Painting-the

Book reviews for "Painting-the" sorted by average review score:

Tamara de Lempicka : A Life of Deco and Decadence

Published in Hardcover by Clarkson Potter (21 September, 1999)

Author: Laura Claridge

Amazon base price: $35.00
Used price: $22.79
Buy one from zShops for: $23.79

With her couture clothes and movie-star good looks (she was frequently mistaken for Greta Garbo), Tamara de Lempicka seemed too glamorous to be a serious painter. Even in the years of her greatest success, 1925 to 1935, the luscious colors and highly wrought finishes of her portraits--a suspect genre in any case to high modernists--linked Lempicka more closely to the Italian Renaissance painters she revered than to her cubist contemporaries. She was labeled an "Art Deco artist," someone whose work was more decorative than substantive. Feminist scholar Laura Claridge, a good guide despite her overuse of the phrase "gender politics," enhances readers' appreciation of Lempicka's work without scanting her enjoyably lurid personal life. Born (around 1895) in Russia of Polish and Jewish descent, Lempicka fled the revolution to set up shop in Paris during its avant-garde heyday; the Nazi threat sent her to America, where Hollywood proved a natural setting. Two husbands, one daughter, male and female lovers, manic-depressive illness--nothing ever really cramped her style or her dedication to art. She died in 1980, a venerable survivor still looking forward rather than back. Blending art history with psychological analysis, Claridge helps readers understand why this gifted painter, although commercially successful, has not enjoyed the critical respect she deserves. --Wendy Smith

Average review score:

Tamara: Única

Mujer de altos vuelos, Tamara de Lempicka, decidió pasar sus últimos días en la ciudad en la que vivo, la ciudad de la eterna primavera: Cuernavaca, Morelos (México). Hasta ella trajo sus maravillosas obras, catalogadas como lo mejor del Art Déco por los expertos. Única en su momento, se jactaba de haberlo probado todo y de haber roto con las convenciones más gazmoñas.

Su obra está influída por el tubismo de Léger, el cubismo sintético y la pintura del quattrocento italiano, aunque de su maestro Lohte aprendió a componer según el principio de la rima plástica.

No obstante su formación rusa, se sentía polaca; rehuyó toda la vida lo ruso por haber sufrido en carne propia a manos de los bolcheviques. De madre y abuela aprendió el amor al arte. Se casó dos veces --de su primer marido Tadeusz Lempicki, el padre de su única hija ya fallecida, tomaría el nombre profesional-- y tuvo una hija que más adelante redactó sus memorias.

El éxito de su carrera se dio en la Europa de entreguerras, trabajaba incesantemente y llevó una vida social muy activa, cuestión que paradójicamente ocasinó que el mundo culto y bohemio en el que se movía, le demostrara cierta desconfianza: esta ambigüedad que la mantenía como una bohemia-aristócrata la definió toda su vida.

Hizo de su vida un relato espectacular, hecho que ha motivado que quienes intentan biografiarla, tengan que sortear los productos de su febril imaginación. Laura Claridge, a quien le debemos el trabajo más completo sobre la fascinante mujer, ha rescatado del olvido a esta notable pintora, cuya obra rebazó los dos millones de dólares en la década de los ochenta.

Su pintura, caracterizada por la geometrización de la figura, los primeros planos agobiantes y el manejo del erotismo sin trabas, es magnífica y puntualmente analizada por la autora, quien tiene en su haber otras publicaciones sobre arte, literatura y psicoanálisis.

El Museo Brady de Cuernavaca cuenta con dos piezas de Lempicka, una pintora que se ganó un lugar imborrable en la historia del arte occidental.

Wonderful Artist! Wondeful Book!

I like a million other people, had never heard of Tamara De Lempicka (how sad!!) until I heard Madonna in an interview mention how incredible she is. This biography was wonderful, very insightful, I feel like I know 'something' about Tamara now. I have developed a wonderful appreciation of her life and work. Some biographies can be dry and boring, but this one was facinating! Good read!

A Truly Gripping Biography!

