2 comments about The Art of Rock Painting.

1. This book was bought by mistake but I thought I'd give it a try but I was very dissapointed in it. It did not offer very many creative projects or very detailed instructions. I enjoy the original books by Lin Wellford and will continue to use hers.



2. I really enjoyed this book. It was very well organized and I could understand all of the instructions easily. It was also very attractively done. I loved this book!

2 comments about Making Pearls: Living the Creative Life.

1. This is not a how to book, but rather an exploration of the creative process. Well written, insightful and inspiring!



2. This is not a painting how-to book. Making Pearls is Vermont artist Jeanne Carbonetti's attempt to verbalize her creative exercises she uses and teaches for her free style of watercolor.

   If you are a fan of Carbonetti's paintings, there are many photos of her work in this book to drool and marvel over. There is one useful exercise--making a "creation cycle" using the seven colors based on the India Chakras. Her theory is that we are always within the cycle of creation and need to recognize where we are in the cycle to be in rhythm with the flow. If you can't take one of her workshops, using this book can lead you through the exercise.

   Why "Making Pearls" as a title? This is a metaphor for taking irritations of daily life and making something beautiful from them, just as the oyster takes a grain of sand and creates a pearl.

1 comments about Colour and Light in Oils.

1. this wonderful book is absolutely beautifully executed with the most gorgeous paintings. I am a painting book junkie and this is by far one of the top three books I own. I'd give it a 10 for information and beauty!

1 comments about Hudson River School: Masterworks from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.

1. Loved it. The large color plates make me want to acquire more on the Hudson River School. KC

No comments about Morandi (Art Gallery series).

5 comments about The Art of Reading: Forty Illustrators Celebrate RIF's 40th Anniversary.

1. Please confess! If you are connected in any way with children's books, then you must have a favorite illustrator! Not one, but several? Yes, me too! In that case, you will love "The Art of Reading" because it holds the imaginative works of forty illustrators. Let me explain...
   
   Reading Is Fundamental, the nation's largest nonprofit literacy organization, invited forty children's illustrator's to re-imagine the art of their favorite children's book. In other words, what book inspired them as children and how would they create one scene from that book? What a clever idea! What wonderful results!
   
   Robert Lawson writes: "No one can possibly tell what tiny detail of a drawing or what seemingly trivial phrase in a story will be the spark that sets off a great flash in the mind of some child, a flash that will leave a glow there until the day he dies." Lawson created "Make Way for Ducklings" and "Blueberries for Sal."
   
   David Wiesner, creator of three Caldecott Medal books, re-imagines one scene from "2001: Space Odyssey" --the obelisk. Instead of appearing in the open as a catalyst for early man's thinking, it becomes a big, black book in one boy's bedroom, a catalyst for Wiesner's connection with books and art. In fact, his explanation of how one movie, one book, then a book explaining the making of the movie from the book is a wonderful piece of writing and inspiration to a new generation of illustrators!
   
   William Joyce, an artist who happens to live in my city of Shreveport, re-imagines a scene from "Where the Wild Things Are," by Maurice Sendak. "I got lost in that book and haven't come out since." His depiction shows a wild-haired little boy standing at the edge of a giant book (or perhaps he is a teeny boy), reading a sentence that says: "That very night in Max's room a forest grew."
   
   Richard Egielski was influenced by the Classic Comics of Moby Dick. His explanation of the complexities and symbolism of Moby Dick and how he missed them with each version of the story is most amusing.
   
   Eric Rohmann loved "Millions of Cats" by Wanda Gag. Jerry Pinkney re-creates a scene from "Little Black Sambo." Mary Azarian's recreation of a scene from "A Girl of Limberlost" is quite beautiful. Mark Teague, who read and reread "The Silver Chair" from the Narnia Chronicles, re-imagines a scene in his fantastic artwork.
   
   "The Art of Reading" is a treasure chest of how artists were influenced by one specific book. For lovers of children's literature, it is a joy to own, to refer to from time to time, perhaps work into a classroom lesson or after reading the original classic to your child, show how the artist would re-imagine that scene.
   
   Perhaps this artwork will become a springboard for a future artist sitting right there in your lap!



2. The pictures are great. I especially like Henry Cole's drawing of Wilbur(some pig, Charloote's Web). However, on Page 33, Fern's name should be Fern Arable, not Fern Avery. This is editor's fault. For this, I gave 4 stars. This book was a product of Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. They should have not made such a mistake.
   
   I like to see better editing, especially for children's books.



3. A really beautiful picture book for adults showcasing a variety of different children's illustrators to showcase an array of picture book art. I picked this up at a conference and I think it is great for librarians or anyone who loves books.



4. This collection of artwork is an inspiration to future illustrators. It is helpful for teachers trying to show students that reading is important for many reasons.



5. Among the delights in this book, "The Art of Reading", are artists respectfully mimicking other artists, sharing memories of favorite books, of authors & illustrators; each one encouraging their audience to read and ENJOY. The cover illustration, by the late influential Fred Marcellino, was chosen for its appropriate subject of cat and mouse cozily reading together!
   
   First, I raced through, looking for my favorite illustrators. Then I would pause often to laugh at someone's adaptation, as for example Paul Zelinsky's wonderfully amusing interpretation of "The Color Kittens" and his delightful essay. 'All bases are covered' in this handsome book: it salutes childhood favorites and teachers who were mentors while exploring a variety of mediums & styles. How different and imaginative are the creations of Lois Ehlert, Raul Colon, David McPhail. Bryan Collier with his layers of art and photo collages inspires the detective in us, trying to figure out the source of materials.
   
