully explain the basics and get you started properly. He covers brushes, pigments, paints, from the obscure to the most basic.
   
   One section of the book that I am keenly interested in is his break down of a massive number of pigments where he goes into more detail on each than any other source I have come across.
   
   This is not exactly a how to paint or draw book. This book is intended for those who want to make a serious study of process practices in the correct manner for archival purposes. This is a must have book that should be in any painters studio.
   
   One last item of note: If you have used this book before and found it of interest, I highly suggest that the next time you are around New Haven CT that you visit the Yale 'Ralph Mayer' center. Yale itself has many museums and buildings worth visiting and the Mayer center is just one small highlight. Its staff was very kind when I visited. When I showed an interest in Mayer, they were eager to share some of the more interesting aspects of the collection.



5. While I don't work in oils, the coverage of oils seemed exceptionally deep. Material on pigments also was relevant to watercolor (something in which I dabble) and pastels (one of my major areas). I was disappointed not to find any real discussion of charcoal, graphite, or colored pencils. It would have been nice to get a slight discussion of materials not "professional", such as wax crayons.

2 comments about Philip Guston Works on Paper.

1. The book is based on a major Guston exhibition in Europe a few years ago. Each of four critical essays is followed by a series of about 20 to 40 full-page plates relating to the preceding essay's theme or perspective. This format allows for better insight into Guston's work than a typical chronological format for instance. All except the last essay have smaller illustrations also complementing knowledgeable text.
   
   Guston's work displays "expressive range and changeability" more so than most other modern artists, including Pollack and de Kooning to whom he is often compared. Nonetheless, these works on paper show the whimsy, humor, exploration of forms, and recurring underlying sense of menace which have made Guston's paintings distinctive. The whimsy, almost obsessive dissection of forms, their depth, etc., are threads which link--though do not unify--Guston's paper works (and paintings) from his early days in the latter 1940s and early '50s when he radically used "naked line as a vehicle for the most brittle compositions" through to his maturity with "the compilatory, the cumulative that conveys the sense of involved objects."
   
   Guston's unpredictable, imaginative works are rooted in his "restlessness, self-doubt, and a mania for hard work, [which set him] off in search of the unknown and undiscovered in hopes of being able to lend these qualities pictorial expression." No one can doubt that Guston achieved such pictorial expression. The instability--though not to the point of disintegration--of the personality was the matrix of the art work. More than almost any other modern artist, even Francis Bacon, Guston's complex, fertile psychology was the source of his work.
   
   The mainly critical essays bring in psychology and occasionally biography for a multidimensional understanding and fitting appreciation of the drawings and Guston as an artist. The collected 166 works on paper (76 color) covering Guston's career from the mid-1940s (earlier works were excluded) with the critical essays relate the significance of such works in the development of this artist's creativity.



2. This book illustrates a traveling exhibition (Germany, Denmark and the Morgan Library in NY) on a part of Guston's work that was already studied at the Moma, 18 years ago. From the early works to the last drawings of the late 1970's,including some of his beautiful oils on paper from the early 1970's, all the aspects of the artist as a draughtsman are tackled in an enlightening text, served by beautiful images. This is a high-quality publication, with many works still in private hands and never shown before . Strongly recommended.

4 comments about Vibrant Flowers in Watercolor.

1. Excellent book I could not put it down once I started to read it, it's so full of life, how too, step by step, techniques, all sorts of helpfull things. Highly reccommended.



2. EXCELLENT BOOK. VERY HELPFUL. USEFUL EXERCISES THAT ARE HELPING ME GAIN A HIGHER LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY IN THE ART OF WATERCOLORS. CLEAR AND CONCISE INSTRUCTUIONS COUPLED WITH ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES.



3. This gorgeous watercolor book is filled with equistive colored flowers. It has instructions as to the layering technique on how to achieve these glorious paintings. It is not your ususal run of the mill watercolor book. This is sophisticated stuff. Much of her painting involves using glass as part the picture, crystal and otherwise. You just cannot believe the results. Glorious flowers and complex backgrounds. I would not recommend this book for the beginner watercolorist. I would say you have to have some experiance in washes, values and color theory. But, for the more advanced, it is a wonderful resource.



