MBR: The Art Shelf
Midwest Book Review
One-Hundred Artists Of The Southwest
Douglas Bullis
Schiffer Publishing
4880 Lower Valley Rd, Atglen, PA 19310
0764324144 $39.95 schifferbooks.com
One-Hundred Artists Of The Southwest by Douglas Bullis is an
informative and seminal collection of succinct biographical
descriptions and vividly authored portraits of the one hundred most
important artists living and working in New Mexico and Arizona today.
Providing the reader with representative samples of their photography,
paintings, drawings, sculptures, pottery, weaving, and jewelry,
One-Hundred Artists Of The Southwest deftly explores the lives of these
artists ranging from Native American contemporary and ancestral
visionaries to Hispanic updated representative presentations of
religious icons. One-Hundred Artists Of The Southwest is very strongly
recommended for personal, academic, and community library collections
for its in-depth and informative content, enhanced with over
four-hundred full-color illustrations stimulating an appreciation for
southwestern-American artistic culture. Also highly recommended as a
companion volume is Douglas Bullis', 100 Artists Of The West Coast
(0764-319310, $39.95)
Exploring Colored Pencil
Sandra McFall Angelo
Davis Publications
500 West Harbor Drive, Suite 1202, San Diego, CA 92101
www.discoverartwithsandra.com
0871923157 $20.95 1-619-795-2348
Exploring Colored Pencil by Sandra McFall Angelo by Sandra McFall
Angelo is a thoroughly "user-friendly" instructional guide to creating
the most intricate, vivid and realistic visual art with colored
pencils. Introducing the reader to experienced techniques with
step-by-step demonstrations, methods for creating realistic textures,
combining colored pencils with a range of media, exercises for
beginner, intermediate, and advanced art students, colorful works
illustrating diverse styles and applications, drawings by professionals
and students of all ages, and many suggestions that will help the
reader develop their own style, Exploring Colored Pencil is an
excellent guide for all aspiring art students with a particular
preference to colored pencils as their medium of expression.
Gary Bukovnik: Watercolors
Clare Henry
Hudson Hills Press
PO Box 205, 74-2 Union Street, Manchester, VT 05254
1555952585 $50.00 hudsonhills.com
Gary Bukovnik: Watercolors is a splendidly beautiful full-color
collection of watercolor plates, of flowers by contemporary artist Gary
Bukovnik. In Gary Bukovnik: Watercolors, the art literally speaks for
itself; the only text is a brief caption for each plate describing its
size, materials, and the collection that houses the original. A
selected bibliography rounds out this art and flower lover's treasury
of skillfully and soulfully painted images.
North Light Books/F&W
4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
www.fwpubs.com
A fun, light reading style provides a very approachable guide to
beaders with Margot Potter's The Impatient Beader: Easy Jewelry
Projects For The Busy Beginner (1581807627, $19.99) ! If author Margot
Potter's name sounds familiar, it's because she's a QVC on-air
presenter and featured artist on PBS TV's 'Beads, Baubles and Jewels'
show, and here provides a collection of master techniques and tools for
making necklaces, bracelets, earrings and more. Color photos present
not only the usual finished product, but close-ups of beading in
process for an unusual step-by-step approach which leaves nothing to
the imagination alone. Dorothy Dent's Painting Landscapes Filled With
Light (158-1807368, $24.99) provides ten step-by-step projects for both
beginners and advanced painters who want to paint light-filled
landscapes depicting different seasons and times. Color values are
surveyed in landscape projects which show how to capture sunsets and
sunrises, autumn foliage, moonshine on water, and more. More than just
an exercise book, each project includes diagrams showing light
direction and color tonal values and a commentary on how experts
fine-tune paintings such professional finishing touches.
The Art Of Arthur And Lucia Mathews
Harvey L. Jones et al
Pomegranate
775A Southpoint Boulevard, Petaluma, CA 94954
0764936441 $40.00 pomegranate.com
The collective and profusely illustrated study of Harvey L. Jones
(Senior Curator of the art at the Oakland Museum of California since
1971), Kenneth R. Trapp (independent curator and writer), and Kevin
Starr (Professor of History at the University of Southern California in
Los Angeles), The Art Of Arthur And Lucia Mathews is provides the
reader with an intricate detailing of the collective works of the two
truly great artists. Providing art students and scholars with an
in-depth understanding of the history and comprehensive production of
their eclectic and contemporary artistry, Arthur Mathews and Lucia
Mathews are presented as artists who were progressive for their time,
and this 272-page compendium of their work righteously and validly
expresses the entirety of what truths, beauties and gentle intricacies
they strove for. The Art Of Arthur And Lucia Mathews is very highly
recommended for academic library Art History collections, as well as
students of modern, contemporary, progressive art.
Boucher
David Wakefield
Chaucer Press
20 Bloomsbury Street, London, WC1B 3JH, UK
19404449352 $45.00 www.chaucer-press.com
David Wakefield holds a long and special interest in French art and
literature and has other publications on the topics to his name, so
BOUCHER, a study of the artist whose works have become synonymous with
the Rococo period of mid-18th century France, is a logical study for
his talents. BOUCHER examines the sum of his prolific career and his
history, providing a survey of his works, changing times, and
influences. Full-page color photos use his paintings as stepping stones
to understanding his art and early roots in Dutch naturalism. An
excellent survey.
The New Artist's Manual
Simon Jennings
Chronicle Books
85 - 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
0811851249 $29.95 www.chroniclebooks.com
If you're an artist seeking the basics of how to set up a studio and
use professional methods in a range of media, THE NEW ARTIST'S MANUAL:
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO PAINTING AND DRAWING MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES is
for you. There are so many new materials on the market today that
there's an ever-present need for a comprehensive coverage of them: THE
NEW ARTIST'S MANUAL provides such depth in surveying paper and paint
choices, pros and cons of controlling output under different
conditions, experimenting with materials and textures, and much more.