   All the artists stir some regret that we do not share their talents, yet we love the trips back to happy lap-times and those exciting years of discovering the meaning of words. RIF (*Reading is Fundamental*), an important non-profit literacy organization, has compiled for their 40th anniversary celebration this elegant gift for all who love to read. Reviewer mcHAIKU 'toasts' all the happy memories forever attached to magical artists such as Wanda Gag, Maurice Sendak and Garth Williams.

3 comments about National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection.

1. My mother was so pleased to receive this as a gift. She was impressed with the quality of the prints. She said she would get hours of enjoyment out of it.



2. I purchased the earlier book by John Walker very inexpensively (used) and was disappointed to recieve it musty and in bad condition. Nevertheless I found the book enjoyable enough to throw that one away and try again with this edition at a much greater price. It was worth every penny spent on both. The selection of works displayed and the quality of the illustrations are both excellent. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is that many of the illustrations are half page in size even though the entire page is devoted to them - to waste so much space instead of making the illustrations larger is sinful.



3. This book presents a survey of paintings in the National Gallery, Washington DC. It more or less replaces the old volume written by the late John Walker, the former director of the institution. That book was out of date and didn't include paintings which have been acquired over the last several years. The new book brings the gallery's holdings up to date. The reproductions are very good (but not great) and the commentary is better than average. Unlike the Walker book, this book is a bit more selective and doesn't try to include the kitchen sink. My major complaint is that the book is a bit thin when it comes to the museum's superb early Italian paintings. There is also too much space devoted to what is essentially contemporary work which has not truly stood the test of time. For example, 10 pages (!) are devoted to the dull Barnett Newman. Another problem is that the book doesn't discuss the condition of the artwork. I'll wager that many of the paintings reproduced in this book which look virtually brand new are in fact heavily restored and "touched up" by the gallery's conservation department.

3 comments about Famous Painted Cats.

1. what a treat... surprising, amazing, great gift... great to get people talking and shareing.. absolutely delightful



2. I love cats, I love painted cats and I love the books by Burton Silver & Heather Busch.
   This is a collection of postcards which I wrote to my friends. They all loved them as well.



3. What a disappointment. When my "book" came I discovered it was actually a bunch of postcards bound together. It might make a good gift for a cat lover, but it was disappointing to me that it wasn't what I was expecting. Nowhere did I find any mention of postcards.

2 comments about The Jackson 500 Volume 2.

1. It's neat to see Mr. Biskup working out his thoughts. Lots of awesome color combinations and neat little creatures!



2. Considered one of the most prolific artist of the lowbrow art movement, Tim Biskup has, indeed, done a whole ton of things--from animation, toy design, major painting work, to the curatorship of the (now defunct) Burning Brush Auctions.
   
   For the longest time, I've been really interested to really sit down and examine his work; I'd seen his Helper Toy, Alphabeast, and Stack Pack toys (and wanted all of them), a few illustrations (including some he did for the amazing I am 8 Bit series)--really, one can't be into contemporary art and not know Biskup--but, since I live in the middle of nowhere, had never really been able to ooh and aah over the artwork outside of Juxtapoz magazine.
   
   Thank god for Dark Horse, then, in collecting this series from him.
   
   See, the Jackson 500 series is one of Biskup's many adventures in small painting. And when I say small, I mean all of them are painted on business-card size paper:
   
   The book(s) then reprint them at actual size (making the books nice and small--the size you could stand on pretty much any small shelf, just a little taller and a bit less wide than a CD), each providing 100 of the proposed 500 images; you'll notice that each is numbered in correspondence to where it stands in the series:
   
   Biskup's sense of design, then: obviously tied to his time spent in the animation industry, his paintings have a surreal simplicity, each with its own unique personality--the bizarre, in Biskup's world, becomes the common; populated by monsters, living spires, and cuteness, it's easy to understand how he's gained so much popularity--how could you not love this, for instance:
   
   The answer? You can't not love it. Taking into consideration how each work (even out of a series of 500) stands alone in its characterization (despite obvious 'periods' he goes through--the beginning of this book sees him using a lot of reds while, later, the creatures take on a spindly look), it's nearly mind-boggling to think of the creativity (to say nothing of the ability) that Biskup has under tap--the man's an idea factory, and never once (in this book or anywhere else I've experienced him) have I been able to predict his next movement. And given his extensive use of various mediums, it's easy to get lost in the world of Biskup--even if the images are tiny, business card menageries.

2 comments about Brushes: A Handbook for Artists and Artisans.

1. As a practicing artist, I am always looking for new ways to make expressive and appealing images. I work mainly in porcelain pottery, decorated with slips and glazes.
   
   I bought this book to learn how to make brushes, brushes which will enable me to create more distinctive images. My needs are somewhat different from what the book provides, but I found enough information to assist me in experimentation with making tools for expression.
   
   The book is more geared toward industrial manufacture, but there is more than enough information and example for the individual to make implements of good quality and function. The difficulty lies in gathering materials and finding a place to work where the cat will not try to supervise...
   
   I recommend this book for all artists who like to make their own tools.



2. There are countless books written on watercolor, acrylics, oil paints and even a few on gouache and casein, but the common thread linking all of the painting media has been overlooked . . . until now. Brushes are the most common of all artist's tools, yet the vast majority of artists are woefully uninformed about how to pick out a good brush and, even what the difference is between the good, the bad and the mediocre brushes.

   In writing this book, Jacques Turner has drawn from long experience in the brush-making business to provide us with a truly useful manual on what goes into the manufacture of a good artist's brush as well as the reasons and uses for the various shapes and hairs that seem to complicate and confuse our choice.

   For me, this book has opened up possibilities that would have been remained closed. My new-found knowledge has certainly proved its worth when buying brushes.

   A quick and easy read, Turner writes for the artist, not the research scholar.