Reviews (7)

Very well written. Answers questions artists like myself have
Very well written. Answers important questions artists like myself have about reed and quill pens, inks, etc. that Vincent used. If you enjoy working in pen and ink this book provides lots of exciting details. Such as Vincent's method of drawing in pencil and heightening in pen and ink and his common sense method of making the paintings proportional to his drawing paper dimensions.
Vincent Van Gogh:The Drawings--beautiful to look at and a great reference!
This is an excellent book.It is beautifully illustrated, making it a lovely overview of Van Gogh's drawings, visually-speaking.
A different perception on a 'known' man.
Van Gogh:You say the name and 'scream', picture a world of madness, body parts and 'what must he have been doing to paint this?'But these drawings...the application of thoughtfullness, sensitivity..a simultaneous perception and understanding.Something may have happened later on, but do not let the simple minded sully the portrayal of a genius at work.Gordon ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1853-1890    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    6. Exhibitions    7. General    8. Gogh, Vincent van,    9. History - General    10. Individual Artist    11. Art / Individual Artist    12. Drawing & drawings    13. Individual artists   

Editorial Review

Jewel and Gem Goop. Make-it-Yourself Stickers. Tornado in a Bottle. Funny Putty. Fruity Lip Gloss. Magic Muck. Snow Globe. Scratch& Sniff Watercolors. Believe it or not, it's possible--easy, infact!--to make every one of these "wacky, wild, and crazy concoctions" (and 57 more) using common household ingredients. John E. Thomas and Danita Pagel have pulled together the cream of the crop of potions, clays, and all-around weird swills for the pleasure of children and scientists of all ages. Why not introduce the very youngest artist of the house tothe world of art with Puddin' Paint? Is there a geologist in the house?Make an Instant Volcano--begins with a fizz, then erupts in a bubblingflow of lava. Time for a bath? Try Bathtub Finger Paints--bathers andthe tub will get clean at the same time! These truly amazingconcoctions are not mess-free, but they guarantee hours of absorbed,lively, creative fun, and inspiration for a lifetime of imaginativeendeavors. Brief scientific explanations would have been a welcomeaddition, but maybe young readers will be motivated to explore thechemical, physical, and geological origins of these experiments ontheir own. Adult supervision is recommended for all projects. (Ages 5and older) Read more

Reviews (50)

Kids Concoctions I
I have been looking for this book for a while now.Very happy with it.Lots of new ideas.Some repeats, though.

Pretty good book!
Good book! But we need to add a little less glue for the Funny Putty, and we didn't make Kookie Creepies right. We made the Instant Watercolors and they worked great. I think Gooey Gunk would work too. It'sjust like the concoction "oobleck" only with a different name.
Haven't received order!!!!!
It's rather hard to review the product. I ordered from Kid Concoctions over a month ago and still haven't received my order and they won't reply to my emails. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art - Sculpture    2. Children's 9-12 - Crafts / Hobbies    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 3-4    5. Crafts & Hobbies - General    6. Handicraft    7. Household supplies    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Paint    11. Toys    12. Art techniques, equipment & materials    13. Children    14. Children's art    15. Crafts   

Reviews (10)

celebrate PAINT
i thought this book to be somewhat hard for the "non-painter" to grasp yet the exercises were lovely.i did this with a friend, a non-painter and she is a very creative soul, however this did not suit her needs and for that i am very sorry.
Celebrate Your Creative Self: Over 25 Exercises to Unleash the Artist Within
This is a good book for you if you are "stuck" and unable to create. The excersises will help you get back on track.