Over the many years spent in research for this book, ProfessorLaura Claridge acquired extraordinarily detailed knowledge of thecultural, moral, and intellectual atmosphere of early 20th century European aristocracy and avant guard high society. Then, with penetrating wit and spellbinding ingenuity, she wove this Zeitgeist into every relevant passage of this scholarly book. The uniqueness of Professor Claridge's biography is that she has been able to show that just as De Lempicka's paintings represented more than a mere accumulation of colors on canvas, her bewitching life represented more than the simple sum of its parts. Claridge has managed to capture the "gestalt" of the "brave new woman". With compassion and humor, flawless prose and delicate discrimination, impeccable elegance and style, affection, grace, and savoir faire, Professor Claridge has shown how it is possible for a woman to have it all! This book is an education in history, art history, anthropology, sociology, politics, civics, and European culture and aristocracy at the height of its decadent best. I loved this gripping book and read it with the excitement and absorption usually reserved for suspence novels. Bravo.

Touching Quiet: Reflections in Solitude

Published in Paperback by Capital Books Inc (20 November, 2002)

Author: Mindy Weisel

Amazon base price: $15.95
Used price: $3.99
Buy one from zShops for: $10.24

Average review score:

Visually, philosophically nurturing images & reflections.

In Touching Quiet: Reflections In Solitude, Mindy Weisel combines twenty-four of her remarkable paintings with her reflections and personal journal entries. Both her art and her contemplations were brought forth during her one month stat at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Very highly recommended, Touching Quiet will result both visually and philosophically to serve as inspiration for anyone seeking nurture for their spirit, creativity for their mind, and harmony in their life.

beautiful, simply beautiful

this books is such a gem. the reproductions of the paintings are very nicely done, and Ms. Weisel's writing is graceful. I recommend it heartily; you will want to pass it on to everyone you know!

Solitude becomes artistic expression

Mindy Weisel has managed to reach that place inside each of us where beauty resides and grows. Her journal gives an insight into the mind and heart of a perpetually busy woman who while at first stunned by silence, later finds the latent joy in celebrating who she is and can be.

The paintings add a depth to the journal unequaled in print today, and make me wish I had the money to buy an original of each one!

Thank you Mindy for such a glorious escape and discovery!

Transforming Fabric: Color on Fabric and Life

Published in Hardcover by American Quilters Society (October, 1997)

Author: Carolyn A. Dahl

Amazon base price: $29.95
Used price: $99.95

Average review score:

If you love textile art you will like this....

As someone who designs her won clothes and loves making a variety of textile art I love this book as well as Textile Dyeing: The Step-By-Step Guide. Simply because each book shows that one need not rely on plain fabric, but with some simple know how you can transform the simplest piece of cloth into a work of art. I especially like taking rubber stamps and with a simple clothes iron, and some velvet, making beautiful material rich with images of nature.

Most complete guide on coloring & decorating fabric

This is the most complete guide I have found on coloring & decorating all types of fabric. It is in full-color & packed with many detailed examples. The book starts out with a general history & information on fabrics.

Step-by-step instructions then take you though a wide variety of techniques, including painting, dyeing, printing and stamping. Choice of fabric, preparation and colorant recipes precede the various techniques.

There are lots of fresh ideas that I have not seen in other books like coloring a black & white pattern and etching fabric. Many others include compression dyeing, heat transfer, wax patterning, silk painting & nature printing.

I found the work in this book to be very creative and a great source of ideas and inspiration. I especially enjoyed those that use patterns from nature. The extensive resource list is a great bonus.

Excellent.

Carolyn Dahl's "Transforming Fabric" is a clearly superior reference volume, and one which reflects the author's dedication to artistry in every aspect of its pages. Most fundamentally, "Transforming Fabric" is itself a work of art, which even a fabric-neophyte will enjoy browsing through to gaze at the richly colorful photographs and illustrations. For anyone interested in the fabric arts, this book is a must-buy!

Transparent Watercolor Wheel

Published in Paperback by Watson-Guptill Pubns (15 April, 2000)

Author: Jim Kosvanec

Amazon base price: $13.97
List price: $19.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $13.95
Collectible price: $29.95
Buy one from zShops for: $58.82

Average review score:

Transparency vs Staining Power

Ohhh, so that's why that color mix only went to a gray scale instead of black! Kosvanec gives great tips on the juicy wash; now my $300 worth of paints actually have color. Well worth the price. Be sure to read this book; don't just look at the pretty pictures. I'm still laughing about the quote, "If tube greens were people, I'd beat them up."

