4 comments about Illuminated Initials in Full Color: 548 Designs (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

1. Just wanted a closer view of the illuminated artwork that the monks used to do in their holy books.
   
   This book delivers



2. This is especially helpful for letter-illuminating ideas, though you need to know what you're doing because there are no guiding instructions.



3. I didn't get as much from this book as I'd hoped. It is beautifully illustrated.



4. This was not what I expected. The letters are back to back so you will need to make a copy of the page you want otherwise you cut into the letters on the back of the page

5 comments about Spraycan Art (Street Graphics / Street Art).

1. i got this book for my husband for his birthday and he was very happy with it



2. This book is one of the best documentations of world wide graffiti in its early years (mid 80's). Essential reading for any aspiring graffiti artist or art enthusiast in general. This book has served as inspiration to many artist alike.



3. I gave this a x-mas gift to my 15 yr old son. He loved it



4. This book was my first graffiti book i purchased in the middle of 90's and I have enjoyed a lot from the first day I got it. It has lots of graffiti photos around the world and if you dig colorful pieces made with old-school-style, this is a book you have to buy!



5. As a public art historian, I recently revisited Spraycan Art. I am told that the sales on this book are approaching 200,000 copies. In 1987 it was the first look at the art form as it traveled out of the NYC subways and around the world and although writers today are more sophisticated with their mastery of the spray can and the imagery they create, the book is still very current in its look at the graffiti world and its place in the Hip Hop scene. It is remarkable to me how Chalfant and Prigoff came to know the key writers of those years, both nationally and internationally. Their contribution to the graf world as professional documentary photographers, authors and resource people has withstood the test of time. It is a must read for current writers, historians or just anyone interested in a unique art form created by youth. Interesting that the book named the art for all time.

1 comments about Matisse: From Color to Architecture.

1. Primarily known for his luminous color paintings, the French artist Henri Matisse was also involved in designing stunningly beautiful stained glass windows and even ventured into the realm of architecture as well. Matisse: From Color To Architecture is a seminal work by Rene Percheron and Christian Brouder and the first to focus on these lesser known endeavors by one of France's most renowned painters. Offering an intimate portrait of the artist in work and life with a focus upon Matisse's work in his final years on the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence and the nursery school in his hometown of Le Cateayu-Cambresis (both of these buildings are located in the south of France), this 384 page compendium is enhanced with 396 illustrations (247 of which are in full color) and includes beautiful reproductions of Matisse's most famous paintings drawn from the collections of Centre Georges Pompidou, the Hermitage Museum, the Barnes Foundation, and the National Gallery of Art. These works are paired with documents and photographs culled from the archives of the Matisse estate. Included are first-hand accounts from the participants in the Vence and Le Cateau projects. Matisse: From Color To Architecture is an original and recommended contribution to personal, professional, academic, and community library Art History and Architectural Studies collections.

3 comments about Fill Your Watercolors With Light and Color.

1. Wow! Where was THIS watercolor book hiding? The techniques Roland Roycraft shares here are seemingly easy; splashing or flowing paint onto paper, masking and more. He also gives some very good hints for composition with clear details. Also value sketches (black and white, showing the density of darks and lights. This is a valuable technique for painters.)

   I may not choose to imitate Roycraft's style, but I sure will be incorporating these techniques into my next paintings. If you want to improve your watercolor, I can't recommend this book and his other book on nature enough. They are just great.




2. This is a good book for seeing what effective use of masking can do for a painting. Mr. Roycraft's use of masking is an integral (if not THE prime) technique for creating the numerous paintings demonstrated in this book. The other technique he uses is pouring the watercolors onto the surface rather than painting most of it with a brush.

   This is not a painting method for anyone not willing or able to know precisely all the places to mask. The sparkling waves of an ocean in one of his paintings must have taken quite some time to mask and most likely needed a detailed pencil sketch beforehand. While the pouring is imprecise the masking is not.