4. Soon Y Warren is one of the best watercolorists of our times. I was privileged to take a workshop from this humble woman who manages to produce some of the most richly colored, impacting paintings of our day. While many books just give you enough actual information to be discouraged, Soon's book is generous with her techniques. If you are not even an artist, buy it to have many photos of her stunning watercolors with their intricate crystal, vivid florals, and lush fabrics. I learned that a garage sale dinner plate works as well as a porcelain palette, that her "magic" red is "RED" well applied, that inexpensive Silver Black Velvet brushes will match a kolinsky in the right hands, and that 5 colors will paint just about anything.

5 comments about Creating Textured Landscapes With Pen, Ink & Watercolor.

1. I haven't had time to really get into it but going through the book she gives you some interesting techniques. I have not done much in watercolor and ink.



2. As with ALL of Claudia's books, this one is no exception - it is EXCELLENT!! She wonderfully illustrates in such a way that you are motivated to pick up your brush, watercolors, pen and ink and start painting!!
   
   It is a wonderful book to have to inspire you to paind.



3. I normally like her books on pen and ink, but this one has more to do with watercolor than pen and ink. I was disappointed and returned the book. It's a good book for to look at and you might be more interested if you want to know more about how to use watercolors. I have enough of those books!



4. Yes, the title says for landscapes, ink, pen and watercolor, but really you could apply the techniques in this book to just about anything. It has a huge sampling of textures and how to achieve them. Since I am a beginner, I thought the techniques would be difficult to learn, but the directions are incredibly easy to understand and non of the techniques are time consuming (aside from masking). Put this book together with Gordon MacKenzie's The Watercolorists Essential Notebook, and you have a complete watercolor art class through at least intermediate to lower advanced skill level. The images and text are easy to understand and give great reference. I do find the "handwriting" font a bit difficult on the eyes after a while, but otherwise a very well rounded book with easy to follow quick techniques that will really knock your socks off. Way to go Claudia Nice!



5. Just received this book today. It is very colourful and well layed out.
   
   There are tonnes of tips and techniques on watercolour painting as well as specfic examples and step by steps on different effects and how to acheive more contrast etc with texturing.
   
   Well worth it.

5 comments about Oil Painting Secrets from a Master: 25th Anniversary Edition.

1. This book is brilliant. Few book are as helpful, but not until you're ready for this one! This book is not for beginners, but for artists comfortable enough with the oil medium and the basics of painting. If you are that artist, David helps you learn to THINK the way an artist needs to think. I have been reading and re-reading this book for 25 years now. (One note: I agree that some of the reproductions are blurry and unacceptable. Maybe the publisher did something about this for the 25th anniversary edition.)



2. ....or anyone who doesn't want to be Rembrandt. This author is perhaps a Master, but the title implies an Old Master. His technique of painting appears skillful, yes, but didn't appeal to me because they were all in the Rembrandt mode of painting.
   I'm sure the prose, though disjointed and sometimes contradictory, may be helpful to Intermediate/Advanced artists or Art Teachers, but way too much combing through of the book is required than should be necessary. The info is not organized in a useful way. Sorry....



3. This book isn't a "How to Paint" book. It assumes you already know how to do that. This book tells you how to create good paintings using light, space and color. It reminds you of all the things you learned in art school but have forgotten along the way.



4. This book is extraordinarily helpful for artists who already have some experience. It appears to be a collection of class notes with many illustrations and helpful tips, rather than a mapped out "method". I discovered in it many missing links of information, "ahas", so to speak.



5. David Leffel is my favorite modern realist, along with Richard Schmid. Unfortunately, he is not represented well by this book. All of the other reviewers have said it - too many of the reproductions are maddeningly out of focus, and most of the others are dull and unworthy. While there are valuable things to be learned from the text, it is from class notes and it really shows.
   
   The four stars are for the artist, whose work is the very best. There are some decent repros in the book and they are to be savored, and in my opinion make the book worth buying, although how Mr. Leffel and the publisher signed off on a production of this poor quality is a mystery.

5 comments about Exploring Color: How to Use and Control Color in Your Painting.

1. Nita Leland has a wonderful way of inspiring her readers and making them feel more comfortable with color and paint. Doing the exercises in the book are an essential part of the experience and should not be skipped.



2. Before reading this book I'd had an attitude about 'color theory' and such - or at least the teaching of it. Anything I read was either imperious and demanding or so complicated that I'd be lost in the first chapter.
   