Celebrating inventive techniques and explorations
I almost didn't pick this one up because I thought it was a creativity self-help book, not that I have anything against such books but that just wasn't what I was looking for that day.I was delighted to find more of a fabulous, innovative mixed water-media guide and showcase.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Assemblage Art    4. Creativity    5. Painting    6. Technique    7. Techniques - General    8. Techniques - Painting    9. Art techniques & principles   

Reviews (20)

Designed to develop familiarity with the figure
First off, let me start off by saying that this is not a how-to guide for drawing the figure. It does not attempt to teach you, and it's not designed to do so. Also, don't expect this book to have great photos that will translate into beautiful, finished pieces of art--I don't think one should expect it to be. Instead, it is choke full of full figure poses with which a student can learn the human anatomy by repeated practice of drawing different poses.
Love it
I browsed through this book at a Barnes & Nobles a few weeks ago, and almost immediately fell in love with it. But I did have to wait to go online as it was nearly 30.00 at B&N and I knew I could get it cheaper at amazon.com, which I did for a mere 22.00 with shipping.
Only ordinary
The one thing this book contributes is variety, at least a little. As pointed out elsewhere, the models are all young. Still, there are a few different men and women with interesting differences between them. The fact of having a pregnant model at all is distinctive - pregnancy could be a topic for a whole pose book itself. Blacks, Asians, New World faces and others are also conspicuous by their absence, but that's true of most other pose books as well.Read more

Subjects:  1. Anatomy, Artistic    2. Art    3. Figure Drawing    4. Nude in art    5. Photography    6. Reference    7. Special Subjects In Art    8. Subjects & Themes - Erotica    9. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    10. Art techniques & materials    11. Drawing & drawings    12. Painting & paintings   

Reviews (3)

Even Better!
I was surprised to see another book by Gordon MacKenzie. What more could he say that he had not said in his first book? Plenty! In fact, I consider this book to be much more valuable than the first. This book focuses on landscape painting and is divided into three parts: tools and techniques, composing landscapes, and landscape elements. It begins with an expanded paint quality chart comparing more paints by more manufacturers. Sweet! I can pick and choose the best paints with confidence now. But the best part of the book for me was the information on painting the essentials--water, skies, rocks, and trees. I expected this book to be good, but it was great!

Landscapes
This was a gift for my very talented spouse. She really enjoyed the book. Said it always enhances her skills to see other artists and their technics.

The Watercolorists Essential Notebook: Landscapes
Gordon MacKenzie's new book is a worthy addition to his "The Watercolorists Essential Notebook."If you are looking for a lot of pretty pictures to copy, this is not it.If you want to become more proficient and creative as a watercolorist, this is your treasure!Regardless of where you are on the pathway in using watercolors, this book holds valuable instrucion for your self improvement.It can be a life-long guide as you strive to produce better and better work.DON'T MISS IT! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Landscape    4. Landscape Painting    5. Subjects & Themes - Landscapes    6. Technique    7. Techniques - Watercolor Painting    8. Watercolor Painting    9. Art techniques & principles    10. Nature in art, still life, landscapes & seascapes    11. Watercolours   

Reviews (8)

A helping hand
Good book, when trying the hard art of drawing a human hand.

One of my Top 3 Burne Hogarth books
...Right along with his famous, incredibly excellent Dynamic Figure Drawing, and the *original* version Dynamic Anatomy. When You Need Them to Do More than Hang There
Fists, guitar players, the effects of age on hands from pudgy little baby paws to veiny old ones.Covers the anatomy, including the veins which are sometimes visible, foreshortening the hand, and the effects of movement on the structure.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Drawing    4. Drawing Of Specific Subjects    5. Hand    6. Hand in art    7. Study and teaching    8. Techniques - Drawing    9. Techniques - Life Drawing    10. Art techniques & materials    11. Drawing & drawings   

Editorial Review

Available in a tremendous array of colors and easily cured by baking in ahome oven, polymer clay is a unique medium for creating a variety of beautiful items. InRead more

Reviews (28)

Get the more recent volume...
Great ideas and ways to get one started in Polymer Clay; however, I ordered it at the same time as the newer volume and felt this version was not as useful.Why?Only because of the more up-to-date information on tools and clay varieties.So purchase the newest volume if you want to keep up with the latest, particularly tools, like me!
I'm so glad I bought this book !!!!