   The book has 1 chapter that gives a step-by-step demonstration of his pouring method. One can tell from some paintings produced that this can be a time-consuming method of producing watercolor paintings if the subject matter is intricate or detailed although the results are breathtaking.

   I would like to see more demonstrations from Mr. Roycraft and perhaps more details about the masking as part of the process. Statements such as "I masked only the light areas before beginning the painting. This is negative painting in reverse and makes a beautiful abstract pattern." show the thought that guides the final results.

   Most of the book shows paintings in a semi-finished state with the final result and some comments on the process and thoughts in creating it. I liked this book very much and would recommend it to any watermedia painter because it helps thinking in terms of positive and negative shapes and light. It also introduces a unique way of painting with watercolors which I suspect would work with fluid acrylics as well.




3. The book amazes me a lot. I particularly like the effect of the pouring. It seems difficult to learn, how to control the color flowing smoothly across the desired area? Is it time-consuming to prepare the masking(questions for Mr. Roland Rycraft) I would like to know some details of the procedure.

5 comments about Vanishing Act.

1. Bought this for a Christmas and everyone wanted to look through it before I gave it away. It is great fun for all ages!!!



2. I purchased this book as a gift for my elderly grandma. Both she and the rest of my family enjoy looking through the beautiful photos to spot the camouflaged animals.



3. This is such an amazing and wonderful book of photos taken by Art Wolfe. "Vanishing Act" refers to the natural camouflage of living beings as they blend into their environment, as a means of self-preservation.
   
   Honestly, I have had to look at some of the pictures 3 or 4 times before I could locate the animal, insect, bird, etc. that was lurking there. There is a "cheat sheet" in the back of the book, but I am determined to locate these creatures without resorting to outside help.
   
   It is so amazing that I could look at a large picture 3 or 4 times and not see what I was looking at; however, once you see it clearly you can't understand how you could have missed it in the first place. Isn't nature grand? I have two of Art Wolfe's works hanging on my walls and they are the first things commented on by any visitor to my home.
   
   Buy this book!



4. A mezmerizing coffee table book. It's almost a puzzle to find the incredible creatures in the photos that have natural camouflage. Large format views with lots of detail. A nature lover's must-have.



5. This photography/nature/evolution/puzzle book was simply astonishing. Everyone I've shown it to, from 8-80, has been both amazed by the photographs and thoroughly enjoyed reviewing it. When I brought it to work, a common response was, "Very cool ... Can I borrow this book overnight to show my husband/wife?" I need to e-mail Art Wolfe to ask him if I could represent him on his next creative effort. That way his work will achieve wider distribution and recognition.

No comments about Concrete to Canvas: Skateboarders' Art.

5 comments about Artist's Photo Reference: Landscapes.

1. This is a wonderful reference book and I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in landscape painting or photography.



2. I think this reference book is absolutely wonderful. The author has written permission to photocopy out of the book and tips on how to make a collection of pictures into one. I also just love the variety that it comes with. I was saddened that there was no rain, but everything else widely overcomes it. If your looking for a book full of pictures, this is the one to get!!



3. A photo reference should of course contain plenty of photos, but here there may be too many, or maybe it's that they're crammed four or five to a page. I've worked with small print photos of my own as a reference and it's no bother ( I can enlarge them if I need to), but when a smallish image is one of a group on that same page, well...it's just too crowded.
   Perhaps less would be more.

   Maybe it's my merely-intermediate stature, but I'd rather a larger format, such as a volume called "America" (or "American Landscapes") that I found at the library, with one or two great photos to a page.

   "Artist's Photo Reference: Landscapes" is helpfully organized into categories and sections within those categories, and offers a few demos. That's a good thing.

   I may not unload this book, but I'll more likely hit the library for some general photography books.




4. This is a really good reference book for landscapes. I use it often when I need a good outdoor scene for a painting. I really like to use the landscapes that depict sunset/sunrise. This book has most definitely been the most used art reference book in my studio.