   But this book doesn't order you to do things a certain way. It explains what results you will get doing this and what results you'll get doing that. There is no highbrow judgment here about the only "correct" way to do anything. It is clearly written, with lots of pics and examples, and is completely accessible. What a breath of fresh air!
   
   The book begins with a little bit of the history of color in paintings and the physics of color mixing. She doesn't bog down the book with it though. She gives just enough information to put the use of color in painting into context and as a starting point if one wants to do further research.
   
   Then comes the more detailed information. This starts out simply and builds with each chapter. She explains why things happen in color combining and mixing and how to get the desired results. Color in painting is a detailed and complex subject, but, while she encourages you to learn it all, she is never demeaning or rigid that one has to know all this front and back before painting. She explains why knowing all this will help and improve your painting.
   
   In other words she makes me *want* to learn all this rather than making me feel like I *have* to learn it.
   
   One thing to note is the she uses watercolor in her examples and exercises so some adjustment may be necessary for oils.
   
   There are also lots of things to practice in the book. She has exercises for everything she teaches. So when you're done you will have a tremendous visual reference library. I have lots of art books but this one will stay OFF the shelf and easily accessible. The use of color isn't something that can be learned overnight, so do yourself a favor: get this book.



3. One of the first books I've looked at that explains color in non technical terms. It has examples of how to use these colors in your paintings. There are several step by step instructions on using different color combinations as well as many exercises for you to do on your own. There's a companion coloring book which is helpful but not necessary. An outstanding book for beginners wanting to know more about color theory. The author has a web site and is very helpful in answering any questions.



4. This book is everything I hoped it would be. I am a novice painter, working in acrylics, and wanted some basic info on color theory. This is it. The information is comprehensive yet easy to understand with exercises for the reader to do in any medium. I was so impressed that I bought her Exploring Color Workbook to go with it. This is highly recommended for the artist wanting to expand her color theory expertise.



5. I bought this based on other reviews about it. I don't know doodley about color and have always gone on gut instinct...and I've painted over a lot of ruined canvas and wasted a lot of paint.
   This is an excellent little book with a lot of exercises to make it all quite clear. Every page teaches me something - I have so far had quite a few "AHA" moments. I am beginning to understand why sometimes a color works and sometimes it is just a little off...
   I recommend this for everyone. Thank you Nita Leland.

5 comments about Sacred Mirrors: The Visionary Art of Alex Grey.

1. This book is easy to get lost in. The art has alot of stuff in it to absorb.



2. This book is filled with incredible art by Alex Grey. The only problem with the book is the fact that it is listed on Amazon as a HARDBACK and it is not. This is no fault of the artist but Amazon should be sure to correctly list their products.



3. Alex Grey's art is unique, provocative, visionary and striking. The anatomical detail, overall composition and beauty is uplifting. While this type of art may not be everyone's cup of tea, it is undeniably creative and powerful.
   
   This book is based on a series of paintings that are approximately 6'0" tall. They were meant to be used as a mirror for an individual to experience different aspects of themselves. In other words, to serve as a lens for a different perspective on what it is to be human. In general, the book proceeds from an outline of the body made up of elements, through the skelton system, blood vessels, nerves, etc. What is unique is that it goes beyond this to subtle and causal realms based on the experience of Alex Gray and the testimony of various mystics. It is meant to evoke awareness of these more subtle dimensions and even in book form could be used for meditations.
   
   This book also contains images of Jesus, the Boddhisattva of infinite compassion and other enlightened beings. Again, these are meant for contemplative experiences where you look for these energies in yourself as part of a contemplative practice. There are also some beautiful images of a couple kissing, making love, a small family, etc. These latter category of images are similar to the cover in that they represent the various spheres of Being from the gross body through the spirit.
   
   This book is on the large side, is printed on very high quality paper and contains a lot of color plates as well as contextual information. It is a bargain at the price it is being sold and some of the text is written by Ken Wilber.
   
   If you are not familiar with Ken Wilber's work, either Kosmic Consciousness or A Brief History of Everything would be a great place to get started. Either of these resources will help you to appreciate Grey's art in more depth and understand what he is trying to achieve.



4. I bought this for my fiance because he LOVES Alex Grey and He LOVES TOOL. He absolutely loved the book and actually I DID TOO!!! If you are a fan of either or (Alex Grey or Tool) it's a MUST BUY!!!