Mud or magic--Kosvanec steers you safely through

Watercolor is notoriously tricky. One moment, colors gleam from the paper like jewels. The next moment, a touch of the brush to a color yields nothing but muddy results. The mixing of the pigments is a true science mixed with art because the colors are actually chemicals that interact not only by reflecting light on their own, but also by interacting with other pigments, and reacting with the paper as well.

What to do when you want a particular color effect? Well, you can refer to this book. It has a color wheel organizing the pigments according to how they mix with each other to form secondary tints. Kosvanec gives examples of mixing greys, browns, intermediate tints that are guaranteed NOT to result in a blob of disaster on your painting. He gives quotes from famous artists who reaffirm the problem; one dab of just the wrong color and disaster results. He also includes some fabulous paintings, not only his portraits of native Americans, but those of other well-known artists.

I can't wait to try out Kosvanec's mixtures and suggestions on my next painting. I know I will be referring to this book over and over again.

Great book.

Helpful for anyone interested in transparent watercolor - worth the investment!

The Ultimate Marbling Handbook: A Guide to Basic and Advanced Techniques for Marbling Paper and Fabric (Watson-Guptill Crafts)

Published in Paperback by Watson-Guptill Pubns (May, 1999)

Author: Diane Maurer-Mathison

Amazon base price: $17.47
List price: $24.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $16.95
Buy one from zShops for: $17.44

Average review score:

Definitely the ultimate!

I was really interested i learning to do paper marbeling - had looked all around for kits to no avail so I went looking for books and came across this one. There are a number of different techniques in here: Sumonagashi, oil color, watercolor, marbeling fabric and other materials and then the last chapter is "a gallery of contemporary marbeling." For each of the technique chapters it tells you the materials you need with pictures of them in case the words/descriptions aer not enough and then that's followed by a section on "basic techniques" that are specific to that technique. The writing is clear and straight forward and there are lots of good pictures to help. Following the basic instructions there are advanced instructions. Again, with good pictures and ideas. The end of the book has fabric as well as the gallery -I'm still a beginner so I haven't played around with fabric and the things in the gallery are pretty advanced but they sure are inspirational. For now I'll have fun with paper. Great book though - it has something for the beginner as well as the more advanced artist!

The Piesta Resistance

This book has very detailed how-to information and a smorgasbord of effects. It is a beginners and an advanced book all in one. A Good buy!

200 color images of marbeling designs are inspiring.

Marbling of fabric and paper has intrigued artesans for centuries. The Ultimate Marbling Handbook explores the art of marbling, materials used, techniques and beautiful images of marbled color captured on paper, fabric and other materials. The colors are vivid, designs are unique and imanigative. Marble patterns fascinate, from the random stone or rock, to the colors combed into repeating patterns, no two the same.

Advanced designs of many artists are shared and techniques are explained. Diane Maurer-Mathison is a gifted artist and has authored a beautiful book suitable for the beginning to experienced marble artist.

Van Gogh's Van Goghs

Published in Paperback by Harry N Abrams (01 September, 1998)

Author: Abrams

Amazon base price: $6.95
Used price: $7.50
Buy one from zShops for: $9.00

This lavish but manageable book is the catalog for one of the most successful van Gogh exhibitions ever (at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., through January 3, 1999, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from January 17, 1999, to April 4, 1999). Judging from the haunting, beautifully reproduced paintings and drawings in the book--which range from the iconic to the rarely seen--it is easy to see why hordes of people keep pressing through overcrowded galleries to get a glimpse of the originals. The ones here are all from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, where most of Vincent's work resides.

Author Richard Kendall does a heroic job of writing van Gogh's tortured story one more time. Few artists have analyzed their own work with the clarity and insight Vincent brought to his. And Kendall relies heavily on Vincent's letters to his brother Theo, giving the reader broad access to the ultimate expert, the painter himself. The wealth of color plates is intoxicating--70 paintings, including The Potato Eaters and other early, gloomy works, a dozen self-portraits, Almond Blossom, Wheatfield with Crows, Butterflies and Poppies, The Bedroom, The Zouave, and The Courtesan (van Gogh's take on a Japanese geisha in full regalia).