   My only complaint is that I wish he had incorporated scenes that invoke Alaska. Other than the absence of glaciers this is a pretty good book. I hope if there is a second edition that he remembers to include glaciers and frozen ponds. Afterall, the Alaskan landscape is a part of America too.




5. Most of the photographs are too bland to use. Too much sun, too many similar photographs, not enough mood photographs. Where are the rainy days, why are there so few foggy pictures, why no gardens? I can photograph pictures like these. What I wanted from this book are photographs I can't shoot. Windy days, mountain towns. I am using it, but it's hard to find a good subject and combine it with others, they are so similar.

No comments about Klimt (World of Art).

4 comments about Time's River: The Voyage of Life in Art and Poetry.

1. I remain dubious about books that have a coffee-table look, but the poetry selections in this one are excellent (if generally fairly well known) and concordant with the illustrations. The pairing of these paintings with these poems is truly inspired at times. The idea sounds hokey: the production is not. This anthology is a winner for it poetry alone. The sequals have not been as good, but this is one to read.



2. This is one of the most beautiful poetry anthologies I have ever read. After I finished reading through it the first time, I read it twice more during the same weekend. The poetry is at turns passionate and serene, and the art works are an added bonus to a beautiful and worthwhile book which leaves you feeling as though the world will, no matter the latest fear or disaster, continue on a path as carefully laid as the stars are placed in the heavens. I highly recommend this anthology.



3. I truly enjoyed reading this anthology. I own numerous collections of poetry but have never found one that combines poems of such passion with such beautiful art (art that in fact echances the poems). I hope that Kate Farrell will continue to put together such collections of verse as this one. This book containes a number of poems that I remembered reading a long time ago, wanted to read again, but could never find. I am glad that some of my searching has ended. This is a tremendous and admirable achievement. I highly recommend it.



4. As a writer, I was given this book as a gift by my best friend. It is like no other poetry or art anthology I have seen. The colors, thoughts, images, and ideas combine to form a breathtaking view of life and all its idiosyncrasies. Wisdom shines through the pages. I highly recommend it.

3 comments about Rubens A&I (Art and Ideas).

1. Being in an art history masters program, I have read many books. However, this Rubens book as well as any other book by the same press seem to capture attention through clever stories about the artist as well have great pictures. I would recommend this book to anyone.



2. The blurb on the back of this book calls Kristin Lohse Belkin a "Rubens specialist," and the book itself, lively and informative, does seem to be the work of someone who knows her subject. Why, then, would she have to copy a book written thirty years ago? On page 60 of the Time-Life volume The World of Rubens, 1577-1640, by C. V. Wedgwood (1967), we find the following description of the painting "Prometheus Bound":
   
   "According to Classical legend, Prometheus stole the secret of fire from the gods and gave it to man. To punish him for this misdemeanor, Zeus bound him to a rock where he was to be tormented for all time by a devouring eagle. In painting his larger-than-life-sized picture, Rubens created a powerful effect by showing Prometheus with massive foreshortened limbs and by having the eagle's wings span the captive giant in a great predatory arc."
   
   On pages 129 and 132 of Belkin's book, we find the following:
   
   "According to classical legend, the demigod Prometheus stole the secret of fire from the gods and gave it to man. To punish him, Zeus, the ruler of the gods, bound him to a rock where he was to be tortured for all time by an eagle who fed on his liver. In this larger-than-life picture, Rubens created a powerful effect by showing Prometheus in strong foreshortening, his massive thighs drawn up in pain. The eagle's wings are spread wide so that they span the captive giant in a victorious arc."
   
   One hopes the copying is unique and unconscious (the Wedgwood book, by the way, appears in the bibliography at the back of Belkin's book), but it doesn't inspire confidence in the author's originality.



3. I read this book for an upper-level college art history class and loved every page. I was actually sad that I finished the book! Few art history books combine the stunning visual images and masterful prose that this one does. A very interesting and informative book that will introduce you to one of the most under-appreciated artists - the genius Peter Paul Rubens.