5. the images of sacred body - energy currents are incredible! Nowhere else will you find this kind of anatomical imagery. This is an incredible book. Alex Grey is a genius!

5 comments about Watercolor for the Serious Beginner: Basic Lessons in Becoming a Good Painter (Serious Beginner).

1. I liked this book because it gives you lots of ideas to think about as you grow and learn to watercolor paint. However, I didn't feel it was a must-have for my collection. The pictures are beautiful and the ideas are good to remember but if you're really enthusiastic about painting, I think you'll be doing all these things she speaks about anyway. I guess it's a good book to have if you need a reminder once in a while.



2. Watercolor for the Serious Beginner: Basic Lessons in Becoming a Good Painter (Serious Beginner)
   this is a fantastic book. The information is clear and concise, and the lessons move one along at a good pace. I should mention that the title of this book is a key to understanding it. This book is for the SERIOUS watercolorist. If one wants to really become serious about their water color studies. This is an excellent place to begin.



3. This is a good book to learn a variety of techniques in watercolor painting. This was for my teenage daughter who enjoys watercolor painting, so she can expand her level of techniques. She sat for hours going through the book to learn and study what it had to teach her.



4. Was a welcomed Book in my collection and is extremely helpful in applying new techniques in a new student of watercolor.



5. This makes me want to take my supplies and park myself somewhere beautiful to sketch and paint.

5 comments about The Watercolor Flower Painters A to Z.

1. An Excellent reference for beginning through advanced painters.
   
   Everything needed to paint lovely floral watercolors: Selection of paper and paint colors; step-by-step sequence of demonstrations along with samples of completed "floral portraits".
   
   If I were to own only one book of floral watercolors, this would be it!



2. This book is on the top of my list of books I would recommend to learn to paint and draw flowers in watercolor, and I have a huge number of watercolor painting books to compare it to. It is also great for learning basic watercolor techniques, as the beginning chapter cover everything a beginner would need to know, but it is a book for watercolorists of all levels.
   
   After the basic techniques and materials chapters which are outstanding in themselves, the student is given 26 beautiful flowers to paint, each with detailed instructions, and sometimes close-up views of exactly where the detail such as masking fluid goes, or where the next glaze goes, etc.. Each exercise gives the exact pallet you will need. The instructions are excellent.
   
   I consider myself still a beginner, but was amazed at how beautiful my first flower turned out, and credit most of it to the teaching methods in this book. This book is among the very BEST OF THE BEST to learn from and also to enjoy the beauty of the paintings. I can't think of anything I didn't like about this book. It's tops in every way.



3. I found this book to be very helpful in painting flowers with watercolors. Being new to the medium, this is a very valuable reference.



4. Not all artists can teach, but Adelene Fletcher is definitely a teacher. One thing I like about this book is she tells you all the colours you will need to do each flower in the book, and then gives you some very good instructions in painting them. I have done the first two flowers in the book and thoroughly enjoyed her method of teaching. I am now looking to buy her Trees and Foliage A-Z book but Amazon cannot get it and the other suppliers I've looked at so far do not ship to Canada.



5. This is a fabulous book for with accurate patterns for flowers & leaves & stems. However, ithe instructions are for oil & decorative painters. Watercolor painters can use it for patterns.

5 comments about The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, Second Edition.

1. Very clear and detailed information, with excellent photo and graphics that illustrate the alternative processes.
   All the processes are historically contextualized.
   Congratulations Christopher James for this great book.



2. 'Tis the most complete alternative processes manual of all times. More beautiful color photograph illustrations than you could think to shake a stick at. To get the most alternative use of this book, one might stitch the pages together to wear as clothes, and alternatively processize to one's heart's content.



3. This book is for artists. It is worth every cent. Remember, you get what you pay for. It contains the details, the history, the examples and the intellect. Very well put together and a pleasure to read. If you are serious about learning "alternative" photographic processes, this is the book.



4. Every learning photographer must have this book. More to photography than photoshop and digital and this book will open up you photographic world.



5. You may not believe it, but this book is actually good bedtime reading for any photographer. Christopher presents the history of each process backed up with examples both historical and contemporary. His sense of humor is evident in much of the writing. If you've never tried any of these processes, step by step instructions are given as well as helpful tips to ensure success and sources for product. More about digital technology is incorporated in this edition- yes it is ok to make digital negatives to use with an old process!