An outstanding guide aspiring artists will want to look it - and it's
packed with color examples on every page.
Art of Japan
Nancy Grossman, et.al., Selectors
Hudson Hills Press
PO Box 205, Manchester, VT 05254
0940717840 $50.00 www.hudsonhills.com
ART OF JAPAN: MASTERPIECES FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART represents
a comprehensive collection of images: the first Japanese objects
entered the holding a few decades after the country had been opened to
the West, and continues to this day. From carvings and sculptures to
paintings, ceramics and more, ART OF JAPAN documents some of the best
pieces and provides accompanying history on Japanese art history and
trends. The blend of collection highlights and commentary on sculptors'
works and underlying influences provides not just a documentation of
top collection pieces, but a logical survey of Japanese art history.
Out of the West
Suzan Campbell, Ph.D.
Western Edge Press
126 Candelario Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501
1889921211 $34.95 www.westernedgepress.com
The Gund Collection of Western Art's holdings serve as the foundation
for a powerful gathering of paintings, drawings and photos in nearly 60
full-page reproductions in color in OUT OF THE WEST: THE GUND
COLLECTION OF WESTERN ART. Accompanying these gorgeous reproductions
are sidebars of historic reference which discusses painter influences,
subject, and background history: enough to lend further appreciation,
especially for those less familiar with Western art and artists. Gund
was a fine storyteller and collected art as part of his fascination for
Western culture and themes: OUT OF THE WEST is a fine and fitting
tribute to his perspective, sharing his collection with the world.
Still Looking
John Updike
Alfred A. Knopf
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
1400041189 $40.00 1-800-726-0600 www.aaknopf.com
In 1989 a collection of John Updike's writings on art appeared under
the title JUST LOOKING, providing a refreshingly different viewpoint on
the art world: in the last sixteen years he's continued his career as
an art critic and has selected eighteen prime articles on American art
for this edition. From eccentric artists and unusual American art
history influences to portraits of historic figures, Updike's literary
and historical review touches upon a range of mediums, artists, and
emotional and spiritual influences, making STILL LOOKING: ESSAYS ON
AMERICAN ART a vivid, lively consideration.
The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640
0786423692 $45.00 www.mcfarlandpub.com
The films of Miyazaki attract many and has found its audience in
America as well as Japan - which makes THE ANIME ART OF HAYAO
MIYAZAKI an excellent addition for any interested in anime animation
techniques. Traditional cel and computer animation alike are explored
along with a biographical sketch of Miyazaki's life and achievements.
>From his early comic book art to his later films, the extent of his
productions - all the way to his latest Howl's Moving Castle -
document his rise in an excellent scholarly analysis of his
productions. Any involved in anime in either print or film knows the
name of Miyazaki - and here has a rare opportunity to receive further
insights on his works and approaches over the decades.
Growing Up Guggenheim
Peter Lawson-Johnston
Intercollegiate Studies Institute/ISI Books
PO Box 4431, Wilmington, DE 19807-0431
19322236570 $35.00 1-800-526-7022 www.isibooks.org
The author is a Guggenheim himself and the board president who saw the
museum changed from a local New York institution to a world-wide art
venture: his background lends an insider's eye and appreciation to
GROWING UP GUGGENHEIM: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF A FAMILY ENTERPRISE. His
accounts of his grandfather Solomon Guggenheim begins with the museum's
founder's achievements and family interactions and tells stories of the
institution's evolution within and outside the family. His memoirs of
personalities over the decades, controversies which affected its
efforts to expand, and the author's own career makes for a colorful
series of vignettes which come packed with business financials,
insights, and art history. A 'must' for any who would understand the
Guggenheim enterprise.
Great Street Art
Victor Burleigh
Schiffer Publishing
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
0764322710 $29.95 www.schifferbooks.com
Fans of music poster art have a number of general titles on the topic
to choose from; but for something more specific and specialized - and
therefore, more in depth - choose GREAT STREET ART: REGGAE, BLUES AND
WORLD BEAT POSTERS 1977-89. Black and white and some two-color prints
of such posters appear full-page and come from the author's own
gathering of over five hundred originals from San Francisco. These are
largely club posters from events which demonstrate a range of
advertising approaches and art, making STREET ART the perfect
acquisition not just for the art school library, but for business
schools seeking solid, large-size examples of advertising art that
works.
100 Posters 134 Squirrels
Jay Ryan
Punk Planet/Akashic Books
PO Box 1456, New York, NY 10019
1888451939 $21.00 www.akashicbooks.com
The first collection of poster artist Jay Ryan is both a biography and
an art celebration: it gathers his works from rock clubs to galleries
and arrives not alone but supplemented by essays from other involved in
the music, design and poster worlds. Full-color reproductions of his
works supplement these insights to create an excellent catalog of
screenprint poster genius: a must for any collecting underground poster
art.
The Art of Italian Film Posters
Mel Bagshaw
Black Dog Publishing
Unit 4.04 Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JJ, UK
1904772315 $39.95 www.bdpworld.com
Italian cinema has produced some of the most amazing poster art on the
market, and these all are a highlight in THE ART OF ITALIAN FILM
POSTERS, a documentary of the best of these posters which packs in
gorgeous full-page color displays throughout. The outstanding
presentation provides an overview of Italy's fine films, pairing
excellent historical and artistic text by Mel Bagshaw with over two
hundred examples from the 20th century up to the late 1970s. Very
highly recommended.
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