Fabulous Wonderful Fantastic
I need more stars to rate this book. Does Donna Kato do anything wrong though! This book helps those of us that are trying to learn and also what mistakes not to do. This is just what I have been looking for and I thank her for the help she has given me. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ceramic Arts And Crafts    2. Clay    3. Crafts & Hobbies    4. Crafts / Hobbies    5. Handicraft    6. Hobbies/Crafts    7. Polymer clay craft    8. Pottery & Ceramics    9. Art techniques & materials    10. Ceramics    11. Decorative arts & crafts    12. Sculpture & other three-dimensional art forms   

Subjects:  1. 1900-1970    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Art dealers    5. Artists, Architects, Photographers    6. Biography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. Business    9. Downtown Gallery (New York, N.Y.)    10. General    11. Halpert, Edith Gregor,    12. Historical - General    13. New York    14. New York (State)    15. Reference    16. Women    17. Art sales & auctioneering    18. Biography: general   

Reviews (3)

An education in perspective
This is one of the best and most informative books on the subject of perspective I've read or studied. Thank you very much for making this book available.

Clear guide to basic perspective
For some reason, perspective is the boogey-man of many people learning to draw. It doesn't have to be that way. This book will help you put that sense of solidity and reality into a drawing. Not just for engineers and architects.
I got this book because I had a floor plan that I wanted to make into a 3D or at least 2D home elevation.I've never taken a drawing course and before this, everything I drew was rubbery or floating. :-)Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Art    3. Design & Drafting    4. Drawing    5. Perspective    6. Technique    7. Techniques - Drawing    8. Architecture / Design & Drafting   

Subjects:  1. Bread    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Courses & Dishes - Bread    5. Food Science    6. History   

Reviews (27)

Kovels' New Dictionary of Marks : Pottery and Porcelain 1850 to Present (Kovel's Dictionary of Marks)
Overall it is helpful.I am really just getting into this, so it is great to have something I can refer to to get an idea of where the item I have comes from.

Kovels' Makes Excellent Reference
This is an excellent guide to Pottery and porcelain. Pictures and descriptions are very helpful in correctly identifying pieces.

I Have Found Several MarksIn This Book
This book is full of marks.I used it for pottery and crocks and no longer need the copy I have.I will sell it now.
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Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Ceramic Arts And Crafts    5. Marks    6. Porcelain    7. Porcelain & China    8. Pottery    9. Pottery & Ceramics    10. Reference - General    11. Antiques & Collectibles / Porcelain & China    12. Art techniques & materials    13. Ceramic arts, pottery, glass   

Reviews (5)

Great information!
This book needed writing!Thank you, Ellen for sharing years of experimentation and innovation. as you created your art.The specific information contained within its covers could well save an artist much time and money.
Interesting Surface Techniques
Some techniques in this book were new to me and some I have done for years.I like this book because it is a good collection of surface treatments all in one place.

A Must Have!
This is definitely a "Must Have" for your polymer clay library.Ellen's surface design techniques are very inspiring, the photos are stunning, and the instructions are clear and concise. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Crafts & Hobbies    3. General    4. Hobbies/Crafts    5. Polymer clay craft    6. Reference    7. Sculpture    8. Art Forms, Treatments & Subjects    9. Arts & crafts design    10. Crafts & Hobbies / General   

Reviews (13)

Classic
This is one of the classics on painting.Every artist should add this to thier libary.It is a small book full of treasuredinsights for painting.
timeless!
this is a fabulous book.it is written in fragments--actual excerpts from hawthorne's critiques.it is a relevent now as the day it was written.mine is almost all yellow with highlights!so much of it will help me and my painting students.