It seems trivial to further praise the book's designers for holding it to only 150 pages, but the length makes an important difference. This is a volume that fits comfortably on the lap, to be perused and enjoyed at close range, for hours if you want, and not just displayed in unwieldy glory on a coffee table. --Peggy Moorman

Average review score:

A GREAT JOURNEY WITH VAN GOGH

One of the best pieces that I ever read explaining paintings along the different periods which were passed by Van Gogh. Also, it gives a complete ride through his life and personality.

A Quality Work!!

I have this book and I am so glad ,I discovered it. I am, a painter,and have always been influenced by Van Goghs work. However most of the books I own do not have very good quality , printing .This book however is excellent! It is very close to , standing in front of the original painting. I would recomend this book to anyone that loves Van Gogh. I am so proud to make this book a part of my art library. Get it while you can!!

Didn't see the exhibit? Read the book!

The next best thing if you weren't able to make it to this record-breaking exhibition in Washington and Los Angeles. This book, an overview of the exhibition, is an extremely thorough and interesting overview of the 70 works on display. But it's more than that. I was very impressed with Richard Kendall's commentary in the book. Not only is this a comprehensive and thoughtful look at the "Van Gogh's Van Goghs" exhibition, it's also an excellent look at Van Gogh's life and career--period. I might have expected this--this major exhibition was superb and this catalogue is a worthy companion. Exhibition or not, this book is first-rate.

Vanessa and the Enchanted Painting

Published in Hardcover by Bridge House Publishing (September, 2002)

Author: Beatrice Rich

Amazon base price: $14.95
Used price: $9.95
Collectible price: $9.95
Buy one from zShops for: $10.41

Average review score:

Magical pictures and story

This book is really great because I got to see more pictures of Max and Pauline. I love their adventures and want to read more about the neat places they go. I wish I was a dog or a cat too.

Enchanted and Enchanting

Utterly beguiling. Even the rainbow could take a lesson or two from Ms. Rich's palate which fairly spills over on every page. Who knew such colors existed?! Ms. Rich, what planet are you from? A thousand thanks for settling here and bringing your paint-brush with you.

Profusely illustrated with abstract-style color pastels

Imaginatively written and busily illustrated by Beatrice Rich, Vanessa and the Enchanted Painting is an energetic picture book story about Vanessa, a young girl and her pals Max and Paulie who step through a painting and thereby find themselves in a mystical enchanted world. Just when they fear themselves lost for good, an angel shows them the way back. Vanessa and the Enchanted Painting is recommended as being a charming picture book story profusely illustrated with abstract-style color pastels.

Watercolor Basics: Let's Get Started (Watercolor Basics)

Published in Paperback by North Light Books (October, 1998)

Author: Jack Reid

Amazon base price: $13.99
List price: $19.99 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $9.75
Collectible price: $59.98
Buy one from zShops for: $8.25

Average review score:

Good book for an absolute beginner

I just started with watercolor and am an absolute beginner, full of expectations and fears. I bought several books "for beginners" at the same time. All of them give you a list of supplies and helpful advises on what kind of paper, brushes, paints you need etc. That helps if you are a beginner. Most of those books then give a short review of different techniques. Than, many of them leave you alone in front of beautiful paintings with short comments. It obviously addressed to people with some experience in painting who may learn from it.
The book of Jack Reid is exactly what it says on it's cover: it helps you to get started. After usual introductions it gives you many projects to develop and practice your skills starting form easiest exercises. (You just play with your brushes and get use to watercolor paints first). That's encouraging and valuable if you can 't attend a workshop. I would recommend it for a beginner as myself.

Excellent book and great paintings

I was completely captured by the reprints of Jack Raid's paintings included in this book. This book includes detailed examples and clear instruction steps, is the best Watercolor beginner's book I ever seen. Jack made the art of watercolor painting looks so simple yet elegant. I hope Jack continues to publish more advanced books for students who can't attend his workshops.

Fantastic way to get started.

This is a really fantastic beginner book that will have you painting very nice watercolors very soon. The instructions are easy to follow. You will be surprised at how easy it is to get started painting in this very demanding medium. Highly recommended for all beginners.