Very useful - but requires careful reading and thought
There are very few books to help painters (even fewer for sculptors) that are of any real use. This is the only book, of which I am aware, that sucessfully deals with the challenges of outdoor painting in an honest (i.e. non stylized in terms of hue and value) manner. Yes, hawthorne repeats himself regarding "the mechanics of putting one spot of color next to another - the fundamental thing". Obviously he considers this paramount, but there is so much more in this small, inexpensive book. Here are a few examples: "The only way to learn to paint is by painting. To really study, you must start out with large tubes of paint and large palette and not stint in any way as far as materials go" ... "Always be looking for the unexpected in nature" ... "Know when you are licked - start another. Be Alive, stop when your interest is lost" ... "Don't be too reasonable, get a little bit excited" ... "Put on one or two traces of pure color as pace setters" ... "hold up the black handle of your palette knife to compare it with the darks in the subject" ..."You are too careful-but, of course, you can never be too careful. I expect you were careful about the wrong thing." Bottom line, it's a great book packed with useful advice by a real painter/teacher. You will have to read it carefully, think, and be open to new ideas, in order to really learn from it, but you can't do better for advice on honest, representational, outdoor painting. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Techniques - General    3. Techniques - Painting    4. Art / Techniques    5. Art techniques & materials    6. Painting & paintings   

Reviews (1)

a glorious celebration of love via art and poetry
This is a one-of-a-kind gift. Lavishly printed in Italy, bound in glorious silk, and wrapped in the spirit of love that only this artist (and former professor of literature) could create. Love multiplies, indeed! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthologies (multiple authors)    2. General    3. Love in art    4. Love poetry    5. Poetry    6. Art Forms, Treatments & Subjects    7. Art; poetry    8. Poetry / General    9. Poetry texts & anthologies   

Reviews (17)

The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook
This has to be one of the best books ever for the serious beginner in watercolor. It is divided into three parts: tools, techniques, and composition. I primarily bought the book because it has a chart comparing the paint quality of different manufacturers and lists the numbers of fugitive pigments. Many books warn about avoiding colors that are not lightfast, but this book actually identifies them. This is just one small example of the helpful information provided for beginners who want to become serious painters.

A Great Resource for Beginner or Professional
This book is a gem!It is one of those rare books whose title "The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook" actually fits its content.This is a fantastic collection of great techniques, tips, methods, and demonstrations on everything from paint characteristics and how paints interact with water, to composition and mixing different techniques.The illustrations are wonderful and show how to do your own watercolors in straight-forward prose as well as the absolute mastery of the medium by the author.
This is the best watercolor book I have read
This book is full of wonderful information for the watercolorist. I am an adult beginner and don't expect to ever have the talent to paint for anyone except myself, but the information in this book makes me feel that at least I know a little more about what I am doing. There are many easy to read charts about paint qualites, lists of reliable pigments to look for and pigments to avoid. (I didn't know paints were made of different names and numbers, and some of these are not stable colors!) Scan the Table of Contents and you will see all the great topics that are covered (and they are covered well). This is a beautiful book to read just to look at the lovely examples of his paintings. I am really glad that I purchased this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Technique    4. Techniques - Painting    5. Techniques - Watercolor Painting    6. Watercolor Painting    7. Art techniques & materials    8. Watercolours   

Reviews (4)

Enjoyable
I enjoyed this book very much. It was simple to understand and quite interesting. I'm sure it's not the end all in color mixing books, but it is not a bad one at all.

A great book to start with
I've just started oil painting, and this book proved invaluable inhelping me sort out the many, many different kinds of paint with their exotic names out there.I generally like to jump in and just experiment, but when I discovered the high price of good oil paints, I decided I needed a little book knowledge first.This book costs about the same as a good tube of paint, and saved me from buying many colors that, before reading the book, I didn't realize I wouldn't really need (at least to start with).It's one of clearest, most concise books I've read (on any subject).Every word is one of wisdom.If you're new to mixing paint, or having trouble figuring it out, get this book (it doesn't really cover HOW to paint though).