Wayne Thiebaud: A Paintings Retrospective

Published in Hardcover by Thames & Hudson (June, 2000)

Authors: Steven A. Nash, Adam Gopnik, Wayne Thiebaud, and Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Amazon base price: $31.50
List price: $45.00 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $30.60
Collectible price: $68.82
Buy one from zShops for: $30.60

Famous for his dreamy 1960s paintings of cakes, Wayne Thiebaud began his career as a commercial artist and cartoon illustrator like many other artists of the period, including Andy Warhol. And like Warhol, Thiebaud became tied to pop art since he was making images of popular American products like food, lipsticks, and toys. Yet unlike many of his pop peers, Bay Area-based Thiebaud wasn't interested in poking fun at the establishment. He's a painter's painter, a real traditionalist. Wayne Thiebaud: A Paintings Retrospective covers a career of rendering still lifes, cityscapes, landscapes, and the figure. His cake paintings are formally beautiful in their color, shadow, and composition. They are perfect specimens of the good life in America, the paint lovingly applied in places like thick frosting. His cityscapes of San Francisco fiercely exaggerate the hilly landscape, capturing a perspective from the ground and air simultaneously while utilizing the light that the Bay Area is famous for.

Thoughtful essays by Steven A. Nash, associate director and chief curator for the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, and Adam Gopnik, a writer for The New Yorker, discuss Thiebaud in relation to his peers, pop, modernism, and abstract expressionism. This book serves as a catalog for Thiebaud's major retrospective, which opened in San Francisco and travels to Forth Worth, Texas, Washington, D.C., and ends in New York in the fall of 2001. Besides their beauty, these works truly capture a period of American life in a way that feels free of irony but not without commentary about nature, the city, and how we've lived. --J.P. Cohen

Average review score:

Wayne Thiebaud: A Paintings Retrospective

an excellent book with excellent reproductions. i enjoyed it.

amazing artist, gentle spirit, and wonderful book

After working this past summer in the Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC and being there for the opening of the Thiebaud show, I can certainly say that I have become filled with a nostalgic longing and a love for both Thiebaud's art as well as the manner in which he comports himself as an artist and as a person. I could have received no better gift from my supervisor at the end of my summer employment than this beautiful and gentle book. Though certainly there is nothing like looking at the works of art themselves, this book was fully capable of stirring my memory...much the same way as Thiebaud's art itself had a few weeks prior. This book is a highly treasured part of my collection of art books...truly a high point of my books in general, and I would highly recommend it to those well versed in the works of this gentleman as well as those who have not yet had the pleasure of his honest and warm friendship. ~greg

Color Quality

I purchased this book right after walking through the Thiebaud retrospective at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. I usually don't like to buy books after I've seen the work firsthand as the color never compares with the paintings I had just seen. In this case, though, I was impressed with the reproduction color. As an artist I get to use this book to study how Thiebaud makes his works "sparkle" by painting one color next to another.

Texture Techniques for Winning Watercolors

Published in Hardcover by North Light Books (September, 1999)

Author: Ray Hendershot

Amazon base price: $27.99
Used price: $75.41

Average review score:

Help to define your realistic style

While not a beginner's book, Hendershot's book offers straightforward advice on creating realistic textures. I was surprised how easy it was to add realism to my work. I enjoyed the subdued palette. Raw umber and paynes gray figure prominently in my palette now. As other reviewers have wrote, Hendershot's book has helped me create my best work to date. A treasure!

Superb texture techniques

This is by far the best watercolor book I have seen. This book is not for beginners as the author points out at the beginning itself. Maybe that is why it is so much more interesting for advanced beginners and beyond as he quickly and methodically takes us through a progression of splendid techniques for painting trees, grass, barns, buildings, still life etc. As a lover of landscape paintings, I find Ray Hendershot's paintings simply a joy to study. I am really happy I got this book.

Excellent watercolor instruction

I am a novice watercolor painter. I've bought several instructional books, but have found this one to be the best. Mr. Hendershot's instructions are clear and easy to follow. The techniques I've learned have dramatically improved the quality of my paintings. The paintings used in instruction are beautiful and fun to paint. I will always use the techniques I've learned from this artist. I only wish he would do another.

Related Subjects: PLC
More Pages: Painting-the Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500

Painting-the

Search for a Financial Book Review