A True Labor Saving Book
The first thing I always did with a new set of paints was create color swatches and mixes.Now that my paint sets are more expensive I hate to waste paint on swatches that I'll probably put in some "safe" location in the studio...never to be seen again. Here I can reference swatches of commonly used colors, opaque and transparent in a range of media.Sidaway also includes the best history of pigments that I've read to date - answering a question about phthalo blue that's been bugging me for years (when was it introduced? 1936.) This book is no substitute for learning about your palette, but does provide information on how to select an appropriate palette. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Color Theory    4. Color in art    5. Colors    6. Reference    7. Technique    8. Techniques - General    9. Techniques - Painting   

Reviews (10)

A book to treasure
A true guide on technique,
neither very big nor very useful
Pleasing to the eye but it surely fails to live up to the promise of its title. The instructions on constructing and throwing pots is adequate (though scanty).The sections on other aspects of the craft are more an outline than a guide. Disappointed, I searched our local community college library and found several comprehensive instructional texts on ceramics that were bigger and better than this book - though most were written 30 years ago.

Not a helpful resource for learning on the wheel
I was disappointed after receiving this book.While it gave a nice overview of different types of ceramics, it did not give the detailed information I was looking for. The summary on wheel throwing was relatively small and gave virtually no information regarding types of wheels or information on selecting one.The description of the book does seem a bit misleading...leading one to believe that this book would be an invaluable, detailed reference source.I found this not to be the case and would not recommend it for those looking for a reference document. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Ceramic Arts And Crafts    3. Crafts / Hobbies    4. Pottery    5. Pottery & Ceramics    6. Reference    7. Technique   

Reviews (2)

not quite ultimate
This book contains 100 pages if you count blank pages (really 50) of 12 different patterns repeated 4 times on low grade paper.As tiling patterns go these are somewhere well short of ultimate.

Mind Boggling Mania
This book is awesome! It makes you think, and yet have fun as well. The patterns in this book are outstanding, and even as a teenager they are fun to color. I enjoyed spending my time coloring these in. Some designs are very complex and do take time to finish. People see many designs in this book. When you open it up what will you see?

Coloring Nirvana Achieved!
I have colored for many hours in this book (as well as on photocopies of the pages) and can honestly say it was time well-spent.Nothing can relax and revive a busy adult like pure, time-wasting creativity.The geometric designs are like pieces of a puzzle - the end picture is whatever YOU see in the patterns.I like the freedom of finding logic, pattern and even pictures out of the chaotic mish-mash of triangles, polygons and squares on every page.Some see stars, some see flowers, some see animals.What will you see? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Color Theory    3. Coloring and Design Books    4. Papercrafts - Adult Coloring Books    5. Drawing & drawings    6. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles   

Reviews (49)

Good but Dated
The author gives some good tips on drawing the face, etc., but the style of the drawings reeks of the 1930's & 1940's.Also I felt like he was trying to cram too much into one book, giving some things the short shrift.

One of the best
This book is one of the best how to draw human figure books ever made. This contains so much information in so little pages. I just wished there was more on foreshortening and capturing the flow of the body, since I'm interested in animation.

Great for Beginners and Intermediate artists!
I bought this book two months ago, and I am not sorry that I did! It is an excellent drawing book, and I recommend it to all who want to learn how to draw, or improve their drawing skills. It definately helped me to improve mine! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Techniques - Drawing    4. Techniques - Life Drawing    5. Art techniques & materials    6. Biography & Autobiography / Historical    7. Drawing & drawings   

Reviews (27)

A beautiful book
Thanks for a variety of ideas and methods of approaching sketchbook/journals.I taught a course, this summer, integrating art and science.I wanted my students to look at sketching and journaling in a creative way.This book helped me motivate my students to create very beautiful books,

Top notch artist's journaling book
This is a great book for those wanting to combine the art of journaling with art itself.It offers many ideas on how to make journaling a fun and artistic activity.A great buy or gift for any artist.

great product!
It was perfect- just as described and just what i needed :). Thanks! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Assemblage Art    4. Notebooks    5. Technique    6. Techniques - General    7. Art techniques & materials